Dad gets daycare teacher fired after she lets her students watch Veggie Tales: 'Now there's a backlash against me. It's all my fault she got fired. They're just animated vegetables.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Feb 3, 2026 8:00 AM EST

She didn't get fired because she showed her students Veggie Tales. She got fired because she couldn't stop lying. 

The question of whether parents should choose the kinds of books their kids read in school is a contentious one, especially in the United States today. Many parents feel they should be able to veto any reading materials teachers assign, no matter how banal. I don't think parents should be able to control everything in the classroom, but if a teacher wants to assign more controversial material, it's common for schools to give parents the option for their kids to opt out of reading or watching it and instead complete an alternative assignment. When I was in high school, parents had to give explicit permission for 17- and 18-year-old kids to read Toni Morrison's Beloved. We couldn't watch a PG-13 movie in class without getting a parent's signature. Once a kid is a few years from being an adult, I think they should be able to handle adult themes without their parents intervening, but clearly, a lot of parents don't agree.

It can be a little overprotective to control the kind of books a teenager can read, but what about the kind of shows a toddler can watch? I don't think it's a wild request to prevent your toddler from watching certain TV shows that conflict with your beliefs. Little kids are much more susceptible to outside influences than teenagers, so if you don't want to allow them to watch Veggie Tales at daycare, you should be able to opt out of it. 

Add as a preferred
source on Google
Advertisement
  • A group of small nursey school children sitting on floor indoors in classroom
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • The dad in this story kept asking his child's daycare teacher if they'd stop playing Veggie Tales, and she kept saying yes, even though she had no intention of stopping the program. He got her fired for her lies, but now he's wondering if he was actually in the wrong.

  • Am I the bad guy for getting a woman fired over Veggie Tales?

    My wife and I unfortunately have our son in daycare. It's unavoidable. A few months ago I picked him up, and when I asked him about his day he told me about a show they watched with cartoon vegetables.
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • Hmmmm... When I dropped him off the next day I asked the teacher if they watched veggie tales.
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • She said they didn't show the kids anything inappropriate. I asked but did they watch veggie tales.
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • She refused to give me a straight answer. I said I don't want him to watch veggie tales.
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • She said he wasn't going to be allowed to watch anything inappropriate. That day when I got home I asked, did you watch veggie tales?
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • He did. I emailed the administration. They assured me, no veggie tales. It is not an approved media to show the kids.
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • It has never and will never be shown. The next week I asked, did you watch veggie tales?
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • Yep. I reach out again and am told maybe my son is confused. Right... So I wait a week, ask my boss if I can leave early, walk past the receptionist (she told me to stop, but I didn't) into the main room, and boom, there it is.
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • Veggie. Tales. I took a picture. I was given a warning for barging in (fair), but the administration promised the veggie tales thing would be solved.
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • The teacher had to take all the tapes home, and she would not be able to bring in tapes ever again.
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • Nursery teacher sitting in the preschool play room full of toys
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Next week: did you watch veggie tales? No, dad. Great. Following week: did you watch veggie tales?
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • Yep! So I email again. At this point I start getting other people involved. The anti-veggie tales coalition.
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • Even some of the Christian parents were annoyed. One woman watches it at home with her daughter and said she didn't want it watched at daycare because if her daughter has questions she wants to be asked, not the teacher.
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • A woman and a little girl sitting at a table
    via Wesley Tingey (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Great, join the anti- veggie tales coalition. The resolution was that teacher got fired. Now there's a backlash against me.
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • People feel bad. They feel guilty. It's all my fault. I pressured them into making it a big deal.
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • They're just animated vegetables. Even my wife said I pulled a "me" and went on the
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • Am I an asshole, or should she have just left her animated vegetables at home?
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • Sparklingwine23 Why are they watching videos at all in daycare on a regular basis let alone propaganda?
    via u/Sparklingwine23
  • Real-Point-6474 Original Poster's Reply Exactly
    via u/Real-Point-6474
  • Interesting_Rub9393 Aside from the argument about veggie tales, she was lying to parents about stuff involving their kids. Unacceptable. Nta.
    via u/Interesting_Rub9393
  • No-Forever2274 The fact that the teacher repeatedly lied to your face about what they're showing your kid is enough reason to get fired. Don't lie to the parents. NTA
    via u/No-Forever2274
  • Charming-Entrance345 NTA. They said your child wasn't watching Veggie Tales but the teacher showed it numerous times after you were told it wasn't being shown. If they would lie about that what else are they lying about?
    via u/Charming-Entrance345
  • Odd-Resource3025 NTA IMHO, they lied. Full stop. Anyone who gives you grief just explain that they are teaching our kids to lie and not follow rules. This isn't a Veggie Tales issue. This is a core belief issue. Folks who push back at lying reveal their core beliefs.
    via u/Odd-Resource3025
  • throwaway1975764 You didn't get her fired, her own actions did. If she needed to show videos Numberblocks and Word World and PBS Kids all exist for free on YouTube. NTA
    via u/throwaway1975764

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

daycare lying teacher TV tapes animated dad veggie tales mom parents
Scroll Down For The Next Article