This 88-Year-Old Man Taught His Great Grandkid To Walk

Something that becomes really clear when you enter into parenthood is that time goes by really quickly. Watching a human grow and change with our eyes is an experience that’s hard to put into words, but a new viral TikTok does a great job of putting time into perspective.

In the video, an 88-year-old great-grandfather, who was once worried he’d miss out on meeting his great-granddaughter, formed a heartwarming bond and taught her a great life lesson.

A 14-second clip posted to TikTok from Briana, who goes by @breedukz, was short, but it made a huge impact. Collecting more than 4.3 million plays and thousands of comments, the video features Briana’s 88-year-old grandfather, Jeri, and Briana’s young daughter, Ocean.

At first, the video looks like it’s just a clip of Jeri walking into a room using his rollator to steady as he walks. But as he moves, we see Ocean holding on to the rollator, too, and walking along with her great-grandfather.

“Your grandpa didn't think he would live long enough to meet his great-granddaughter, but he helped her learn to walk,” Briana wrote in the text overlay on the video. In the caption, Briana wrote, “Seeing my grandparents become great-grandparents is a true blessing.”

In an interview with Newsweek, Briana opened up about the moment behind the viral TikTok video and the bond between Jeri and Ocean.

“It was a very emotional moment that made my heart so full,” she said, “Their bond is very special; Ocean loves to go on walks with him and steal his newspaper.”

Briana shared that Ocean “took her first steps on Christmas morning,” and Ocean’s great-grandfather was their biggest cheerleader.

“He was so surprised at how fast she grew up!"