Teacher rips into Korean mom of 5-year-old for packing him 'disgusting and inappropriate' school lunches

A mom sharing a personal upset involving her son's pre-school teacher and the lunches the mom packs for her son has elicited a torrent of input on social media. 

The mom described herself on Reddit as 34 years old and the mother of a five-year-old son who attends preschool. 

She wrote recently that "a few hours after I picked him up from school … I got a phone call from his teacher."

The mom, revealing her story on the subreddit known as "AITA" ("Am I the a--hole"), did not name her location. But she said her son's teacher apparently "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." 

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Added the mom, "I felt absolutely appalled when she said this," given that she and the teacher, she said, "have, up until now, always maintained a very friendly relationship."

Nevertheless, the teacher went on to tell the mother that "the lunches I’m packing my son are ‘very distracting for the other students and have an unpleasant odor,'" the mom reported.

She said she told the teacher that she understood her concerns, "as the lunches I pack are definitely not the healthiest," she also wrote.

However, the mother said the lunches she packs for her child "are according to my son’s preferences."

The mom also wrote, "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)."

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The mother went on, "I ended the call [with the teacher] 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 son's lunches all of a sudden, and that it’s not my fault if other students are ‘distracted’ by his meal."

The mom also said, "It is very important to me what my son enjoys, and I want him to like my lunches."

She then shared, "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.’"

Continued the mom on Reddit, "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."

She then asked the community for input on her personal drama.

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Fox News Digital reached out to a New York City-based clinical psychologist for insight into the controversy.

Scores of people on the subreddit, meanwhile, chimed in with their responses — and commenters did not hold back their outrage.

"Report her to the principal. Her comments regarding your son’s food are ‘disgusting’ and ‘have an unpleasant tone' — aka (cough cough) a racist tone," wrote one person.

The same individual added, "She’s too inappropriate to be teaching at the school any longer."

Wrote another commenter, "My oldest’s preschool teacher HATED that I sent tuna salad sandwiches to school [with him] once a week for lunch, as it was and still is his favorite sandwich. She never once brought it up to me but always told him that she thought it was stinky and she personally didn’t like it but that she was glad he did."

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Added this commenter, "Honestly, that rubbed me the wrong way a little bit, but I can’t believe [the original poster's] son’s teacher would go so far. It’s ridiculous … Let the principal know and let your son have what he enjoys."

Wrote another person in a developing thread about teachers who throw away kids' lunches that they perceive as unhealthy or inappropriate, "I’m a preschool teacher and I have never thrown away a child’s lunch. Teachers and schools like this are overstepping. With so many families struggling, I’m just happy my students are eating."

She added, "I would rather see kids eat a lunchable then some leftovers from dinner that they won’t eat."

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Another person said the mom was not wrong for her feelings and actions — then added, "But let’s not pretend that the blue cheese is not a major stinker and not exactly a usual kid lunch item!"

Said another commenter directly to the mom — and this commenter received more than 1,000 "upvotes" for the remark — "Agree [with the mom] and you should ask the principal if you need to escalate the issue to the school board, or if she'll deal with the teacher herself. You deserve an answer."

Added this same person, "Teacher's allowed to think the food is gross. That's her personal opinion. But in 2023 she ought to keep her stupid opinions to herself … Huge bad apple racist vibes from this teacher."