To be fucked off with this dinner lady?

[Welshmaenad]

DC attend breakfast club which is staffed mainly by lunchtime staff. DD (9) is particularly fond of one dinner lady, let's call her A.

They have recently done a no-smoking poster campaign in school and DD was showing A her poster in breakfast club. A asked DD if anyone in her family smoked and DD told her (quite proudly) that Her dad and I used to smoke but have given up cigarettes and now vape.

A proceeded to tell DD some daily fail horror story about someone whose e-cig allegedly exploded in his pocket and told her 'mummy should be very careful with those things' and DD is now terrified mine or my boyfriend's or her dad's vaping gear is going to explode as we all use them. She's a sensitive soul prone to worry and a bit of melodrama. I've had to explain at length that e cigs are very safe if used properly and accidents happen when people charge them incorrectly or don't understand battery safety when using unregulated mech mods etc. I've managed to appease her but we had a few nights of getting out of bed upset and worried and crying because she thought one of us might get hurt.

AIBU to be really cross about this dinner lady telling my child horror stories and worrying her like this or am I overreacting??

[TheWindInThePillows]

You don't really know what the dinner lady said, it might have just been 'ooh, I read a story about one of those exploding' and your dd's imagination did the rest. In general, I think it's better to assume that people interacting with your children are usually not trying to scare them, this dinner lady sounds nice and your dd likes her, it was just unfortunate that what she said really triggered your dd's worries.

[Welshmaenad]

She gave some quite specific information about how it exploded in his pocket and all the skin on his leg was burned off. DD has no other access to that kind of news story and very clear that A told her about it.

[SouperSal]

You should be more worried about popcorn lung.

[CaptainCrunch]

You're overreacting.

[PPie10]

Overreaction

[echelon]

YABU

[InSpaceNooneCanHearYouScream]

You are overreacting

[exLtEveDallas]

Popcorn lung is a load of bollocks.

Yeah, I'd be annoyed at the dinner lady as well. It's not her place to tell children stories like that; unless she is seriously dense she should have known not to repeat a story like that to a child.

I would have a quiet word with DDs teacher, pointing out that DD has been upset and why. Hopefully she will speak to the dinner lady about thinking before she speaks.

[KoalaDownUnder]

Look, I appreciate that your daughter is over-sensitive (I was too at that age), but...she's 9, not 4.

An adult made an insensitive comment, she's got a bit upset, you've explained things to her. She'll get over it.

I think being 'fucked off' is unnecessary.

[SouperSal]

Popcorn lung is a load of bollocks

We'll see.

[toldmywrath]

What the jeff is Popcorn lung?

[georgiatraher]

Show her a picture of a different brand from what all of you use and say, that the kind you use is safe. see how different it is. etc. We were careful to choose the ones that don't explode.

[eightbluebirds]

She should have smiled and nodded but complaining would be an over reaction tbh

[NewLife4Me]

What is popcorn lung.
Well done for swopping your smoking to vaping, btw.

A huge over reaction I'm afraid.
Your dd is 9, perhaps try and raise her to not be so sensitive. How did she feel when you smoked cigarettes.
At her age mine were worried about us smoking, not other people vaping.

[exLtEveDallas]

8 people contracted a disease known colloquially as popcorn lung after working in a popcorn factory using a particular buttery flavouring.

Researchers in America found evidence of this flavouring in 51 vape juices.

But what they neglected to point out was that that same chemical is found in cigarettes in concentrations more than 6000 times higher than in the 'worst' vape juice - and no-one else has ever been diagnosed with popcorn lung.

Like I said. Bollocks

[PelvicFloorClenchReminder]

Popcorn lung

[silverpenny]

DD seems very sensitive for a 9yr old?

[leelu66]

*You should be more worried about popcorn lung.

[SouperSal]

Yet.

[exLtEveDallas]

Oh please 😂😂😂

[HelenaBottomFarter]

I love the fact that on MN, thete is someone always knows the true facts, no matter what it is, and debunk spin.

[impossible]

YABVU. I was terrified of my dinner ladies when I was that age. I think it's great the dinner lady chatted with your dd.

Your dd will come across all sorts of information in her life - maybe now is a good time for her to learn that if she is worried about something she has heard she should discuss it with you. She is 9 now - as she gets older it will get harder and harder to control what she hears so make the most of the opportunity to encourage her to talk about her worries. She will hear much worse over the coming years so get into the habit of keeping talking. (And leave the underpaid, underappreciated dinner lady to get on with her job.)

[Fairenuff]

I think 9 is old enough to know that they can be dangerous. After, we tell much younger children not to play with matches for the same reason.