According to experts, there are 6 types of sleepers:

• Morning lark. This sleeper is most active from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Then, he gradually gets sleepy throughout the day and is most exhausted by the evening compared to other sleepers.
• Afternooner. This type feels sleepy both in the morning and in the evening, but is active between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
• Napper. From morning till about 11 a.m., this sleeper is alert but gets sleepy in the early afternoon until about 3 p.m. Afterwards, he experiences a second burst of energy till about 10 in the evening.
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• Night owl. This sleeper is always tired at the start of his day until about 10 a.m. But from then on, he's active throughout the day and accomplishes a lot of things as hours pass by. He gets sleepy again very late in the evening.
• Swift. This sleeper is alert from waking time till bedtime.
• Woodcock. Sleepy at all times.

Unfortunately, we are more understanding of the different types of sleepers among adults but fail to see them as intrinsic in children as well. Because most schools start in the early morning, we expect kids to rise up early and stay alert throughout their classes. If they always wake up late, fail to eat breakfast on time, and feel sleepy at school, we often perceive it as a sign of laziness or lack of discipline.

In this conflict between a teacher and a parent, it's the child who is the loser. The mother tries to understand her daughter's late-morning routine to the point of getting blamed by the commenters for tolerating her child's "bad habits" and a teacher who likewise lacks the understanding of chronotypes that include young kids.

Photo: Pexels/Julia M. Cameron

The Original Poster (OP) is a mother with the username u/ariesgirlb78, who published her story on Reddit's r/AmItheA--hole forum, starting it with the following details: "My kid is in 3rd grade. I drop her off every morning, and, at her request, I hang out outside the gated area until her teacher comes and they walk into class. We usually arrive very close to when the bell rings."

OP continued that on one particular day, like most mornings, her daughter went to the cafeteria to buy something to eat. The child has difficulty rising early in the morning and always misses breakfast. Hence, OP allows her this morning habit and lets her eat while she's waiting in line for her class.

But this is something that her daughter's teacher has long been trying to make the girl stop. She would rather have the child attend her classes with an empty stomach than have her violate "eating" rules.

Photo: Pexels/Mike van Schoonderwalt

OP continued with her story, "I saw a brief exchange, then I saw the teacher’s hand reaching for my kid's yogurt, which she then snatched out of my kid's hands and told her she could have it back at snack time. I was a bit taken aback by this but still in observation mode when my kid dropped her head and started sobbing. She turned to see if I was still there; I was."

Well, it ended in a confrontation between the two. OP waved to her daughter to come near her to ask her what was going on and to comfort her child, who was still crying. But the teacher intervened with a rude tone. OP almost took her child home that day, but an aide came who helped to smoothen the situation.

OP went home but was still feeling angry about the way her daughter's teacher treated her child and how she snapped at her.

Is she the a--hole? A lot of the commenters say so, and they accuse this mother of tolerating her daughter's "bad" morning habit. They even questioned why she even takes her daughter to school, when most kids walk their way to campus and back home. They think that she treats her like a baby.

Photo: Pexels/cottonbro studio

But there are also other commenters who defended OP regarding the precautions she takes for the welfare of her young daughter since kidnapping is rampant.

As one Reddit user wrote, "You say that - but there are cases of parents being 3 feet away from their child and the child being kidnapped. James Bulger literally let go of his mother's hand for a few seconds and was lured away while (I think) she was at a deli. He was horrifically murdered. Cleo Smith was sleeping less than 5 feet away from her parents when she was kidnapped from the tent they were all sleeping in. And not to mention countless cases where a non-custodial parent has waltzed in to a school/daycare and picked up their child - and the 'right' people (aka the people privvy to that information) weren't there that day."

Yes, parenting is not easy, and there's no "one size fits all" approach to child-rearing. But, many adults are wasting their time debating who's right and wise among them.

Yet, the wisest thing for a parent to do is to understand the needs and personality of one's child first because every child is unique.