Mum blasted for putting non-alcoholic vodka in kids’ lunches defends herself

A mum, who faced heavy criticism for appearing to put zero percent vodka in her children’s lunch boxes, has defended herself, saying people need to get a sense of humour.

The New Zealand mum took to social media, where she shared a snap of several lunch boxes, filled with a yoghurt, sliced apples, biscuits and a chocolate muffin – with the can of non-alcoholic vodka placed neatly inside.

“Perfect addition to school lunches too,” she wrote on the post, which was later shared to Twitter among “outraged” parents.

“Wow, putting a non-alcoholic drink in a lunch box, how irresponsible,” one parent commented, while another added: “Please tell me this is a joke… And a really s*** one.”

While the cans, which claim to “taste like the real deal,” don’t actually contain any alcohol at all, many parents blasted the post as being the wrong message to put out there for kids.

However, the mum, who runs her own Pilates clinic, has snapped back and said the post was “just a joke” that she likes to have with her clients, adding that she’d never intentionally send her kids to school with non-alcoholic vodka.

“I can’t control other people’s sense of humour,” she told Daily Mail Australia.

“We probably don’t parent the same, have the same friends or share similar political views. But that’s okay – isn’t it? I hope their concern didn’t keep them up all night, they have kids to raise after all.”

Speaking to the New Zealand Herald, the mum clarified that the cans had only “momentarily” been in the lunch boxes so she could take the picture, before taking them straight out again.

Who’d have thought there would be so much controversy over NOT giving alcohol to children?