Mom cancels 5-year-old’s Christmas after teacher’s letter

A mother of several children explains why Christmas was “cancelled” for just one of her children.

My, on TikTok @mongrel907explained in a series of videos how she came to the decision to cancel Christmas for her 5-year-old daughter after a “long email” from her teacher about her “very atrocious” behaviour.

Mele went on to explain that her older son, who is 11, understands the role of Santa and his parents at Christmas, which made her decision easier.

“Before I got this email, the teacher called a week before and told us and I talked to Maddy… I talked to Maddy, I was doing Elf on the Shelf, all of that and none of that (ed . ),” she noted.

“But baby, after I got that 50-page letter from the teacher at 5:30 in the morning…” she explained, explaining how she took down her Christmas tree and “sent” the elf home.

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“She doesn’t have Christmas at our house. I know my mom could take her things, but at my house, she already knows. He lost Christmas.”

In subsequent videos, Mele addressed some of the criticisms made by others in the comments of her original video. Responding to a commenter who asked her to consider her daughter’s behavior throughout the year, rather than just before Christmas, Mele explained that she was looking at the situation as both a parent and an educator.

“As a teacher, when you send an email like that about a student, it’s because you’ve tried everything and it’s not working. You’ve tried everything in your toolkit. As a mother, I’m very much about logical consequences for behavior,” she explained.

Noting that Maddy’s birthday was in November and that she had a “good birthday celebration,” she said she tries to convey to her daughter that Christmas and celebrating it is a “privilege.”

In response to commenters who said her whole family would suffer because of one child’s behavior, she replied: “Our 11-year-old son, he’s fine. He’s going to have a great Christmas.”

While many parents felt the punishment was too harsh, others understood Mele’s perspective and supported her dedication to sticking with the consequences.

“THIS is parenting. that child played and found out that mom does NOT play. amen ”, one commenter wrote.

“I got coal when I was 7 and I’ve never forgotten that feeling. I’ve never missed a Christmas again,” added another.