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[quote=Anonymous][quote]Anonymous wrote:
That's weird to bring more presents to counteract gifts from the kids other grandparents. In a perfect world they'd open them elsewhere, but good grief, you don't need to give your kids more. Just tell them those gifts are from their other grandparents, cousins, etc. Kids will never get it if you don't explain it to them, and life isn't always equal or fair. Stop being such consumers and focus on giving, family time etc instead of filling the landfill with more crap.

This! This!

OP, you seem to think that your kids should get exactly the same number of gifts as their cousins. Will this bleed over into everything? If you hear that cousin got two birthday gifts from grandparents but your child got one, is that going to rankle you? Or does it only matter if the kids are opening them in front of each other? Will the kids learn that they should get an award if their classmate gets one, or that everyone should get a trophy on the soccer team even if they didn't turn up for every game? Where does that thinking end? I know -- you're talking about grandparents. But the same thinking that says "everyone must get the same number of gifts" leads right into "everyone gets the same everything, every time." It breeds a sense of entitlement.

This kind of question has come up on here before. Grandparents seem to be expected to treat everyone with perfect equality. Same with aunts and uncles. Maybe these relatives saw stuff that reminded them of the other kids and just got it for them. Maybe they simply know the other kids better than they know yours and know what those kids would enjoy. Maybe the person giving the gifts went with several smaller gifts for one kid but one more expensive gift for another kid. Whatever. Unless your kids are very young and therefore prone to whine about the number of gifts, let it go, and teach them to be grateful for what they get: "You get what you get and you don't get upset."

We're raising a lot of kids who are going to think life is fair and equal all the time. It's a disservice to them to let them think that and it makes them feel entitled rather than grateful.

If your kids are healthy today and your family is safe and has a roof over its head and a secure income, let everything else GO.
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+1  Do your kids a favor and help them to understand that although life isn't always fair, it is still a great adventure and they should embrace what they do have, not what they do not.[/quote]

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