This Mom Clapped Back After The Internet Said She Was Spoiling Her Child At Christmas
Is there such a thing as buying a kid “too many” presents?
There’s constantly a debate about how many presents parents should get for their kids around the holidays. What is an “appropriate” amount of gifts? I know some of my friends get their kids around five presents: something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. They typically add another “big” gift that all the kids will share. I have other friends who go all out with Christmas. The entire floor is covered in wrapped gifts because they cannot possibly fit them all under the tree. It just totally depends on the parents!
After TikTok creator and mom Leah shared the gift haul for her 2-year-old daughter, Nova, people had opinions about the number of gifts Leah had rounded up for her daughter. From the panning of the room, there appear to be around 25 or 30 gifts, and they take up a lot of space. And yes! That is a lot by “normal” standards.
People could not help themselves when sharing their judgment of Leah’s parenting.
“Really? Bonkers absolutely bonkers,” one user wrote.
Another said, “Hey so this is insane!!”
“I did this once for Christmas and it was way too overstimulating for my kids, plus they didn’t appreciate the toys as much because there were too many,” another noted.
One mom noted, “I overdid it once. My then two year old cried because she was overwhelmed and wanted to play with what she opened, not keep opening.”
One TikTok user accused Leah of raising an ungrateful child because of the amount of presents. Leah took this as an opportunity to clear some things up in a follow-up video.
“Honestly the amount of comments I’ve been getting that’s so negative on the videos that I’ve bought Nova for Christmas is insane,” she begins.
“People saying that she’s not going to be interested. She won’t understand what presents are. She’s going to be ungrateful when she’s older. And for me as a child, Christmas looked like this, like I had three siblings as well and our Christmases were always with the tree full of presents and I’m not ungrateful.”
“I’m grateful for everything I have in life, and I’ve worked hard for everything I’ve got in life, and I do go all out for my child. Her birthday is in September, so this will literally do her from December to September. And I just don’t see why people are getting so angry about it.”
She notes that everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, but the negativity against her and her child has been a bit much. She just wants everyone to mind their business and do what they think is best for their kid.
“If you want to buy your child one present, that is OK. If you want to buy your child 10 presents, that’s OK. If you want to buy your child 30-plus presents, that is also OK, but genuinely, she knows what a present is ... she’s not going to just be interested in the wrapping paper and the boxes. She knows exactly what to do. She knows there’s presents inside, she’s very up here for a 2-year-old,” she explained.
So, what is “normal” when it comes to spending money on kids for Christmas?
A survey conducted by Everyday Health Group – Pregnancy and Parenting, and shared by What to Expect, polled 467 women ages 18 to 44 with at least one child age 5 or younger. Families with one child spent an average of $202 on presents, while families with multiple kids averaged at $170 per kid.
The number also varied by age, with parents spending an average of $161 on children ages 1 to 4, and slightly more for babies 12 months and younger, at $168. It’s important to remember that these numbers are just averages! Everyone can do what’s best for their own family!
