Mum blasted for putting non-alcoholic vodka in kids’ lunches says it was just a joke

A mum who was slammed on social media for appearing to put zero percent vodka in her children’s lunch boxes has defended herself and told people to get a sense of humour.

The New Zealand mum was lambasted on social media after she shared an Instagram pic of several lunch boxes, filled with a yoghurt, sliced apples, biscuits and a chocolate muffin - with the can of non-alcoholic vodka placed inside.

She captioned the post: “Perfect addition to school lunches too.”

Responding on Twitter, where the photo was reshared, parents were up in arms.

“Wow, putting a non-alcoholic drink in a lunch box, how irresponsible,” one parent commented.

Another added: “Please tell me this is a joke... And a really s*** one.”

The cans claim to “taste like the real deal,” but they don’t contain any alcohol at all. And why anyone would want a drink to taste like vodka is another scandal for another day.

Following the backlash, the unnamed mother said it 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.”

She added that she just put the drinks in the boxes to take the photo and that she removed it swiftly afterwards.

Maybe next time she should just stick to a Capri Sun.