Pre-K Teacher Accuses Mom Of Raising A 'Spoiled Brat' After She Involved The Principal When Her Kid Didn't Get A Prize From The 'Treasure Box'
"We are honestly trying to teach our kids that they can't always get what they want."
Krakenimages.com | Shutterstock Kids are always tricky to deal with, but it gets a bit trickier when parents get involved. Especially when they're entitled parents whose main goal seems to be treating their own children as if they're the center of the universe.
One teacher had to deal with such a parent at their school. She explained that she and her co-teacher had a treasure box from which kids could earn prizes if they met the requirements. One child didn't meet the requirements, so he wasn't allowed to get a prize from the treasure box and cried to his mother. Now, she is being asked to get rid of the treasure box system, so she took to Reddit to find out how to deal with the situation.
A Pre-K teacher accuses mom of raising a 'spoiled brat.'
She and her co-teacher have a treasure box, and kids can earn a prize if they are at school for at least three days. If they behave well in class but were at school for less than three days they are only allowed to choose a foam sticker. She did this to ensure fairness for kids who have been working hard all week long.
Alexandra Morosanu | Shutterstock
The child in question only came to school twice, one week so, he only got a sticker. He behaved fine the whole day, but when getting picked up, he cried to his grandma, and soon enough, their boss alerted them that the mom was upset and wanted to discuss the matter.
Come Monday, the teachers were asked by their boss to discontinue the treasure box since he didn't want to deal with this parent. The mother still wasn't satisfied after hearing there would be no more treasure box. Now, she wants the boss to tell all the other parents about this as well.
The Pre-K teacher is extremely upset with this whole situation as she feels it is unfair to all the other kids.
"I believe she's doing him a disservice, and she's going to have a spoiled brat to deal with if she keeps this up," the teacher said
She found herself puzzled about how to deal with this situation, as she still wanted to continue with her treasure box system.
Commenters found the criteria for the treasure box to be unfair.
Many commenters wisely pointed out that although this parent should not have caused such a fuss, the treasure box reward system was flawed because it was largely based on attendance — something entirely out of the children's control.
"Why are you basing rewards on attendance when the kids have ZERO say over whether or not they come to school?" one commenter said. "I might base a trip to the treasure chest on things they can control: Sharing, being helpful, raising hands to ask a question, going the full week without having a reprimand, cleaning up after themselves."
Natalie Bond | Pexels
Since many felt similarly, the teacher posted an update to clarify that the treasure box wasn't used as an attendance award. All their children have good attendance and they also offer daily rewards such as stamps and certificates.
Others felt that using the treasure box as an attendance reward was justified because attendance rates for students have been on the decline. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, preschool enrollment dropped from 51.1% in 2019 to 41.8% in 2021 which is the lowest it has been since 2005.
One commenter noted that there are parents who ask their children if they want to go to school since "children are aware of their needs." So, attendance awards help motivate these children to come to school, but ceded that it does fall to the parents to get them to school.
With all the responses and feedback regarding her use of the treasure box, this Pre-K teacher came to a decision.
Ultimately, it was decided that the treasure box would continue with modifications.
In her final update, she stated that she understood how the treasure box appeared to be an attendance award even though that was not the intention behind it. After all the advice and suggestions offered, they decided to change the criteria to include any children they noticed "going above and beyond in any positive area on any given day."
While this Pre-K teacher had good intent behind her treasure box system, children shouldn't be penalized for things beyond their control. While this one hard-to-deal-with parent may have blown things out of proportion, the situation helped to rectify an issue that wasn't apparent before.
Sahlah Syeda is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.