Teacher takes away 5-year-old kindergartener's breakfast for being 'too unhealthy', doesn't give him a replacement: 'My poor boy was so confused and hungry when I got him'

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Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Sep 4, 2024 8:00 PM EDT

We all have a fundamental human right to food. We might not always make the best choices about what food to put in our bodies, but that doesn't mean we deserve to be hungry or have our food taken away from us! This story follows an educator who believes that children who are served food she deems insufficient deserve to go hungry. As absurd as it might sound, it's a more common story than you'd think. 

A mom sent her 5-year-old son to school with a croissant, apple slices, banana chips, and sunflower seeds. I don't know about you all, but that's a much more balanced breakfast than I'm used to having. Instead of letting the child eat his food, his teacher took it away, saying it was too unhealthy. Luckily, the mom stood up for herself and her son, but there was no reason this had to happen in the first place. 

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  • 01
    Today my son wasn't allowed to eat his breakfast in kindergarten, because it was deemed to be too unhealthy
    via u/tofulovermilf
  • 02
    2044 029 D1994
    via u/tofulovermilf
  • 03
    He's a picky eater too and was really excited about his breakfast. I packed him apple slices, freeze dried banana chips, sunflower seeds and (the ultimate culprit) a croissant. Safe to say I went ballistic on the teacher. My poor boy was so confused and hungry when I got him.
    via u/tofulovermilf
  • 04
    comixjuan 1d • Hey no, this is not mildly infuriating. This is just infuriating. As someone who works with kids (and has basic empathy) I would sooner starve myself than let one of the kids go hungry, especially because an adult took their food without replacing it due to a subjective and judgment call regarding how healthy it is. And a kindergarten kid? He's a baby, how are you find starve a baby and feel okay about that.
    via u/comixjuan
  • 05
    Robespierreshead • 21h This is *extremely* infuriating. What if the parent tried to prevent the teacher from eating her lunch because they claimed it was unhealthy? That's the sort of thing that could escalate to police involvement. Taking away food from hungry children is immoral and the teacher should face harsh consequences for this in order to protect any future children entrusted to her.
    via u/Robespierreshead
  • 06
    existentialist1 • 16h I would have emailed the Teacher with a CC to the Principal and Superintendent before leaving the Parking Lot. That's absolutely insane and should be well-documented. I tend to Google Search the Education Codes for the State and throw those in as well, so they know I'm not messing around. I had a teacher last year who wouldn't allow my 4th grader to have water in class, and I ended up having to leave work and pick him up from school because he was "feeling sick." He was obv
    via u/existentialist1
  • 07
    Deputy Domeshot . 1d Yes I don't even have a kid and I would have snapped on the school over them doing this to someone else's kid.
    via u/DeputyDomeshot
  • 08
    WestleyThe ⚫ 21h And this isn't even unhealthy..? This is healthier than eggs and bacon or pancakes or waffles or most cereals etc... What the are they allowed to eat? Granola with plain cereal and fruit and vegetables on the side? What kind of school is this
    via u/WestleyThe
  • 09
    JaMoraht 1d Do they provide him breakfast if they won't let him eat? I wouldn't be able to take them seriously for anything education-wise if they think starving the kid is better than eating that.
    via u/JaMoraht
  • 10
    tofulovermilf OP. 1d Nope. They do not provide an alternative Yeah, I'm starting to doubt their education a little bit ...
    via u/tofulovermilf
  • 11
    Tiny-Sandwich. 1d In primary school, I was once made to stand by my table and wasn't allowed to eat lunch, while watching everyone else eat. My crime was that I spoke to someone on a different lunch table. My mum went ballistic. She pulled me out of that school immediately.
    via u/Tiny-Sandwich
  • 12
    PunchDrunkPrincess • 1d . okay, it should be a crime to withhold food from a child like this- something that belongs to them- but why didn't she at least let him eat the healthy side?? i feel so bad for your kid. i hope theyre okay edit: by "healthy side" i mean what the teacher considered "healthy". i do not think any of this lunch is unhealthy. edit2: i have gotten like 10+ people telling me it is a crime, i get it.
    via u/PunchDrunkPrincess
  • 13
    Omega GenesisKasai • 1d It's called neglect, once the child is in the schools care they're responsible. You'd think the school boards would learn something after losing multiple lawsuits.
    via u/OmegaGenesisKasai
  • 14
    Critical-Support-394 · 1d So the teacher is just straight up a schoolyard bully who stole your kids lunch?
    via u/Critical-Support-394
  • 15
    mrs-monroe • 1d Dude, we had one kid in kindergarten who regularly didn't have a lunch and I'd get in trouble for going out of my way to find him food. FFS he had chewing gum for lunch one day. (Just note I'm not American; Canada has a lot of the same issues)
    via u/mrs-monroe
  • 16
    Leather-Assistant902 1d • She could have let him eat it, and if it was really a problem could have said something later. Not starve the kid
    via u/Leather-Assistant902
  • 17
    flugellissimo . 1d Indeed. It's a problem between the parents and the teacher, not the teacher and the kid. The worst thing you can do is tell a kid they cannot eat what their parents made for them (unless it's abusively bad like molded or something).
    via u/flugellissimo
  • 18
    PhoenixJive • 1d Fruit, seeds, croissant. You've learned your lesson. Next time pack coffee, a cigarette, and leftover pizza
    via u/PhoenixJive
  • 19
    freekoffhoe • 1d Please also send a respectful, but assertive and firm email to the principal (the teacher's boss). Not to be a Karen, but this conduct is unacceptable coming from a supposed rational and mature adult that's supposed to take care of children. Someone else said to report this to a government regulatory agency. This is a great idea as well.
    via u/freekoffhoe
  • 20
    ThrillSurgeon • 1d Starvation is undefendable.
    via u/ThrillSurgeon
  • 21
    carlostsang 1d . Looks healthy compared to what the average school lunch gives you
    via u/carlostsang

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kindergarten hungry breakfast seeds bananas unhealthy teachers croissant sunflower seeds lunch teacher little kids food apple Terrible Teacher kid
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