A mum faced backlash after admitting she wouldn't ask her seven-year-old son to stop making fun of his fellow classmate's lunch.
Fellow parents criticised the mum for not "teaching her child to be respectful" and for not being willing to "teach her son better words to use".
The anonymous mum took to Reddit's Am I Being An A**hole page to explain that she had received a text from a fellow mum from school.
The 32-year-old explained: "She told me that apparently my son has been calling her daughter's traditional lunch weird and similar things, and apparently that is making her daughter feel uncomfortable and insecure [sic]."
She continued: "She asked me to please talk to my son about being more sensitive and respectful so her daughter doesn't feel excluded."
She said she "feels" for the woman as a "fellow mother" because "no one wants to see their child feeling sad" but that "overcoming insecurities is a big part of growing up".
The woman added: "Additionally, I thought it was ridiculous of her to criticise my son, a seven-year-old, for making relatively innocuous and curious comments about food that is not familiar to him.
"He's at a curious age and is discovering the world, and I refuse to try and limit him and shut him down for not having the emotional sensitivity of an adult."
She told the mum that she was "sorry her daughter was struggling with insecurities" and sent her some online parenting articles on building up her child's confidence.
The mum from the school said she had acted "completely shamelessly and disgracefully," and fellow parents in the comment section agreed.
One person said: "Teaching your kid to be respectful of other's choices is NOT 'shutting him down', it's literally part of your job as the parent to... you know... parent [sic]".
Another said: "Teach your son better words to use. 'That looks different. What is it?' or 'Your lunch is interesting. What is it called?' There is a fine line between being curious and being rude. Teach him not to be rude. Teach him not to use words like weird when looking at someone's food."
A third added: "Calling someone's food 'weird' is not making a curious, innocuous comment. It is bullying. You should be ashamed."
"If you do not teach your son now about respecting different cultures this will become a bigger issue in the future. This 'relatively innocuous and curious comment' is a good teaching moment. His classmate's food is not 'weird' it is completely normal in her home and in many other homes that share her culture."
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