Watch the video montage in which father interviews his daughter from daycare until she is 17
A father shared a heartwarming video montage of interviews he conducted with his daughter on every first day of school, from kindergarten through her late teens.
Ray Petelin, 47, posted an extensive collection of clips capturing his daughter Elizabeth on every first day of school, from her early kindergarten years through her 17th birthday.
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When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, young Elizabeth told her father, a meteorologist for KDKA in Pittsburgh, that she wanted to be “a doctor.”
As the years passed, however, the girl’s dreams and career aspirations changed: from teacher, to magician, to waitress, to performing open-heart surgery, to helping people recover as a physical therapist, to “a million things.”
Since sharing the heartwarming montage on X – formerly known as Twitter – the 47-year-old father has also spoken to Daily Mail about the idea behind the healthy concept.
He told the publication: “I wanted to interview Elizabeth before her first day of kindergarten so I could show her how much she changed as she entered her senior year of high school.
”The following year I noticed how much she changed between kindergarten and first grade, so I decided to interview her again.”
From then on, he explained, it became an annual tradition, although Elizabeth wasn’t always thrilled about it.
According to Ray, who also posted the adorable footage on Instagram, the daughter was “absolutely thrilled with the interview,” but when she hit puberty, there was some resistance.
The father explained that when the girl was in fifth and sixth grade, she found the interviews “boring,” yet the then-teenager still participated.
Ray said, “I think when she was in seventh grade, she realized how special this was to me.
“I really think that’s when it became important and special for Elizabeth too.”
Elizabeth is now in her final year at school and is extremely grateful to her father for coming up with the idea and continuing with it all these years.
The minute-long video montage has gone viral online, earning the father-daughter duo more than 200,000 likes.
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Many parents responded that they wanted to do something similar for their own children.
“This is amazing and I definitely want to do this for my daughter. She’s starting daycare in a few weeks,” said one X user.
Another joined in the conversation: “My first is going to daycare in a few weeks. I’m going to do this!”
Should parents give their children school bags again?
I’ve seen them all over my FYP.
But I can assure you that I will NOT be getting my 10 year old son and 6 year old daughter back to school.
Not only did we as parents have to take six weeks of vacation (many of which we also worked), we also had to spend money on days out, endless amounts of food and other things to keep the kids entertained.
Then we also have to pay for a completely new uniform, new shoes (which sometimes cost as much as £50 each) and even office supplies.
Then why on earth do they need a school bag?
I also give my children a new lunch box and school bag every year, so they have that as a gift when they go back to school. And that’s enough.
But I won’t say no to a back-to-school box for parents!
After all, we did a fantastic job.
By Sarah Bull, Senior Digital Reporter
After going viral on the platform, Ray revealed that the duo, along with Elizabeth, have been creating a weekly science/educational segment for KDKA for years called “Hey Ray!”
The proud father told the Daily Mail that Elizabeth “has kind of grown up for our viewers on KDKA-TV” and that fellow Pittsburgh residents “would love to see her grow up in that video.”
The couple, as well as Ray’s wife Rachel, are “still shocked by how quickly and how far this special tradition” has spread online.
“If we go viral for something, I’m glad it’s because we’re a loving family,” he said fondly.
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