Just because you have a kid, doesn’t mean that they ‘belong’ to you. It also doesn’t mean that you should expect to be praised by them for giving them the miracle of life every chance that you want. However, for some parents, getting a gift on Mother’s or Father’s Day or their birthdays isn’t enough. No, some parents expect gifts on their children's birthdays, too, from all of them.
That’s exactly what happened to redditor u/ThrowawayBirthdayx96, a 25-year-old with three younger siblings, and an incredibly entitled mom. On each of their birthdays, their mom would get gifts, too. And pretty expensive ones, too. Now that the kids are growing up, they’re expected to pitch in and buy her the gifts themselves. On their own and their siblings’ birthdays. Say what?! Yup!
It reads like a story from The Twilight Zone, with a slightly more mundane twist. And you’ll find it all below. Be sure to let us know what you think about this incredibly weird family drama in the comments, dear Pandas.
One mom shocked the internet with her deep sense of entitlement
Image credits: Tricia (not the actual photo)
Her daughter explained what happened when she confronted her mom over her strange approach to birthdays
Image credits: AmItheAsshole
Things came to a head during the redditor’s birthday when her sister apologized for not getting her a better gift. All because she spent $300 on a gift for their mom. Bizarre? Incredibly.
The redditor eventually got kicked out of the house for having called out her mom for her weird materialistic approach to family life. What’s more, a large chunk of the woman’s family rallied against her.
Meanwhile, her mom’s over on social media posting ‘subtle’ messages about letting go of toxic people. That’s a lot of family issues that the redditor might have to unpack later in therapy. And to say that the situation is overwhelming doesn’t do it justice.
The redditor was so confused, she even turned to the AITA community for a verdict. She was unsure of who was in the wrong. However, her fellow redditors put her worries to rest: it was her mother who is self-centered, not the daughter.
Parenting blogger Samantha Scroggin, the founder of Walking Outside in Slippers, previously shared with Bored Panda her healthy and mature approach to raising her own two kids. She stressed the fact that parents need to see their children as individuals.
What might work for one kid might not work for the other. Similarly, advice that might be spot-on for one family might not be the best approach for another family. In short, parents must be aware of their children’s actual needs and not just rely on whatever they might pick up on the internet.
“I am trying to do more to meet my kids where they’re at, figuring in their personality and what their needs are for them personally. In the past, I would sometimes assume that I knew what was best for my kids, based on what the ‘average’ kid ‘should’ need or want. But kids can be so different, even within the same family,” Samantha told us.
“My 6-year-old daughter, for example, is very organized and a bit of a perfectionist. She also needs lots of attention and affection. While my 10-year-old son is a sometimes wild but also very sensitive and artistic soul. He needs his space. They are night and day,” she pointed out just how different kids can be in a single household.
“I have learned I need to adapt my expectations of them and goals for them based on their individual personalities and quirks. I can create space for them to be who they are, and I believe this acceptance and customized attention will benefit them in the long run as they develop into teens and then adults.”
Here's how people reacted to the bizarre family situation
