Mum slams 'tone-deaf' end-of-year gift parents bought for nursery teachers

21 July 2023 , 11:44

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One mum slammed the 'tone-deaf' gift she put money towards for her child's nursery teachers (Image: Getty Images)

Giving your child's teacher an end-of-year gift is a kind gesture, but it's never easy to know what to get. Do you get a gift card, food, or an actual gift is the question sure to be at the front of all parent's minds.

Clubbing together with other parents may take the pressure off and help get a valuable gift the teacher will really appreciate - but one mum has been left unimpressed after the money she donated towards a group gift was used to buy something she feels is "tone-deaf".

Between the group, they managed to raise a whopping £400 for staff at the school, but the mum wasn't too sure what to think when she found out that the money was spent on vouchers for an expensive restaurant, and between the 10 members of staff they will get about £40 worth of vouchers each, which likely won't even cover the full cost of a meal there.

Asking on Mumsnet's Am I Being Unreasonable? (AIBU) forum, the anonymous mum wrote: "A mum at our nursery arranged a collection for the 10 staff members.

"She collected £400. All of the workers are on Minimum wage. She spent the money on gift vouchers to a local restaurant that charges £9 for a starter and £20 for a main. Considering the cost of living, am I wrong to be cross about this? She should have just given them £40 each."

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Asking for other people's opinion's, one user was quick to comment agreeing: "I've stopped joining things like this. One minute there's a reasonable plan, the next someone has passed the cash onto someone else, who has then bought a load of tat. I really don't understand what is wrong with cash. Gift vouchers are like an inconvenient approximation of cash."

Someone else asked: "How is it a gift if you have to spend money to enjoy it?"

A different user proclaimed: "What a waste of money. Even Costa vouchers would have been better."

Meanwhile, one mum chimed in commenting: "It's a nice idea but could end up being very expensive if people have to buy new outfits or get childcare. I hate receiving vouchers as gifts, it's so much worse than money."

However, others disagreed and thought it was a nice idea, with one saying: "Lots of workplaces don’t allow you to accept cash gifts, and this voucher would be £40 each which would allow for two courses and a drink each at those prices. Surely that’s a nice free meal out?"

A fellow Mumsnet reader added: "Presumably the staff would all have to go for the meal together, which they may not want to, as if they went with a partner for example, they'd end up spending considerably more on the meal."

Niamh Kirk