An Idea for Teachers: Make Father’s Day Gifts Before School Lets Out

Something wonderful happens every May in schools – when school children bring home decorated cards, homemade gifts and adorable crafts for Mother’s Day.

The presents are as much fun to make as they are to receive. Think about how this simple gesture unfolds: teachers give a portion of their schedule to devising a game plan, class periods are devoted to the creations, and kids learn a valuable lesson about expressing love to their moms. They all give their time – arguably the best gift of all.

In June, however, history does not repeat itself. That’s no fault of anyone’s, of course – most schools are closed by mid-June. Alas, Father’s Day is overlooked. It’s a missed school opportunity beyond measure.

But here’s an open plea to teachers: it’s time to do something to honor fathers.

Who says classrooms can’t create a craft before school lets out? Teachers could easily conduct the same exercise for Father’s Day with a little preparation.

Sure, there may be several days between the end of school and Father’s Day, increasing the chance the gift could get lost or forgotten by the time the holiday arrives. However, nothing would be lost on the chance for kids to articulate love for their dads.

And who’s to say teachers can’t do something outside-the-box? How about conducting an in-school activity before school lets out that involves dads and kids making it together? It could even be conducted at a non-traditional time of year, such as in the fall.

Ideas are aplenty but make no mistake – society is missing a grand chance to convey love to fathers in a meaningful way. It’s high time for schools to take the step and show appreciation for the other equally important piece of the parenting equation.

Performing so would make June even more special for dads who tend to be underappreciated in culture.

Every dad wants that homemade, tear-inducing gift as much as mom does. Let’s make it happen in schools. Society will be the better for it.

If everybody else gets to write a list, we can too

Why bother?

ImageWhy would any company waste time marketing to dads?

Marketing to dads matters. Let us count the ways, and since lists seem to make the Internet go ‘round, here’s ours:

  1. It’s not about who uses the card, but about everything before the credit card is swiped – Anybody can put a Star Wars t-shirt in a shopping cart, but more went into that decision than you think.? What, or who, influenced it?? Maybe it’s dad’s love of the movie franchise that rubbed off on their kids.? Maybe it was a commercial the family saw while watching a hockey game together.? Maybe it is dad’s influence on a certain store the family frequents.? Maybe dad researched everything about the product online for the mom.? Maybe dad simply looks good in the shirt.? Any marketer can sit all day long in a store and prove that it was mom after mom who swiped that credit card in Target, but a wise researcher will investigate the whole story.
  2. No matter how small the slice is on the pie chart, it’s still a slice, and it still tastes like pie – I heard a weathercaster once say, “Even though there’s a 70% chance of rain today, remember that there’s a 30% chance it won’t.”? So, let’s say for example, that moms handle 70% of the purchasing.? Is a company really doing to ignore that potential 30% of dads who buy stuff?? Cereal makers do all the time, and if I was their CEO, I’d start looking for a new marketing team, and fast.
  3. Isn’t equality a goal? – When you alienate someone and make them feel left out, you’re bound to really turn them off.? What’s wrong with marketing to both mom and dad at the same time?? Nothing!? You’ll still have the mom in your good graces, and the dad will feel like he was included, too.? The good baby websites, I’ve found, are the ones that use the word “parent” and have photos of the newborn baby with both mom and dad.? Isn’t that a cool thing to see?
  4. Loyalty is king – If you become friends with someone at work or school, that’s nice.? If that friend invites you to their home, your friendship suddenly deepens, and you’ve formed a bond that makes you feel even more connected.? You’ve become loyal to them.? The same connection happens with retailers, and it means far more than customer satisfaction.? Dads are loyal people.? As author and speaker Jeffrey Gitomer once said, “Customer satisfaction is worthless.? Customer loyalty is priceless.”
  5. The Internet still is a game changer – Unless you’ve been living under a rock for say, the past 25 years, you’ve heard of the Internet.? It’s a marvelous tool used to gather information fast from all around the globe.? As far as I know, dads have used it to gather information, read and write reviews, and purchase things.? Lots of things.? Take the “zo” out of Amazon and you have “A man.”
  6. Look no further than sports – If you don’t follow sports, check out the power of the NFL, NASCAR, or any other sports league, and you’ll find it dominated by dads who have an allegiance to athletes and their games like no other.? It’s a gazillion dollar industry that continues to grow and expand with time.
  7. Dads eat and buy cereal – I think June Cleaver gets a bum rap.? Everyone likes to make her the poster child for old-fashioned, outdated behavior. Leave it to Beaver was a good show with wholesome characters, simply a product of its times.? Cereal is notorious for neglecting dads.? Kix is a product of its times too, but even a Beaver sequel in the ‘80s didn’t keep using the same formula – it updated for the times.? Read our December 17, 2013 entry if you want to learn more about Kix’s useless and archaic orange box.? It really isn’t the 1950s anymore, Kix, so hop on board the 2014 bus with the rest of us.? If I was Performc Brown and I had some plutonium, I’d so throw you into a DeLorean and send you “Back to the”…well, you know where.
  8. Credit card companies know better – Credit card companies know that their pocket-sized flat payment tools are used by dads, too.? That’s why they have dudes in their ads.? I’d even go as far to say that credit cards were inherently designed for dads:? they’re lightweight and flat since dads don’t like to carry things; they have cool pictures on them; they’re durable; they’re largely free to get (dads like free things); even acquiring one is easy to do.? Leave it to Jedi Master tough guy Mace Windu to set the record straight:? men do indeed use credit cards as he asks the question to which he already knows the answer, “What’s in your wallet?” Dads carry wallets.? Moms carry purses.? Closed, the case is.
  9. Dad, meet Internet; Internet, meet Dad – Dads and computers met a long time ago, and they realize how to use them.? Even if dads don’t always make the final purchase, they’re surely reading about the product beforehand.? They’re commenting on it.? They’re reviewing it.? And did you see that Amazon is starting an online grocery store?? Frankly,?dads are?probably purchasing things more and more off the Internet, because every good marketer claims knows that dads don’t like to shop in stores, right?? So, watch it marketers, because the slightest misstep and you’ll have more than one dadmarketing site broadcasting it to the world.
  10. Step up right here and behold, the spectacle! – The way dads get dissed everywhere, it seems like marketers make them out to be some kind of mythical creature that doesn’t exist.? In that vein, I have channeled my inner Dr. Seuss:

Dads move, dads think, they eat, they blink.

Dads stand, dads sit, they throw, they hit.?

Dads run, dads fly, they drive, they buy.?

Dads can do lots of things, you see.?

So don’t deny their authority.