This hilarious dad writes imaginative notes about why his kids are late to school

Seth King of Salt Lake City, UT, has five kids, a wicked sense of humor, and really good handwriting. His kids, on the other hand, have a bad habit of being late for school. Whether it was because they took too long getting dressed or just didn’t have their eyes on the prize, Seth found himself writing excuse notes for them on a disturbingly regular basis.

For his own amusement (as well as for the entertainment of his children’s teachers), Seth started taking, how shall I say this, liberties with his notes. He stretched the truth quite a bit, once writing that his kindergarden-aged son was tardy because he was organizing a pyramid scheme business. Another note says his daughter stayed up too late working on her “Tribute to One Direction Christmas Album.” They walk the perfect line between embarrassing and genius.

“I was getting bored with writing the same old excuse note, and it got to a point where I also wanted my kids to understand the shame they should be feeling for being tardy and putting on-time attendance at their school as a second-tier priority,” King explained to Today.

Seth started posting the hilarious excuses on an Instagram account appropriately called latenotes. Seth’s notes struck such a chord with other parents also struggling to their kiddies out the door every single morning that the account now has over 50,000 followers. Each note describes a totally different, sometimes totally crazy, situation, but all of them share a common purpose: Even though they’re comedic, they’re meant to help his kids take timeliness seriously.

​”I love my kids dearly, but I understand also that the world is sometimes a harsh place once you get out of that cocoon of adolescence,”​ he told Today. “I think preparing them for a life of public shaming and consequences early on is probably a good thing. At the same time, I let them know that they’re loved, they’re cared for, and I’ve got their back.”

Here’s a look into some of the absolutely hysterical late notes Seth has written, always signed with “hugs.”

Apparently, 13-year-old Carson is practicing his method acting. Hope he wins and Oscar someday.

Poor Sophia (or is it lucky Sophia? I can’t decide) turned ten and had a lot of questions.

I hope this one’s not a joke …

Some of these excuses sound way more fun than being on time for anything ever again.

Oh boy … band.

Seth obviously takes interest in the details of his kids’ lives, and it’s amazing.  

Funny enough, I think half of all cable customers were late this day, too.

When Seth goes out of town, his wife Angela takes over his note-writing duties, and she might even be more hilarious than he is.  

A knack for comedy must run in the King family. For more, check out the latenotes Instagram.

(Image via here.)