A mum has been left annoyed by her son's teacher after the professional told pupils they had introduced a "Santa Cam" in the school's classroom. While some families like to tell children Santa is watching over them to encourage good behaviour, the mum said she never tells her son "he is being watched or checked on by Santa or anyone else for that matter."
And her young child was left wondering if "he was being watched all the time", when he came home from school. But the mum divided opinion when she shared her thoughts on the matter to a parenting advice forum, as people could not agree on whether or not the teacher had overstepped a boundary.
Posting to Mumsnet's "Am I being unreasonable?" forum, the mum asked if she was being reasonable "to not want my son’s school to say they have 'Santa Cam'".
Explaining her dislike of the concept, she wrote: "My son is in year 2, today he said someone asked what the red light was on the wall (it’s part of the security system or similar) he told me the teacher’s explanation was that it is a 'Santa cam' that he has them everywhere to watch them to make sure they’re being good.
"We don’t do elf on the shelf etc and don’t ever suggest he is being watched or checked on by Santa or anyone else for that matter. He asked me if he was being watched all the time so I told him she was just joking with them.
"I don’t really think she should have said it but DH thinks I might be being too sensitive about it and it is just a lighthearted joke." Her post concluded with the question: "Would you be annoyed about it or am I overthinking it?"
Well, the teacher's comment proved very divisive, with fellow parents unable to agree with each other.
On the one hand, several commenters thought the mum was "overthinking" the matter. One person said: "I'm sure it was meant as a joke. Tell him it's not true. Job done." A second agreed: "It is stupid, but your response has sorted it and i wouldn't worry any further."
And another wrote: "What is it with people, lighten up." But others slammed the comment. For instance, someone thought it was an "ill judged joke," considering families might not celebrate Christmas for a variety of reasons. "The teacher should not have said that. It is culturally insensitive," read a different reply.
"Can you imagine the sadness at being so well behaved and yet still getting nothing from Santa because your parents can t afford it?" said another. A fellow commenter thought: "I wouldn't be happy either. I don't agree with tell (sic) children a stranger will punish them if they don't behave."
And one parent who saw both sides wrote: "I can understand people saying overthinking, but this sort of thing would terrify my daughter as she’s really sensitive and she wouldn’t believe me when I say it’s not true! She had nightmares about elf on the shelf last year and we didn’t even have it in our own house!"
Replying to commenters, the mum added: "To be clear, I’m not about to make any complaints or go storming in to confront the teacher! My son has an excellent teacher who I respect. I just thought it was an odd thing to say and felt uncomfortable that he thought he was being watched."
Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below.
