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Home / Lifestyle

'Geez, lighten up people': Squid Game-themed kindy lunchbox sparks controversy

By Shireen Khalil
news.com.au·
7 Dec, 2021 02:55 AM3 mins to read

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The controversial kindy lunchbox. Photo / Facebook

The controversial kindy lunchbox. Photo / Facebook

An Australian mum has divided an online parent's group after she shared a snap of her daughter's Squid Game-inspired school lunch.

The mum took to the Facebook group Lunch Ideas Australia to show off the snacks she had made for her little girl, who is in kindergarten, which featured triangle, circle and square symbols from the controversial Netflix series.

"Fun lunch #squidgame for Miss Kindy," she wrote on the page.

However, some didn't see the "fun" side of it.

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"My assumption is that if she's making the theme for the kid, she's let the kid watch it. Why bother making a themed lunch box that they won't understand?" one woman commented.

"I did think, after I commented, that perhaps the kindy kid has no idea about squid game, (and) it was just the mum having a laugh to herself. Hoping that is the case," added another.

The murderous enforcers in Netflix's survival horror series Squid Game. Photo / Netflix
The murderous enforcers in Netflix's survival horror series Squid Game. Photo / Netflix

Many came to the mum's defence, demanding people "lighten up" and not assume the mother has let her daughter watch the adult-themed series.

"I doubt this mother has actually let the child watch the show, it's just some shapes on some food – geez, lighten up people," one woman wrote.

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"I just showed my preppie and he immediately said, 'I want that. I want you to put those weird squid games things in my lunch box'," said another.

"Squid" — or "Red Light Green Light" — is a popular children's game in Korea, but obviously without the brutality seen in the series.

Some said had the mum not referenced the movie, they would have thought it was the shapes found on a PlayStation controller.

A teacher commented that a lot of the kindy kids at her school are aware about the "red light green light game" and other "squid games from kids YouTube".

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"It's a harmless kids' game, we played it at school too. Not many kids are aware of the TV show's version of it," one mum wrote.

"My kid said he played it at school but instead of laying dead they just got out. It is a kids' game at the end of the day," added another.

One woman said she watched the Netflix series and it is "definitely not for children".

"Not even for teens! But I spend a lot of time at primary school and games Like Fortnite and Roblox are all they talk about. But at the end of the day these are just shapes and if a kid hasn't seen the show, I don't know why people are up in arms."

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