A grandmother who refuses to buy gifts for her grandchildren was told she 'must hate them' – but she insists she has a good reason.
Tammy Kelton, 50, told her grown children that she would no longer buy them gifts when she became a grandmother.
Tammy – who is a grandmother to four grandchildren aged nine, six, three and eight months – said the kids get so many gifts on their birthdays and holidays that she doesn't want to add to it.
She shared her choice on social media – and was even told by trolls that “you'll hate your grandchildren.”
But she said that instead of buying them gifts that they will throw away, lose or forget about, she puts money into a savings account for each of them.
So, although the grandchildren won't get anything right now – they will be gifted money when they become adults, which he expects will be around $40,000 each.
Tammy said she wants to help them shape their future long-term and believes this is the best solution.
Tammy, a nurse practitioner from Sidney, Ohio, US, said: “I set up each of their investment accounts the day they were born.
“The grandchildren have many family members who are already lavishing them with gifts.
“When they are given gifts by many people, they get lost and forgotten.
“But as adults they will remember — ‘This is what Grandma Mimi did to help me get through the rest of my life.’”
Tammy explained that she was a “pregnant high school drop-out”, and that her children were 18 and 20 years old.
She herself grew up in poverty and she also raised her children in poverty.
It wasn’t until she was 30 that she went to university and gained a degree before pursuing a career in nursing – and she now enjoys a comfortable life.
But he said he and his children remember what life was like when money was tight.
She said: “I had a tough start and I was young so I couldn’t even help my kids.
My kids remember what it was like when our power went out.
“There were times when I struggled to eat.”
Tammy's goal now is to “break the generational curse and give them generational wealth,” because she and her children never had it.
Though they will have fewer gifts to open on their birthday, she believes it is important to prepare them for their future.
Tammy said that currently, her eldest grandson has between $10,000 and $15,000 in his account.
She added: “They know I love them – they know that from the time I spend with them, not from gifts.”
“Everyone in the family knows what I’m doing and they love it – they know it will give their grandchildren a great start in life.
“I want to help my grandchildren the way I couldn’t help my children.”
