Is there anything better than a homemade gift from your kids? We have to admit, we are total suckers for a handprint turned into a turkey or a beautiful piece of macaroni jewelry. It is always special when our kids' teachers take time out of their busy schedules to help our kids make something that gives us that warm and fuzzy feeling. Sometimes, though, the gifts miss the mark.
An Australian dad was positively dumbfounded when he saw the gift his daughter created for him for Father's Day, which the country celebrates on the first Sunday in September. What should have been sweet and sentimental instead included a crass suicide joke that made Trent Howard pretty upset. It begs the question, "What in the heck was the teacher thinking?"
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At first glance, it looked pretty normal.
The cute little cube was colored by his 6-year-old daughter and included tips for improving dad's mood. It suggested having a banana or mint or even jumping like a frog. But the final turn suggests a bullet with the words, "Take when all else fails."
Um, sorry, what? Surely, this isn't real life. Who in the world would give that kind of thing to a kid?
Howard was outraged. "This is 101 stupidity. Or worse," Howard told 9 News Perth.
Howard's wife said the teacher was trying to be funny.
Renae Howard told 9 News that if it was supposed to be a joke, it was a pretty sick idea. She told 9 News that her interpretation of the teacher's excuse was that she was trying to be funny. The joke fell flat, and the Howards don't think there is anything funny about it. The horrified dad said it was just "disgusting."
"I have a weird sense of humor," he said. "That's not part of any sense of humor to anybody. You've had enough? Shoot yourself. What else does it say?"
School staff seemingly agreed with the Howards.
As 9 News reported, the education department was equally shocked by the supposed gift and said it "showed a serious lack of judgment," and Connelly Primary School apologized to the family. Officials assured them the teachers would not repeat the activity in the future.
Howard said that's not enough. "We need change everywhere," he said. "In this society, we have suicide in our families. It's not cool. It needs to stop."
The news station shared the clip on social media, and people were shocked.
Most agreed the activity was wildly inappropriate, especially in a school setting.
One person commented that the activity downplayed mental health care. "I mean, the attention that's been drawn to men's mental health and fact this fam has been impacted my suicide. Not cool," the person commented.
"They're referring to the different lollies; minties, sherbet, banana, frogs, bullets…. But defs not funny or appropriate," someone else agreed.
The joke was just out of line. As one person wrote, "I agree with the father. I get it was meant to be a joke and it is kind of funny but the point is it's just too far for most and not nice in general."
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Although it seemed really tone deaf to many people, others thought Howard was overreacting.
Some of the responses were simple.
"Daddy chill," a TikToker wrote.
"Hahahahaha," another comment reads.
One parent joked they'd love this kind of gift. "I would cherish that if my kid brought that home ," the person commented.
"It's funny for adults. But primary school seems a bit too young to grasp dark humor. ," someone else shared.
And yet another person remembered a similar activity, writing, "I think we did that when I was a kid?"
