Australian mother left speechless after parent asks her not to put fresh berries in her child’s lunch box

A mother is shocked by another parent’s bizarre request not to put fresh berries in her daughter’s lunch box.

Steph, a mother of four from Sydney, took to TikTok for advice after receiving a message from the mother of her daughter’s friend, asking her not to give her eight-year-old daughter healthy treats because her own child wanted them too.

The parent explained to Steph that she couldn’t afford to give her daughter fresh berries for lunch and didn’t want to “upset” her.

Steph took to social media to air her grievances, sparking an online debate.

“Part of me feels guilty… they play together and she can’t afford the strawberries and the blueberries, like I get it,” she told her TikTok followers.

“But why should my daughter miss out on this?”

Steph asked viewers for advice on how to deal with the situation.

“I don’t want a conflict, but I don’t know,” she said.

Sydney mum Steph (pictured) is shocked after her daughter’s friend’s mother asked her to stop packing fresh berries for her child’s lunch.

Viewers who gave their opinions on the lunchbox story were divided.

Some gave Steph helpful advice, while others thought the other mother went too far.

“Send extra money and tell your child it’s for him or her and a friend,” one parent suggested.

Another added that they would be sending ‘extra blueberries and strawberries’.

However, Steph said in a comment that students at school are ‘not allowed to share food’ due to strict rules, adding that her daughter ‘always offers it and then gets in trouble’.

Some viewers suggest that Steph go grocery shopping herself or sow soil for the other mother.

“You buy the berries and take them to her house so her mother can put them in her daughter’s lunch box,” one person wrote.

Steph sarcastically replied, “Yes, because I drive to her house every week (15 minutes there and 15 minutes back) to drop off her groceries so her daughter can have the same thing I do, despite having four kids to take care of myself.”

The mother said she couldn’t afford fresh berries for her daughter and asked Steph to stop because it made her child jealous (stock image)

Steph said she “shouldn’t worry about this at all” during a cost of living crisis.

“At first I felt awkward, like I was doing something wrong, like I was in the minority of moms who sent this kind of fruit… but I soon realized I was just doing what my daughter liked for her fruit break,” she said. Yeah.

“I’m not going to change anything about what I pack (for my daughter).”

‘As always, she can decide for herself what she takes with her during the fruit break and I will continue to pack what she likes.’

Other viewers supported Steph’s stance on the issue, saying it was a perfect “learning opportunity for the other parent around you: you can’t always get what you want.”

“As hard as it is, this is not your problem. You have every right to send berries to your daughter,” one person wrote.

Another added: ‘Keep doing what you’re doing, her situation is not your responsibility. Period,’ said another.

A cash-strapped parent who said she was in a similar situation to the other mother and couldn’t afford the same groceries as other parents gave some surprising advice.

“Sometimes my son asks for them and I can’t afford them, and I’m just like, ‘Not this time, bro, they’re too expensive,'” she wrote.

“It’s not your problem, just keep giving them to (your daughter).”