Photo by @jshuaplmr on TIktok
He’s preparing for a legal battle.
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A father in Phoenix, Arizona, recorded his daughter’s mother apparently leaving the child’s belongings on the street before driving off, according to a TikTok video he posted. The clip, shared by Joshua Palmer, shows the items scattered on the pavement while the young girl stood nearby. Palmer said he is now seeking to fight for custody of his daughter.
The video, posted by Palmer on TikTok, received over 1.4 million views and a lot of responses from the viewers online. Palmer said he began filming in the middle of an argument with the child’s mother. In the footage, she is seen shutting the car door as he asks, “Are you being fucking for real?” She responded, “You’re good,” before driving away.
According to Palmer, the child’s mother had left a stroller and other belongings on the street after dropping the girl off. He said his daughter appeared confused by what had happened. Palmer can be heard in the video saying, “Look how my baby mama left us on the street, bro, when she just dropped her off.”
Father later discovered the child had a soiled diaper
When Palmer picked up his daughter, he discovered she had a dirty diaper. In the video, he said, “And she left her with the shitty diaper, bro.” He did not provide further details on how long the diaper had gone unchanged. Disputes between parents caught on camera have circulated widely online before, including a case where a husband responded to a divorce conversation in Pennsylvania.
After bringing his daughter inside, Palmer showed the two of them settled into a routine for the evening. He appeared to give his daughter a bottle of milk, changed her diaper, and the pair watched several episodes of the children’s show Bluey before she went to bed. The following morning, the video shows the daughter drinking from a bottle while watching the show again.
Palmer and his daughter later went to a nearby park. He said he kept filming throughout so that his ex would know what they were doing. The video shows the child playing on a swing and in mulch, and briefly approaching a slide that Palmer said felt hot to the touch.
He apologized in the video after touching the slide, saying, “It’s hot or something? Yeah, it’s hot. Damn, I’m sorry, y’all.” The pair left the park after what Palmer estimated was about an hour, as more people arrived. Palmer said there are no formal custody arrangements in place that determine when he can see his daughter.
He said that in the past, any time he spent with her also included the child’s mother present, and that the two of them were never alone together before this incident. According to Palmer, the mother asked him to watch their daughter for what was supposed to be one night, which he said turned into five nights.
Palmer said he was uncertain whether he would have been able to see his daughter at all had he not been available that night. He documented each of the five days in a series of videos and said he ultimately decided he needed to take action regarding custody. One commenter referenced this shift in his role, writing, “hey guys. first time being team Dad. kinda nervous.”
According to a GoFundMe page linked in the video’s description, Palmer is seeking funds to retain a family law attorney in order to pursue custody of his daughter. The page describes him as “a father fighting to get back to his daughter,” though further details of the legal proceedings were not included.
The video drew a range of reactions in the comments section. Some commenters expressed concern for the child’s well-being, with one writing, “are you two ok? is she safe? like does she have to go back or already have gone back or so? im so sorry.” Other parenting moments shared on social media have similarly drawn large amounts of public reaction, such as a separate incident involving a mother at a summer camp drop-off in Maryland.
Many commenters were critical of the mother’s actions as depicted in the video. One wrote simply, “then take her to court.” Another commenter wrote, “This is not ok. She could at the very least make sure the hand over goes well / safely THEN bail.”
It is not clear from the video what prompted the argument captured at the start of the clip, or what arrangement, if any, the two parents had discussed beforehand regarding the overnight stay. As of the time of the video’s posting, no custody proceedings had been confirmed as filed.
