ANSWERS: 44
  • My thirteen year old receives nothing at all next year.
  • Well, it seems to me that you got him something that cost a lot, but which your child didn't really want, and that your child didn't have the decency to pretend to be pleased. Problems on both sides, I think.
  • explain that in the third world every day many children die for want of a basic meal.
  • My response.....Oh sorry, those last 2 presents that you opened up were meant for someone else.
  • well I guess I would be doing $300.00 worth of returns that day and saving myself the trouble of doing it next year. I don't have kids but If I did and that's the attitude they had well I guess it would be time to impart some wisdom and knowledge about gratuity, sharing and thankfulness upon them.
  • Did he/she ask for something in particular that wasn't included in the gifts?
  • You have grounds for justifiable homicide.
  • I think I'd box them up, drag him out to the local family shelter or youth home, and make him watch me give them to kids who'd appreciate them. (This is, of course, assuming that the presents weren't sweaters and dress pants, or other items equally dull or age-inappropriate.)
  • I would have her do some volunteer work at a homeless shelter or something similar to that so she can see that not everyone is as fortunate as she is Maybe that would give her some gratitude.
  • Pick the gifts up. . . .put them in a box. . . . .put the box AND your 13yr. old in the car. . . . .drive to a CHARITY of your 13yrs. choice. . . . .have your 13yr. walk the box in . . . . . . . . .AND DONATE ALL HIS GIFTS! Then when he gets back in the car say, "Got it?"
  • "Of course not my cherry pie, now I go and jump out the window, so my sweety is entertained and can tell everyone in class how cool her daddy is".
  • i take them all back and say next time show some appreciation you are spoiled and time you learned how blessed you are ! but then i can be hard when it comes to some values being taught.
  • Ah, the greedy heart is never satisfied. Maybe the attitude of gratitude comes naturally for some, others it may need to be taught. She probably doesn't recognize the value of "300 dollars", so I'd try to instill this by employing her in tasks respective to her age so she can cultivate a sense of appreciation, respect for her parent (s) and all they do, and a sense of achievement that nothing comes free except the love you've shown her already!
  • That kind of attitude develops wayyyyyyyy before 13.
  • I would, first, wonder where I went wrong in raising this child. But, having 3 (grown, now) of my own, I have seen some of this attitude myself. I realized it wasn't necessarily how they were raised. Lot's of other things influence our kids these days ... peer pressure (needing to "keep up with the Joneses"), etc. But, I would continue to stress how blessed she was. As others have said ... there are, literally, millions of children who will wake up this day, not even knowing if they will have a MEAL today ... much less, the right kind of camera or video game! And, a trip to a homeless shelter, or rescue mission, MAY leave an impression. Our children need to see how others are not as "lucky" as they are. Maybe, just maybe, something will get thru ... and stick!
  • I wouldn't say a word. I'd just get up, remove the "offending" presents from her sight, and the first chance I got, I'd drive her ass to the nearest donation shelter and have her hand them over. No discussion needed! My kid damn well knows better than to ever hurt someone like that. She wouldn't deserve any discussion. +5
  • i hate when adults always blame the childrens attitudes... but obviously the parents dont know there daughter well......300.00 is a alot of money...parents should know that kids want more. so i would have purchased many small gifts rather than a few big gifts. remember quantity. 5 giftcards 20.00 ea to her favorite stores at th mall would have made her day
  • After taking the presents back... the next year I would be not so giving.
  • Can you say, "Next year it's a bag of coal and a bundle of switches," boys and girls? : )
  • Wow, shes very ungratefull! Im somewhere around that age, and all i got was a nintendo wii and a jewlry box, you dont see me complaining! Help her/him understand that there are very unfortunate people in this world!
  • I would take all the gifts away, and give them to Goodwill. Then say "If you want your gifts back, I suggest you get a job and buy them back yourself." Then maybe my spoiled kid will learn the value of a dollar, and be a little more thankful for what she/he DOES have.
  • I'd cry in horror at *myself* and give myself a serious talking to for being the kind of mother that created a spoiled brat. I'd have to change some things around the home after that! That is ultimately not the child's fault! It's the parents'.. An attitude like this should have been prevented or sorted out long before the age of 13 in my eyes. Admittedly, I have no kids so I don't know what its like. You can never really talk until you have been there, I suppose. =)
  • i wouldnt say anything. but i would get up and smack her and probably return all the gifts. kids these days are so spoiled. i never had christmas because my family was too poor. need to enjoy what u have.
  • I would say "Oops! I forgot one thing!' And I would make up a list of each present and its cost and the total amount. 'Here's the bill for all of it. This will be deducted from your allowance for the next 6 months. I know that material things don't last long so I am also giving you a sense of the value of not only of material things but also of the love and thoughtfulness that someone puts into buying you a gift. I am also giving you a lesson in gratitude and responsibility. That's 5 more gifts'
  • Shock,because I would hope that I would've noticed that kind of attitude in my own child long before it came to that.I'd probably take the stuff back too.
  • That's it? You know, I still have the receipts and can take what you got back right now. Then you'll have nothing. Be thankful for what you did get.
  • Ya didnt get enough?Then ya better get a job cause this gravy train just left the station.
  • Get a job and buy me presents next year.
  • I'd pick up all the presents and say... "Oh you wanted more. I'm really sorry about that. I completely forgot you were so spoiled. I'll just take these down to good will. I'm sure the kids that get them next will appreciate them." Then I'd put them in a box in my closet while the child wasn't looking. Let them cry for a while. Once I feel like they've cried enough I'd sit them down and talk to them about being rude and inconsiderate of the things I bought for them. If it wasn't the child expected that's okay... but they should be greatful for what they get.
  • Take them back and get my money back. Presents are not a requirement. She could get nothing, and if that's how she thinks, she should get nothing. I'd use the money previously used for her presents to by myself something, or donate it to charity.
  • Take it all to a orphanage and leave them with nothing
  • Well... when I spent about that much on my parents (imported sheets for their bed, collectible ornaments, set of crystal goblets), and received complaints and a broken pocketknife and dollar bin gifts in return, I stopped celebrating Christmas with them. ^_^
  • I'd say, Yeah! that is it!! No more prizzies for you young Man!! you ungrateful toad!! & that would be the end of that!!! :-)
  • Of course I would get hurt, but then I would say okay since this aint good enough for you, how about I take my gift back, and take it back to the store and get my $300.00 back,, and you get $ 50.00 only and help your self , and merry x mas.... and make him/ her learn their lesson, and I dont care if they beg me or apologize I will not go back and get the giftt for them...
  • Show the kid the episode of Andy Griffith with the spoiled boy who would rather let his dad go to jail than to give up his bike. Then, as others have suggested, take the kid and all the presents to the nearest shelter. Next year there won't be any presents.
  • I would think that the kid was very ungrateful. Then when the following year came it would get the bare minimum.
  • Same thing happened to my nephew. He opened his Christmas presents and stated "i am not going to wear any of these clothes, they all came from WalMart and no designer names". We politely took each article of clothing and found some homeless boy, living in a cardboard box with his parents and gave the clothes to him. you should have seen the joy in his eyes and also his parents. I have no respect for unapprecitive people.
  • I just wanted you to see what is being donated to underprivileged children in your name.
  • Once I told my youngest that she got what she did because "Santa is fed up with her constant fights with her big sister", another time I said that "the toy fairy" died before bringing her gifts and these were just some odds and ends so she would have something under the tree. Once I told my wife that her x mas gifts was the new washer and drier...she was not amused.
  • I wouldn't think too much of it at the time. You can't blame kids for how they feel about things. Maybe that's what he/she felt at that moment but later will be grateful. Kids that young usually don't grasp the full concept of appreciation yet.
  • I would say "OK, since you dont want it lets donate it to someone who will appreciate it!". + 5
  • My response, "No of course that's not it. Now we get to take them back where I bought them so I can get my money back." I think next Christmas they would probably remember to be a bit more grateful.
  • He's young, 300$ isn't as much as it used to be, and odds are he has friends who are getting more. He may be ungrateful, but its the times we live in, and you shouldn't be giving gifts just for the appreciation.
  • Well, I think my first response would be "Wow, I haven't been doing a great job of teaching my child to be grateful for blessings or to be grateful for gifts. I've also not been doing a great job of teaching them the value of money." My next response would be to start teaching them gratitude. I think I might just gather up the presents that the child clearly didn't want, and put them away for a time while I pondered my next move. I'm not quite sure what that next move would be. I might put them up until the child wrote a thank you note for each and every gift, detailing why he was grateful for the gift. It would depend on the child, but I would want to make sure that he learned to value those gifts. This would not be an exercise in dominating the child or telling them "you will be grateful you little dog!" But a child that doesn't learn to be grateful for what he has will be unhappy all his life. For the sake of my child, I'd want him to change that thought pattern. Otherwise, he'll be restlessly searching for something better all his life, and never happy with what he has. That doesn't play out well in marriage, or in a career. It doesn't help you save money or get financially secure. And it certainly doesn't make people want to give you a leg up in life when you don't know how to say "thank you."

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