Mom Wonders If She's Wrong For Making 5-Year-Old Donate Gifts Her Ex's Family Gave Her
She already has too many toys.
YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV | Shutterstock A mother is being defended after encouraging her daughter to give away some of her birthday presents.
Posting to the subreddit "r/AmItheA--hole" (AITA) — a forum where users try to figure out if they were wrong or not in an argument that has been bothering them — the woman explained why she didn't want her daughter to keep her presents.
In her Reddit post, she wrote that her ex-boyfriend and his family tend to go above and beyond when it comes to their children's birthdays.
"I’ve tried asking them to either tone it down or to leave the gifts at his house because I live in a small flat now and I just don’t have the space," she remarked.
Despite the woman's insistence, she pointed out that "they don't listen."
"[They] insist the gifts need to be kept with me as the kids live with me for the majority of the year."
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After the woman's ex gifted their 5-year-old daughter too many gifts, she made her donate some.
Her daughter's fifth birthday party was a few weeks ago, and despite her previous warnings, her ex and his family showered the little girl with an abundance of gifts.
It had gotten to the point where she was struggling to find space in her apartment for all of her daughter's presents.
That's when she decided to simply donate some of the gifts, explaining that her daughter wouldn't even use everything that was given to her.
Before donating, she told her daughter that "some people didn’t have as many toys as her and asked her if she would be okay if we gave some toys to people who had less."
Her daughter didn't see anything wrong with the idea, and even enjoyed the process of giving her presents away to some of her cousins and friends.
However, the woman's ex was upset when he realized that all of the toys he'd gifted his daughter had been donated.
"My ex found out because when he came to collect the kids my daughter told him she was going to give an art set his parents bought her to my niece."
He tried to convince his 5-year-old daughter that those gifts were for her and not anyone else, but she was adamant about giving them away.
"[She told him] I said that it’s good to share your toys with people who didn’t have as many."
When he heard that, the woman's ex turned his frustration on her, saying that she shouldn't encourage their daughter to give her presents away.
"I explained again how I didn’t have space and he accused me of bullsh-ting him and choosing to live in a small flat when I had other options," she concluded.
Most people who commented on the woman's Reddit post agreed that she was NTA (Not The A-hole).
"I love that it’s their way or the highway. You gave them options - don’t give her presents, keep them at their house…or now, donate them," one user wrote. "Apparently, they feel there is only one acceptable option."
Another user added, "Once a gift is given, the receiver of the gift gets to do whatever they want with it. Your daughter understood and agreed with sharing HER stuff."
"If he can't house the items and your space is too small, this is a great alternative. Teaching your daughter that things aren't important and sharing and caring for others is wonderful," a third user chimed in.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.