Viral video of girl's sassy reply to her dad's taunts sparks debate

A four-year-old girl has become a social media star - for flipping her dad the finger after he teased her during a rugby game.

The viral video features Nia Matangi showing off her sassy side with her father, Ilai Matangi.

As she started crying after being rugby tackled by her sister, Ilai jokingly tells his little girl to “harden up”, to which she responds by immediately proving to him that she doesn’t need to.

She is heard responding: “Harden up? Shuddup!” with a stony face, gives him the finger and goes straight back to crying, to which Ilai responds with deep belly laughs.

The video has now received nearly four million likes on TikTok.

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SWNS

Ilai, of Morayfield, Queensland in Australia, said: "We just finished lunch, and we were down at the rugby field just letting the kids kick the footy around and get some fresh air.

“Nia was playing rugby with her older sisters, and she had sneakingly tackled her older sister.

"Her sister retaliated, hence why she was crying."

Some commentators criticised his parenting style, but Ilai shrugged off any controversy.

He said: "I replied back to some of the criticism on the comment section mainly with sarcasm, but really, I have nothing to say to them.

"Yes my daughter is too young to be poking up her finger like that, but in the context of that situation, we had to laugh about it.

"The conversation about that behaviour being unacceptable is for another time, and to be quite frank, I deserved it.

"I think people are concerned about the finger because she is a child and should not be doing that. I agree, but it goes back down to context and situational.

"I do not consider myself a strict parent, but we have boundaries and values we teach our kids. My wife is the stricter parent compared to me."

SWNS reporting by Leo Black.

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