It is certainly not difficult getting caught up in the excitement of gift giving to your children. Just seeing the glee on their faces as they open that new toy seems to make the credit card bill more than worth it.
But, when does it become too much? When the gift-a-palooza is over and torn paper and boxes and gifts are lying all over the floor and the children are nowhere to be found?
When you really think about it, when it comes to gift giving, more is not better. It’s just — more. So, what can parents and relatives do to keep the gift-giving reasonable?
The University of Alabama’s Tammy Morrow and Amy Walker share a philosophy making the rounds the past few years that is a practical way to help pare down the excess in gift giving. Each person receives:
- A Gift They Want
- A Gift They Need
- A Gift They Wear
- A Gift They Read
This helps everyone set realistic expectations, helps to keep things fairly balanced and equal between kids, provides the opportunity for more thought to go into each gift and even helps reduce the “what to buy” stress.
The main goal with keeping the gifts to a reasonable limit is to help our children learn to be grateful for what they have and what they have received.
- Point out all the desirable attributes of any gift. “Oh, it’s your favorite color!”
- If they receive a duplicate gift, help them see now they will have one to share.
- If they just do not want the gift, allow them to donate it.
- You can begin around the age of 18 to 24 months teaching your children to say, “Thank You.”
- Live gratefulness in front of your children.
Morrow and Walker are parent resource specialists with Alabama’s Parenting Assistance Line at UA’s Child Development Resources.
