Dad's rules for dating his 5 daughters go viral: 'You'll have to ask them'

One Tennessee father has very simple rules for boys attempting to date his five daughters -- and they're going viral for how empowering they are to the little ladies he's raising.

"You'll have to ask them what their rules are," J. Warren Welch wrote on Facebook Sunday. "I'm not raising my little girls to be the kind of women who need their daddy to act like a creepy possessive bada-- in order for them to be treated with respect."

Welch, 39, continued: "You will respect them, and if you don't, I promise they won't need my help putting you back in your place."

The Jonesborough, Tennessee, father closed by telling potential suitors, "Good luck, pumpkin."

The message seemed to resonate with readers as the "rules" went viral, with more than 18,000 people sharing them.

Welch and his wife, Natasha Welch, have a blended family where they're parents to five girls, ranging from the age of 6 to 16.

He told ABC News he was inspired to write his rules after overhearing a conversation at work, where he's the manager of an all-male department in a factory in the Appalachian Region. His coworkers were discussing intimidating men who were coming to date their daughters.

"I understand the mindset. I'm a very protective father," he said. "But I'm more sensitive because a lot of the messaging has overtures of misogyny in it."

Welch said although he grew up in a very "conservative household" where women were "submissive," he's really trying to ensure his daughters become the best women they can be.

"It’s trying to raise them to know who they want to be and to be who they want to be and to do what makes them happy," he explained. "As a father raising daughters, I have to step back. I don’t get to build this picture of what my daughter’s lives should look like."