A father in Perth, Australia, was deeply disturbed when his six-year-old daughter gave him a Father’s Day gift sent home with her from school that “promotes suicide,” but was apparently meant as a “joke.”
The gift appeared to be a cube made from paper, like a large die, with phrases printed on it to give fathers a chuckle, 9 News reported Friday.
However, one side of the cube had a message that most people would find offensive and hurtful.
An image shows the cube and the printed words that read, “Bullet – Take when all else fails.” Underneath the words is a picture of a bullet, and the child appeared to have colored it orange and pink and also added a heart:
Trent Howard felt ‘disgusted’ that the six-year-old girl was given the cube to later give to him. The 9 News report said a teacher at Connolly Primary School gave it to her to give to her father.
Howard said, “‘If you’ve had enough, shoot yourself’, what else [could that be interpreted to] say. I have a weird sense of humour, [but] that’s not part of any sense of humour to anybody.”
According to the school’s website, the principal said educators want the children enrolled to grow “in a harmonious environment.”
“We believe each child should grow academically, socially and emotionally,” the message continues.
The teacher apparently claimed the craft was meant to be a joke, and Howard’s wife said, “They wanted to be funny, that was my interpretation of what the teacher had said to me. It wasn’t funny.”
Social media users who commented on the image were also upset by the “joke,” one person writing, “This is just wrong unacceptable.”
“When did people lose their ability to use basic common sense? This isn’t a funny joke, this isn’t an appropriate thing to send home with a child. How is it that so many so called adults are devoid of basic common sense? He has ever right to be outraged,” another user replied.
According to 9 News, officials with the Department of Education said the craft showed a lack of judgement. The school issued an apology to the parents affected.