Mom Expertly Responds to Teacher Who Called Her Son’s Lunch ‘Disgusting’

His favorite foods aren't that unusual, TBH.

By Christina Marfice March 23, 2023

A mom had the perfect response when her son’s teacher called his packed lunch “disgusting” and “inappropriate” for school

If you’ve never waded into Reddit’s “AITA” forum, you’re missing out on some of the best debates the internet has to offer. It’s a place where people can share stories and situations and ask the internet if they’re the as*hole in the situation—and today, we’ve got a real doozy from a mom who’s battling with her son’s preschool teacher over his packed lunches.

“I (34F) have a (5M) son who attends preschool,” the mom wrote. “A few hours after I picked him up from school today, I got a phone call from his teacher. She made absolutely no effort to sound kind when she, in an extremely rude and annoyed tone, told me to stop packing my son such “disgusting and inappropriate” lunches. I felt absolutely appalled when she said this, as me and the teacher have, up until now, always maintained a very friendly relationship. She added that the lunches I’m packing my son are ‘very distracting for the other students and have an unpleasant odor.’ I told her that I understand her concerns, as the lunches I pack are definitely not the healthiest, but the lunches are according to my son’s preferences.”

AITA for packing my kid an “inappropriate” lunch?
byu/flowergardens0 inAmItheAsshole

She goes on to describe her son’s typical lunches, which are not that unusual at all, TBH.

“The usual lunch that I send him to school with is small celery sticks with blue cheese and goat cheese, kimchi and spam (we are Korean and he absolutely adores this dish), and spicy Doritos marinated in Sriracha (I know, I know, but he deserves a snack, and I don’t put that many chips in the baggy.),” she wrote. “I ended the call by saying that I very much appreciated her worries, but that at the end of the day, I am not going to drastically change my sons’ lunches all of a sudden, and that it’s not my fault if other students are ‘distracted’ by his meal. It is very important to me what my son enjoys, and I want him to like my lunches.”

That’s honestly the perfect response. It’s polite but still firm, leaving absolutely no room for this teacher to keep up her vaguely racist assault on food a pre-schooler likes to eat. But of course, the story doesn’t end there.

“The teacher sent an Email to me an hour ago saying that my response was ‘unacceptable’ and that his lunches are ‘just too inappropriate to be sent to school any longer,'” the mom wrote. “I haven’t responded yet and don’t want to. I want to maintain a healthy relationship with my son’s teachers. I am confused as to what to do.”

Comment
byu/flowergardens0 from discussion
inAmItheAsshole

The results from commenters are pretty resounding: this mom is not the a-hole. While a few commenters point out that food from unfamiliar cultures can cause kids to be ostracized at school, the vast majority of them see the real issue here: that this teacher has an opportunity to teach these kids about different cultures but is choosing this instead.

There’s no such thing as “disgusting” food. There may be food you don’t like or food you aren’t familiar with. But your right to make rude comments ends where someone else’s lunchbox begins, and it’s too bad this teacher missed the memo.