Sometimes getting a gift for a person in one's life can be a tricky thing, even if you know them very well. Luckily, in some of these cases, wishlists or gift registries come in handy. Still, sometimes even they can't help if you have other limitations, for example, a tight budget.
Just like today's post's author, who decided to go rogue from their pregnant friend's gift registry simply because they couldn't afford the stuff there. And, well, the situation turned out to be quite an upsetting one.
More info: Reddit
Sometimes even the best intentions when buying a gift can upset the recipient
Image credits: Donnie Ray Jones (not the actual photo)
An author's pregnant friend's gift registry involved a price error - the baby bouncer actually cost $88 instead of $30, as stated in the wishlist
So, the author decided to get another baby bouncer that actually cost $30 but wasn't on the gift registry
Image credits: Marques Thomas (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Soup_Sandwich17
This largely disappointed the pregnant friend, resulting in her sending a whole paragraph of scolding text and the author canceling the order
The post’s author had a pregnant friend who had a gift registry. Typically, a gift registry is a list (one might call it a wishlist) of items that a person wants to receive for a particular life event or occasion, such as weddings, birthdays, and, of course, baby showers. The person creates this list and sends it to their friends and family, so they'll be informed about it. It’s quite a common practice in Western countries.
So, the OP got a gift registry for their friend’s upcoming baby. And there was a baby bouncer, which was listed for $30. But when the author clicked the link, it turned out to be $88, which is quite a different price, isn’t it?
The original poster didn't have enough money for such a price jump, so they found another baby bouncer that looked similar to the one on the list and actually cost $30, only it was of a different color and a different brand. And so, they let their friend know about the gift they bought.
But the friend wasn’t thrilled about it. She responded with a whole paragraph of text scolding the OP for not using the registry as a guide after asking her to send it. The registry had listed things she wanted, but her friend had decided to buy something else.
So, the OP canceled the order without mentioning to their friend about the price error in the registry and their feelings of disappointment that they couldn’t afford what their friend wanted. They also came onto Reddit to ask whether this whole situation made them a jerk.
The response was mixed. Some people said that the OP wasn’t a jerk and their provided justification is enough to understand their point of view, while others saw the situation the other way around. Yet, the majority of folks online decided that both of the parties involved were jerks. The pregnant friend was a jerk for getting so heated up and scolding her friend so rudely. And the OP was a jerk for getting a cheaper-than-requested baby bouncer, which might be not as safe or even contain harmful materials.
Image credits: MART PRODUCTION (not the actual photo)
In fact, the baby bouncer’s safety was brought up by quite a few netizens. There are certain safety measures put in place for baby bouncers by, for example, World Health and many other organizations. So, people online likely worried that the cheaper alternative that was bought by the OP might not fit these measures.
- Making sure the bouncer is stable, preferably placed on the floor;
- Using a safety harness to keep a baby secure;
- Not leaving a baby unattended;
- Follow age and weight limit to ensure baby doesn’t tip over;
- Not keeping a baby in the bouncer longer than 15 to 20 minutes twice a day.
And these are just a few of these precautions, there are way many more of them. If the parents don’t consider these, they risk hurting their baby with a bouncer. As with everything in life, something that comes with benefits has disadvantages as well. Baby bouncers are no exception.
An incorrectly used bouncer might put a baby at risk of concussions, skull and body injuries, developmental delays, and, in the worst-case scenario, death. Yes, you read that right - it can even cause death, so proceed with caution.
So, while we don’t know what kind of baby bouncer the OP bought, we can’t predict whether their choice was wrong or not. Yes, it might not be the best decision to go rogue off the gift registry, but sometimes people make poor decisions when they want to please the people they love, but have some financial limitations, don’t they? At the same time, maybe the friend was a bit harsh with her reaction, but when it comes to the safety of her baby, she’s, in a way, justified too.
Internet folks had mixed reactions, but the majority decided that the author shouldn't have gone rogue from the registry and the friend shouldn't have reacted this angrily
Image credits: Startup Stock Photos (not the actual photo)
