Based on the dots between the words (a technique picked up at Montessori School), Lauren in Vancouver estimates she was about six years old when she wrote this note (translation below):
Dad, I am angry because you throwed away your father’s day present. If I catch you doing it again, I will hit you hard. Signed, Lauren.
In her father’s defense, “The gift in question was a giant, brightly-coloured fish made out of paper and stuffed with newsprint,” Lauren says. “I remember finding the ‘present’ in the garbage and putting it back on my father’s desk, which is probably where the threat came in.”
And then, of course, there’s the troll dad approach…
related: An honest Father’s Day card
extra credit: Dads on Vacation [tumblr]
48 responses so far ↓
#1
Nunavut Guy
Poor Wanda!
Jun 17, 2012 at 7:29 pm rating: 90
#2
dad
team kid. Throw it away if you must, but at least throw it away at work or something.
Jun 17, 2012 at 7:32 pm rating: 90
#3
21skulls
I can’t help but feel that the dad is taking his daughter for granted. Giant paper fish are a pain in the ass to make (I’d imagine).
Jun 17, 2012 at 8:28 pm rating: 90
#4
Polly
Lauren sounds like a kid with a healthy self-confidence. Had this happened to me at that age I’d have been crushed, not angry.
“Dade” couldn’t at least have hung the paper fish from the ceiling for a few weeks? Then told Lauren he was taking it to work to display there because he was so proud of his gift? Jeesh!
Jun 17, 2012 at 9:01 pm rating: 90
#5
Roto13
I would never be able to throw away a paper fish from my six year old daughter. I’d pretty much have to treasure it forever. And I’d be happy to do it.
Jun 17, 2012 at 10:02 pm rating: 90
#6
Chinchillazilla
Wow. What kind of jerk is her dad? I don’t care if it was uglier than an angler fish and it gave him nightmares. You have to keep that.
Jun 17, 2012 at 10:45 pm rating: 90
#7
AuntyBron
TeamKid. Dad shoulda packed it away as a memento.
Jun 18, 2012 at 12:13 am rating: 90
#8
trcunning
DADE = “daddY” not dad,
like how AGRE = “angry”.
Jun 18, 2012 at 2:16 am rating: 90
#9
Poltergeist
[@Poltergeist] /slap
*Poltergeist slaps Lauren’s_Dad around a bit with a large trout
[+Lauren] YAY!
[Lauren's_Dad] wtf eh?
*Lauren’s_Dad has been been kicked off channel #ConsiderateFathers by Poltergeist (D-bag)
IRC. Look it up.
Jun 18, 2012 at 2:27 am rating: 90
#10
The Elf
That’s Montessori for ya.
Jun 18, 2012 at 6:47 am rating: 90
#11
theo
TeamDad for me I’m afraid, but he’s a bit of an idiot.
I’m pretty sure he’d hung the fish/acted impressed/probably even BEEN impressed, to the required degree.
‘Taking it to work’ would have been the acceptable way to ‘retire’ the present, but depending what bin he disposed of it in, he might have justifiably expected his daughter to never see it.
The alternative would be for parents to keep hold of every single little thing their children produce until they’re adults. That’s the situation at home, and I’m now being presented with a loft full of glitter and macaroni covered crap, that I made as a toddler.
I don’t have enough room in my own bins…
Jun 18, 2012 at 6:50 am rating: 90
#12
havingfitz
Team kid. I remember I once carefully sewed my father a wallet…out of kleenex. When he told me he’d never want to keep money in it, I was crushed. I’d worked on it most of the day. While I now completely agree with him that a kleenex wallet isn’t very practical, a kid just sees a labor of love being rejected.
Jun 18, 2012 at 6:56 am rating: 90
#13
mannionited
Terrible spelling for a six-year-old.
Jun 18, 2012 at 7:06 am rating: 90
#14
Lil'
Once a month, the school sends home my son’s artwork. There’s no way I can keep all of it. I keep my personal favorites on a cork board and file cabinet in my office. The rest I pass on to the grandmothers and aunts, sometimes as a part of my son’s Christmas or Mother’s Day gifts to them. Thankfully, I come from a long line of sentimental moms.
Jun 18, 2012 at 8:07 am rating: 90
#15
El Jefe
WTF is “picked yo”? Edit please!
Jun 18, 2012 at 9:59 am rating: 90
#16
C.C. Waterback
Totally Team Kid on this one. Parents absolutely don’t have to keep every little thing their kid makes, but throwing it away where the kid can find it in the trash is a dick move.
Jun 18, 2012 at 12:49 pm rating: 90
#17
Sarah
Yep, team kid. It should have cluttered the place up for a month or so before being relocated to the bin.
On another note, as this kid is no longer six I feel comfortable saying I’d be very worried about those writing skills if they belonged to my six year old child!
Jun 19, 2012 at 3:41 am rating: 90
#18
davey
Team Dad, but he should have disposed of it more thoughtfully. It’s kind of like disposing of notes from your girlfriend – you don’t really want your wife finding them.
Also, the kid should have cut the fish’s head off and put it in dads bed. If she did that, you can bet there’d be an attic full of meticulously saved junk by now.
Jun 19, 2012 at 7:07 am rating: 90
#19
Lisa S.
My kids each have a “scrapbooking archive” box. It’s a three inch thick box made of acid-free materials, and with it they get to keep their own collection of school work. When it gets full, they are responsible to pare down the collection. They are remarkably good at keeping a good variety of stuff.
Big bulky stuff get displayed for awhile, then I ask the kids if it’s something that’s important to keep. When they say yes, they end up playing with it and trashing it anyway.
Jun 19, 2012 at 8:35 am rating: 90
#20
niki
Kids not reading until 6? That’s a damned tragedy, not an excuse to be made.
Jun 19, 2012 at 11:47 pm rating: 90
#21
girl_with_all_the_yarn
Team kid. My dad still has the macaroni tie I made him for Father’s Day when I was four. Of course, the only other art thing he kept of mine was a coffee mug I threw in high school pottery class, but still. He usually kept the silly kid art around for at least a week (or until I forgot about it) before “taking it to work.”
Jun 20, 2012 at 12:33 am rating: 90
#22
Polly
Thinking more about those dots between the words….Did the writer grow up to work on word processing software development?
Jun 20, 2012 at 2:25 am rating: 90
#23
Lauren
In my father’s defense, he always loved my gifts – my hideous pottery mug was his pen holder at work for many years. I don’t think he knew the fish was supposed to be “special”.
He’s not with me anymore and seeing this post made my day. Thank you.
Jun 20, 2012 at 6:19 pm rating: 90
#24
Dr.Chalkwitheringlicktacklefeff
It’s Fathers’ Day, not Kids’ Day; so he should get to choose how he celebrates it – even if he wants to celebrate it by throwing away some crap his dumbass kid has made. Every other day of the year is Kids’ Day, so they’ve really got nothing to complain about.
Jun 22, 2012 at 2:15 pm rating: 90
#25
redheadwglasses
I (no kids) once asked a coworker (a grandmother), “Okay, this ‘artwork’ is just crap. Just because someone’s kid made it doesn’t mean it’s good. You and I both know that.It’s a stick figure with poorly fitting clothes. So why does the parent like it and keep it?” (I asked this not in a snarky tone, but in a “please explain the thinking behind this” tone.)
Her answer: Because he couldn’t do this *six months ago.*
Their artwork are progress measurements. THAT, I get. Still, the stuff I get from boyfriend’s kids and nieces, gets tossed. If my cats could draw, I’d toss their crap, too!
Jun 26, 2012 at 4:58 pm rating: 90
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