Spoiling children is usually grandparents’ specialty! We all ask ourselves why our children are being spoiled by their grandparents. Why grandparents infringe our rules and trespass the limits? It is a tricky situation and a battle that you will have to handle especially during holidays where excessive gift giving can be confusing and stimulating for the kids.
Grandparents were also parents one day and they would have felt the same. We are going to be grandparents in the future and we might also act the same. The most important is to have one objective: the well being of our kids. Gift giving is usually a sincere act of generosity and love.
We should know that spoiling kids in their younger ages leads to unsatisfied, disastrous teenagers. Handling this issue in a proper way would turn spoiling to your advantage. If you know that grandparents are going to buy gifts during holiday season, give them ideas of what to buy and what your child needs. Ask them to buy only one gift and insist on the holiday spirit. If they offer sweets ask them to buy alternative products like crackers, fruits, home- made cookies and granola bars. You can store extra gifts for another occasion throughout the year. Kids that are showered with gifts in one time would lose their attention and the meaning of the holidays.
It is a difficult situation and might not be easy to communicate things clearly without being criticized or judged. The only way is to offer suggestions and limit the numbers.