5-year-old draws grandad for class—teacher left concerned by what he writes

A Father’s Day classroom activity in Queensland, Australia, has gained viral attention after one child’s drawing left his teacher second-guessing what she was seeing.

The TikTok clip, posted by elementary school teacher Jojo, revealed a series of cut-out drawings made by her 5-year-old students. Each child had been asked to draw their dad, or in this case, grandad, wearing something he is known for so he could later guess which picture was his.

But one particular drawing caught attention. The child carefully wrote the word “STONER” across his grandad’s green shirt, leaving teacher Jojo momentarily alarmed.

“I kept asking—are you sure you want ‘stoner’ written on your grandad’s shirt? He insisted it’s his favorite [shirt],” Jojo, who didn’t share her last name, told Newsweek. “When I checked with his mom if she was OK with it, I was clearly thinking the wrong thing … turns out he’s related to Casey Stoner, the famous motorbike rider.”

Casey Stoner is an Australian retired professional motorcycle racer, and a two-time MotoGP world champion in 2007 and 2011, and is related to the 5-year-old who drew the now-viral picture.

Out of caution, the teacher did follow up with the boy’s mom after school.

“[I] Just wanted to check in with her after school that she was ok [with] it going up,” she said. “I thought it was funny but always best to check. She, of course, thought it was hilarious.”

The child’s grandad, who the drawing was meant to represent, is expected to join the class for the school’s Father’s Day breakfast event, where family members will be tasked with spotting themselves among the children’s artwork.

Internet Reacts

The video gained more than 580,000 views on TikTok and in the comments people were left in stitches by the 5-year-old’s drawing.

“I love their innocence,” said one commenter. While another wrote: “The way I giggle snorted.”

Others asked if the presence of the “stoner” note would be a safeguarding issue. “What do you do as a teacher in this situation tho? Do u take it to safeguarding or kinda laugh it off and it ain’t that deep,” wrote one commenter. In response, the teacher explained that she checked with the parent and then learned about the Casey Stoner connection.

This isn’t the first time a child’s drawing has captured viral attention. Earlier this year, a mom shared how she framed a picture by her 9-year-old for its unexpected honesty. She added in the caption, “Kids are so humbling.”

Another parent had their child’s drawing tattooed on them after their 7-year-old drew an impressive picture of pirates on the sea fighting a large tentacled creature.