A dad accused his son’s teacher of being ridiculous after she demanded that he start wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts when picking his son up from school. Posting to Reddit, the 38-year-old dad claimed that his 5-year-old son’s teacher seemed to have a problem with the fact that he has tattoos, and insisted that he start dressing appropriately when entering school grounds at pickup time.

Tattoos seem to be the norm rather than the exception nowadays when it comes to the once controversial body art. According to this dad, however, his whole look, which he said was common at their home in Seattle, was causing him a lot of trouble after his family relocated to Texas. His son’s school was one of those places.

A dad said his son’s teacher demanded that he cover up his tattoos before arriving for school pickup.

In his Reddit post, the dad explained that he and his wife recently moved with their son from Seattle to a small town in Texas to live in his late grandmother’s house that they inherited after she passed. He admitted that both he and his wife absolutely despise the area they live in. 

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Despite how they feel about the town, he acknowledged that it was a better financial decision to move there, and he’s attached to his grandma’s house and doesn’t want to have to sell it. However, compared to living in Seattle, his appearance attracts a lot more attention. He described himself as having long hair and a lot of tattoos, which means he doesn’t really fit in with the other people in his area.

“So far my wife had been the one picking our son up and dropping him off at school/daycare because my work schedule was all [messed] up, but I’ve settled into the same hours she works so now we’re picking our son up and dropping him off together,” he wrote. “I met our son’s teacher earlier today and I could just tell she was uncomfortable with my appearance from the jump.”

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The teacher said that his tattoos were ‘off-putting’ and against the school dress code.

His son’s teacher informed him that he would need to cover up when picking his son up from school, which would consist of him wearing clothing that covered all of the skin below his neck. He immediately rejected the idea of having to wear clothing that covered his tattoos, arguing that he wasn’t a student and therefore didn’t have to abide by the dress code.

“Besides, none of my tattoos that are visible when I’m clothed to any degree can be considered offensive unless you find the very idea of tattoos offensive,” he pointed out. “She insisted, which irritated me and my wife, and basically we just told her that I wasn’t going to change how I dress and wasn’t going to stop picking up my kid.” 

According to the Pew Research Center, 46% of adults in the U.S. between the ages of 30 and 49 have at least one tattoo. That’s close to half of adults in the thick of raising kids. It’s hard to imagine that this teacher could be so utterly outraged by something so absurdly common.

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The couple decided to contact the school principal about the teacher.

Both he and his wife admitted that the entire ordeal was just ridiculous, but after thinking about it, they decided to talk to the principal because the teacher’s behavior didn’t sit right with them. Turns out they made the right choice. 

In an update to his post, he explained, “Turns out those of you who said this was probably the teacher overstepping and not an actual rule were totally right. Apparently it is against dress code for both the students and teachers to have tattoos (temporary or otherwise), but as long as you’re decent a parent can show up dressed as they like.”

The principal also agreed that if their son was uncomfortable for any reason in this teacher’s classroom, they had the option of moving him to the other class. Ultimately, that’s the best outcome they could have hoped for.

It’s silly for a teacher to demand that a good father be forced to hide who he is just because she didn’t like his tattoos. If anything, she doesn’t have to look at him or even interact with him when he’s picking his son up if they bother her so much.

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Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.