A mother was furious when her six-year-old daughter came home “in tears” after a classmate stole her $50 bento lunch box – so she took the matter into her own hands when the school failed to take action.
Jennifer*, from Texas, was unpacking her daughter’s backpack when she noticed her brand new lunch box was missing.
The child revealed that a classmate, Audrey*, took it from her and refused to give it back – and their teacher insisted she ‘drop the case’ because it was ‘just a lunchbox’.
The mother requested a meeting with the teacher and principal the next day to discuss the altercation, with the school insisting that Audrey keep the lunchbox for an extra day because she was bringing food.
But the frustrated mother ended up throwing Audrey’s lunch in the trash and taking the bento box back, causing the six-year-old to burst into sobs.
A mother was shocked when her six-year-old daughter came home ‘in tears’ after a classmate stole her $50 bento lunch box
“I politely asked Audrey to give my daughter her lunch box back, but she started crying,” the mother recalled.
‘The teacher asked if it would be okay if Audrey kept it for a day as her food was already in it, but I declined and said they had five minutes to find something else to put her food in otherwise I would dump it out.
“Instead of finding her a closed container, they started arguing with me, so I got up, grabbed the bento box and threw the food in the trash.”
Jennifer said she didn’t feel guilty about her “childish” act because the school provides students with free food.
‘Audrey can afford her own bento box, we live in a high-income neighborhood. She took my daughter’s lunch because she is a bully and the school won’t discipline her,” she eventually wrote.
Many were divided on the issue, with some applauding Jennifer for standing up for her child.
‘Audrey faced no consequences for her actions – she would have to cry her way out of it. I would have done the same,” one mother wrote.
‘I can’t believe the school’s response was ‘Let her have it another day’! I mean what? You can steal something from another student and still keep it for ‘one more day’?! What kind of school is that?!” asked another.
A third said: ‘It’s good you drew the line otherwise it would have escalated into something more serious. They enabled her by not addressing the situation sooner.”
Jennifer, from Texas, was unpacking her daughter’s backpack when she noticed her brand new lunch box was missing
But others criticized her for being rude to a child.
“You have acted so immaturely, and this whole situation is ridiculous. Your temper has gotten the better of you,” one man wrote.
“You’re an asshole if you throw away a child’s food, what if she goes hungry for the rest of the day?” said another.
*Names have been changed for privacy reasons.