Daycare teacher tells half-Indian child not to bring ‘strongly scented’ food. His mother experiments with another smelly alternative
A happy ending
In a four-part series, a woman recounted how her son’s daycare teacher asked her to avoid sending foods with strong aromas. “I sent in an egg curry, which is a cultural food of my son’s because he’s half Indian. And the daycare teacher told me to not send strongly scented foods,” Elise (elisetomeetyou) explained at the beginning of her third TikTok video on the issue.
Elise then shared that, due to this request, she packed a croissant for her son’s lunch, which the daycare worker later messaged her about, saying it was “yummy smelling.” In another video, she mentioned that she couldn’t understand why the daycare worker’s perception of the croissant was different, given that it also emitted a strong chocolate smell when heated.
Returning to the video in question, Elise said she would conduct a harmless experiment, as advised by people on the internet, and send tuna for her son’s lunch. “I feel like that’s such a light way to choose violence that I’m just gonna try it out. My kid, I know for a fact, likes baked beans. Not a huge fan, but you know what? He likes what he likes. So he’s gonna get some baked beans and he’s going to get, um, a tuna salad sandwich,” Elise said.
“She basically wants you to send something that appeals to her senses”
People in the comments on Elise’s third installment of her video series reacted strongly to her case. Some took offense at the issue as a whole. One user said, “So, she basically wants you to send something that appeals to her senses and not his appetite.” Another wrote, “Telling you not to send curry is actually insane…like that’s his culture and that’s what he likes.”
A few others empathized with the daycare worker while also debunking the possibility of racist undertones in her “problem.” One person commented, “No bc in the microwave it would have a stronger aroma, I like curry but I can see how it would be overwhelming.” Another remarked, “egg and fish smell a lot, beans doesn’t smell until after they digest it. it’s common curtsy not to heat fish into work microwave oven, because it stinks the place, not everything is racial microagresion.”
On the other hand, some people took a more neutral stance. One person said, “Guys she’s trying to figure out if the teacher is actually sensitive to smells or just RACIST. It’s not passive aggressive, it’s the nicest way to figure it out honestly.” Another wrote, “I don’t think it’s so much the curry that is the problem. It’s definitely the fact it’s egg. Hard boiled eggs are definitely smelly!”
Elise’s story reached a climax in part 4, where she reveals that she contacted the daycare director. The director apparently apologized and explained she couldn’t reveal who made the request but said someone at the daycare was pregnant and that strong odors triggered them, leading to the request to avoid sending certain foods. The director also asked Elise to avoid sending hot items. Elise said she was happy to comply.
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