A mom said a teacher's aide refused to unwrap her 5-year-old son's snack cake because it was 'unhealthy.' She's using the viral moment to denounce diet culture.

• A TikToker said her son came home from school crying because he couldn't eat the cake she gave him.
• Ashlee Griffiths' son said the teacher's aide refused to open it because it was "unhealthy."

An Australian mom asked her TikTok followers for advice after she said a teacher's aide refused to help her five-year-old son open a snack cake she'd packed in his lunchbox because it was "unhealthy."

Ashlee Griffiths, a comedy and lifestyle TikToker with more than 327,000 followers, went viral last week after she posted a video recounting the incident. She told Insider that she hoped it would foster a dialog about using neutral language to describe food.

"We are trying to take away the stigma around good versus bad foods," she said. "When you say things like that, even off the cuff, it can have lasting impacts on kids."

In the TikTok, which has 1.5 million views, Griffiths said she was shocked to discover that her son did not finish his snack because he's "eating everything in sight at the moment." She said she felt her parenting choices were being judged.

"My son's lunch box is very well-balanced," she said in the video. "He gets everything from dairy to fruit to sandwiches to cold meats. Lots of selection and lots of variety."

Griffiths said her son Carter attended a public "prep" school — between kindergarten and first grade — in Queensland, Australia. She declined to name the institution.

"It was really upsetting for me as a parent to watch my child cry because he wasn't allowed to eat a little slice of cake," the mother of two told Insider. "Every meal since then, my son has said, 'Oh mom, is this healthy? Is this healthy?'… It's already having that impact where he's questioning what's on his plate."

"In this house, I just say all food is healthy," she added.

Griffiths said in the TikTok that her duty as a parent was to provide enough food variety to meet her son's nutritional needs, but she added that her son should be free to choose what he wants to eat.

Griffiths said she sent Carter to school the following day with the cake already unwrapped. She also decided to broach a "calm and informal conversation" with Carter's classroom teacher — a different instructor with whom she has a good relationship.

The TikToker told Insider that the teacher wondered whether there had been a miscommunication and acknowledged the aide's comment seemed "really weird." The teacher and Griffiths reached an agreement: "If it's in the lunchbox, it means he has permission from his parent to eat it," she said.

Carter's teacher told Griffiths that discussing healthy and unhealthy foods was part of the school curriculum. While the TikToker disagrees with the school's plans, she does not plan to raise that issue formally.

Griffiths said the ordeal struck a chord because of her relationship with her body image.

"I personally can recall a number of times where people have made comments about what I'm eating when I was younger," she said. "It stuck with me as an adult, and I literally go to therapy to try and undo those negative thought processes."

Commenters have resoundingly agreed with her decision to confront the school. Some who identified themselves as parents said they sent notes with their kids' lunches to stress their authority.

"I sent a note to my kids school telling them that until they supply his food then they have no say. Period," one wrote.

But with virality, some negativity has flourished; Griffiths said some viewers accused her of attacking her son's school. She said she was concerned "the school community or the teachers might be a bit abrasive towards" her and her son because they were worried she was "always causing a stir."

But even as things are blowing over, Griffiths said she would continue to discuss food shaming on her channel.

"I very vocally reject diet culture," she said, "and so my goal is to continue to challenge that."