A grandmother and grandfather have found themselves in hot water after spending the majority of a recent family gathering repeatedly mentioning the cost of the gifts they gave their grandchildren.
The seemingly innocent family gathering swiftly caught the attention of the internet when a young mother took to the popular Reddit forum to share her recent difficult encounter with her in-laws. She sought advice from fellow users, questioning whether her response to the in-laws’ relentless hints about the price of their gifts was warranted.
“Today my boyfriend’s family came to see our twins. They do not visit often (usually four times a year) even though they live close by. They do not support us financially in any way. Recently they went on vacation and wanted to come by because they had gifts for the children. I’ve never stopped them from visiting so was happy to set a time today,” she wrote.
“They came today and my twins who are two did like their gifts which were two teddy bears. They were uncomfortable because they didn’t know their grandparents. They were pushing themselves on the kids and forcing hugs ect. Nana mentioned over and over that the toys were $15.00 each. As if she felt they were unthankful or something?
“I am sure these toys will be played with and I said so several times. I said thank you repeatedly. My kids are behind in language so we’re unable to say thank you but I think they liked them. She continued to go on and on about the gifts that were not asked for. It got really uncomfortable for me so I got up and took $30 from my purse and paid for the toys. She took the money and didn’t mention the cost again. She said the cost at least ten times in two hours.
“While I think I shouldn’t have to pay for anything I didn’t ask to be bought I could not listen to it any longer. My boyfriend is mad now that they have went home saying I embarrassed them.
“Did it make me an asshole for paying them back implying that they are too poor to buy an inexpensive gift?”
Any concerns from the mother about her response were quickly dashed as fellow users flooded the platform with messages of support, many calling out the in-laws for their inappropriate behaviour.
“They were embarrassing themselves and you got them to shut up,” one user wrote.
“That’s really weird to continually mention the cost and maybe it will teach her a lesson. It’s not the amount spent but the intent. Also, I can’t stand when family members try to force affection from kids especially when they don’t know them well.”
“They mentioned the money and if they didn’t want it they wouldn’t of taken it,” commented another.
“If they didn’t want the money, they would have refused and said they were a gift. That they didn’t say that suggests that those weren’t gifts from the grandparents, they were just delivery drivers.
“So they mentioned the price multiple times. It’s either they wanted money/wanted to make themselves seem superior to you/call you poor. You did great by giving them money. So now it’s not like you owe them or anything,” another added.
These grandparents aren’t the only ones to come under fire for crossing a line when it comes to their grandkids after a grandmother was recently accused of allegedly cutting his hair without his mother’s permission.
Furious with her mother-in-law’s alleged actions, the mother of the 2-year-old jumped online to vent her anger and get advice on how she should proceed with the matter.
“I had asked my mom if she could take care of my son (2yrs old) while my husband and I went to the movie theaters she agreed so when I dropped him off she told me that my son’s hair was too long and jokingly said she was going to take him to get a haircut ( Note: she has said that in the past but never actually did it),” she wrote.
“I said that he doesn’t like getting haircuts plus I was letting his hair grow out so I can style it a bit better. We left and enjoyed our movie…when I went to pick him up to my surprise I found him with his head shaved off … literally you can see his scalp and his little bald spot which I would just comb over and hide it when he had hair but now it’s just out there and very visible.
“All I told her was ‘mom you really cut his hair!?!’ And she replied with ‘well I did tell you didn’t I? Plus you never said no’ it’s been a week since we last spoke because I told her that she overstepped my authority as a parent with my child she replied with ‘you’re so ungrateful I was doing you a favor by cutting his long hair’ I know it’s just hair it will grow back but I was really hurt.”
Fellow Reddit users wasted no time in rallying behind the mother, swiftly condemning the grandmother’s actions after being equally outraged by the move.