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Sometimes, trying to avoid one awkward situation can create an even bigger one.

In this story, a teacher organized a Christmas gift exchange for her third-grade students. She asked the parents to provide gifts within a small budget, but one parent chose not to have her child participate. The teacher warned her that doing so might make the child feel left out, and she was right.

Uh oh! What a sad story. This is one of those classroom experiences that could have been avoided had the mother agreed to participate. Read the full story below.

AITA for not preparing an extra gift for the kid who did not bring a gift?

This actually happened last December, but I’m only now bringing it up.

I’m a teacher for third graders, and last year, we had a Christmas celebration where there’s a gift exchanging event where the kids exchange gifts through games. We told the parents to prepare a gift with a budget under 20 dollars.

One kid’s mom opted for her kid to not participate in this event, i.e. not bringing a gift and not taking one.

We warned her that her kid might feel left out, but she said it’s okay.

This teacher witnessed how the child got upset and cried for not being able to join the gift-exchange.

The celebration came, and I actually prepared one gift for each kid with my own money, including the kid who did not bring a gift.

Then came the gift exchanging event where kids start playing games to decide which gift goes to who.

Without a gift to exchange, that kid obviously can’t join, and stood to the side and felt left out and cried.

I told her she can join with the gift I gave her, but she liked it too much to risk exchanging it for something less desire.

She reminded the mother that this would happen.

The kid’s mom was furious that her kid actually did not get to join.

I reminded her we warned her this would happen.

And she said she didn’t know her kid would care enough to cry. And the teachers should’ve given the kid an extra gift, however cheap, to join in, upon seeing her cry. And just claim the cost of the gift from the mom afterwards. So that the kid can go home with two gift like the others and wouldn’t feel out of place.

The kid’s mom still gives her dirty side-eye at school.

That was last year, and the kid still comes to our school.

But every time her mom picks her up, the mom gives me dirty side eyes.

She also tells other parents about how I deliberately kept her kid from joining in an event for not being able to afford a gift.

OP did warn her. It may have been understandable that the mother felt bad seeing her daughter upset, but what can they do at the moment, right? The teacher tried to pacify the situation, actually. It’s just sad that it could all have been avoided had the mother agreed to buy a gift for the exchange.

Let’s look at the comments of other Redditors on this story.

This user shares their thoughts.

Here’s a similar remark.

This person gives a different perspective.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man who is confronted by his high school bully and decides to steal his Nintendo DS.

This person blames the mother.

And lastly, another person chimes in.

Parents can’t always expect teachers to fix the consequences of their own decisions.