'Greedy' Parents Slammed for Shaming Mom Whose Savings Covered Class Trip

Reddit users are rallying behind a mom who used her savings to stop her daughter's class trip from being canceled—to the anger of the other parents.

Posting to Reddit's AITA (Am I the A****** forum) on 30 June, user u/Significant_Damage28 explained that her child's class trip was on the verge of being scrapped as many of the parents couldn't afford the cost.

She wrote: "I don't exactly live in a affluent neighbourhood & its actually considered one of the more deprived areas in the UK.

"Add in the cost of living crisis & most people struggling with just daily living I thought this may happen."

Predicting the field trip wouldn't go ahead, the mom tried to "dampen her daughter's excitement," but to no avail. Not wanting her 7-year-old to miss out because of a lack of money, she tried to find a way of covering the trip.

She continued: "I sent off a couple of messages but got no response. So I factored in 30 kids to a class with 2 classes going. That perhaps only half the parents might be able to afford the £15 [$18], perhaps less given the catchment area.

"I'm not rich but I do make sure to put some cash aside each month. I took £400 [$482] out of my rainy day pot, popped it in an envelope, then handed it over to a teacher on the gate yesterday morning."

As well as her generous donation, the poster added a note to the envelope. She wrote that if the money wasn't enough to cover the shortfall, she'd try and find more, and any remaining money could be used towards their next trip or school event.

Despite the mom's kind action, the other parents in her daughter's class were unhappy with the decision.

"Now other parents are angry that (the mystery doner aka me) didn't come forward with the cash sooner," she explained.

"With some going as far as saying if they'd known someone else was going to front a large portion of the fees they would of held off paying so their kid could go for free or could of gotten away with paying less.

"This makes me reluctant to do this sort of thing again. Should I have fronted up the cash sooner? Given that I don't know how much the shortfall was? So now my good will, feel good gesture has left me feeling rather sour & miffed."

According to the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University, more than 12 million U.S. children live below the poverty line. In February 2022, the exact figure was 12,315,000—which is 3.14 million more than in December 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the situation for low-income families. School closures and childcare costs forced many parents to leave work to look after their kids, exacerbating financial insecurity. The end of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) payment, which had helped to keep families afloat, is believed to be responsible for the 14.4 percent rise in poverty between December 2021 and February 2022. Black and Latino children were hardest hit by the CTC's expiration, but families as a whole have been affected.

Redditors were shocked by the other parents' reaction and were angry on the mom's behalf.

"No good deed goes unpunished..." said FerretBest8138.

"IF ANYTHING [YOU'RE] A BLOODY SAINT," agreed Fuzzy_Necessary4642.

"You did a good thing but all the other parents can think of is themselves," wrote Jimrow83.

ArbitraryAngelfish commented: "Their argument is really just that if they had known, they would have intentionally put more of the financial burden for their children onto you.

"You did a good thing. They're just greedy."

Newsweek has reached out to u/Significant_Damage28 for comment.