It’s one thing to give your child a bunch of gifts to open on Christmas morning. Every parent understands the joy of seeing their little one unwrap their presents with a huge smile.
However, it’s another thing to present them with an unreasonably massive pile of wrapped goodies. This is what a Kansas mom did with her children, which went viral on social media. Safe to say, many who saw it weren’t pleased and had choice words for her actions.
The woman, however, defended her actions. Scroll down for the entire story.
A mom shared an unusual family Christmas tradition
Image credits: pandaamandaxo
She wraps more than 200 presents each year and puts them on display for her children to enjoy
Image credits: pandaamandaxo
Image credits: pandaamandaxo
Image credits: pandaamandaxo
She posted images of the mountain of gifts on social media, which went viral
People tend to immediately dislike someone who appears to be spoiled by their parents
Amanda, the woman in question, later spoke with PEOPLE to explain her viral photo. According to her, it was a “giant optical illusion” that made it look like she had a mountain of gifts in her living room. In reality, the 200 gifts on display included presents for friends and relatives, as well as for her three children.
Amanda also noted that it was simply a visual of presents, a tradition in her family since she was a child.
What likely garnered negative reactions from people online was the idea that Amanda may be spoiling her children. According to psychiatrist Dr. Fredric Neuman, a spoiled child who eventually grows up “is likely to seem unpleasant, even obnoxious, to the people around them.”
“Being spoiled suggests to most people a desire for more and more possessions, and that is indeed one aspect of being spoiled; but another is an unwillingness to conform to ordinary social expectations,” Dr. Neuman wrote.
Parents can immediately sense if they are raising a spoiled child, especially one who is used to being showered with gifts. According to child psychologist Dr. Michele Borba, signs include being more inclined to receive than to give, never being satisfied with what they have, and demanding things ASAP.
“They’re used to having all the toys in the world, but it’s never enough. They always want more, more, more,” Dr. Borba wrote in an article for CNBC.
Dr. Borba included a few tips to help children unlearn spoiled attitudes they may have picked up, the most important one being to focus on giving, not getting. She advised setting limits on material items and teaching the child to accept gifts with politeness and appreciation.
As for Amanda, hopefully, she isn’t spoiling her children as much as it may have seemed in the viral photos. Her explanation wasn’t a good look, either.
People in the comments didn't have very nice things to say
There were some who defended the woman
The mom finally responded, mostly with indifference
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One commenter pointed out how her kids may turn out
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She reiterated that it was a family tradition, while also mentioning her adult son
Another commenter had some choice words
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She then explained that the display of gifts was more of an "optical illusion"
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However, some weren't buying her explanation
