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Girl With Several Siblings Is Upset After Mom Says Her Birthday Concert Tickets Will Go To Her Bro
Giving a present to someone is usually quite a personal thing. After all, whatever you’re gifting is often picked with a specific person in mind and is not intended to be passed on to anyone else.
But, as one Redditor shared, sometimes, even the idea of giving a birthday gift doesn’t go according to plan. This person had tickets for a concert to a band that their daughter liked, and since they couldn’t go, they decided to gift them to the girl’s best friend. However, they soon learned that the girl wouldn’t be going to see the band either, as her mom decided on a better use for the tickets. Scroll down to read the full story!
More info: Reddit
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Giving a gift to a specific person can be really disappointing if we learn that they won’t get to enjoy it at all
Image credits: Ivan Samkov (not the actual photo)
A person’s daughter had a best friend from a multi-child family who would spend a lot of time with them since her own home was very chaotic
Image credits: Raychan (not the actual photo)
The person had two tickets to a concert, but since neither they nor their daughter could attend, they chose to give them to the girl’s best friend as a birthday gift
Image credits: Alex Green (not the actual photo)
The next day, the person learned that the girl’s mom decided to take her brother to the concert instead of her, as he had never been to one before
Image credits: safarijane22
The person got really upset since neither the mom nor the son liked the band, so they took back the gift and agreed to give the girl something else
The OP has a 13-year-old daughter who has a best friend of nearly the same age. For the sake of this story, the poster’s child is called Jenny, and her friend is Morgan.
While Jenny is the only child in the family, Morgan has four siblings, so she spends a lot of time with her best friend and her family. The author would occasionally enter radio/online competitions and win tickets to various local events, which they would then take the girls to.
Recently, the OP won a pair of tickets to a concert for a band that Jenny and Morgan liked. They planned to take their daughter to it, but an unexpected work trip changed their plans.
Since Jenny would often accompany her parent on such trips, she suggested that they give the tickets to Morgan as her birthday was approaching so she could go with her mother or another friend.
However, the next time the girl visited after receiving said gift, she was sad. The author asked her what she was upset about, and the girl explained that her mother decided to take her brother to the concert instead, just because he had never been to one while all his other siblings already had.
The OP called to double-check with Morgan’s mom, who confirmed what the girl said, adding that the boy barely knew anything about the band. Hearing that, they told the mother that they didn’t feel right giving this gift anymore, so they would be taking it back and giving it to another girl while giving Morgan something else.
While Morgan’s mother was really upset about this, saying that the person shouldn’t teach her how to parent, the commenters stood with the OP. They all agreed that it made no sense for her or her son to go to a concert that neither of them liked and that stealing a birthday gift from her daughter made it all a lot worse.
Image credits: Wendy Wei (not the actual photo)
When it comes to gifts, situations like these can really ruin all the happiness that comes with them. However, if everything goes well, there’s actually quite a bit of interesting science behind it.
As Molly Ledwith of Teak & Twine wrote, giving gifts to others actually improves one’s own happiness. During this process and the anticipation leading up to it, the giver’s brain releases serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin, making us feel good.
Moreover, gifts are great for improving relationships, as they’re often a way to express one’s appreciation of the other person. In addition to that, they also help us strengthen our ties with others by creating positive memories that are linked to those gifts.
Of course, not all gifts are equal, and the price has little to do with that. According to Kate Murphy of the New York Times, when it comes to this delicate process, context is everything. In other words, the most important part of giving a gift is being able to show that you listened, observed, and empathized with the person, letting them understand that you really know and care for them.
Thus, diamond earrings can fall flat completely if the person gifting them misses that the recipient doesn’t have their ears pierced. On the other hand, something as simple as instant ramen could become a massively successful gift when it is a particularly rare flavor that the receiver really wanted to try but never got a chance to do so.
So, in the end, you don’t need to spend a lot of money to show someone that you care, and you can feel better about yourself in the process, too. However, what is wrong is taking a gift from someone else who actually wanted it and giving it to another person who doesn’t really care for it. So, for now, let’s just hope that Morgan’s mother will learn this lesson.
What did you think about this story? How would you have acted in the OP’s place? Tell us all about it in the comments below!
The commenters agreed with the poster’s decision, saying that approaching the situation how the girl’s mother did was wrong in every way
What do you think ?
Alexandra 7 months ago
Why do some parents think that their children are the same? I understand about not wanting to favour one child above the other, but different children have different interests and that's okay as long as every child with an interest in something gets the chance of doing something with that interest. It makes no sense in dragging that boy to a concert just because his siblings went to one when he doesn't like concerts. Do something with him that he does like.
Sherman 7 months ago
This is the type of stuff my mom didn't me as a kid. I'm the youngest of 3 n have 2 older brothers. My mom would always exclude me on things, even when those things were for me. Like when my paternal grandma passed away, but she had season tickets to the ballet.. she used to take my mom n me every year to see the nutcracker. When she died, the tickets were left to me.. my mom decided to try to sell them instead of taking me or letting my dad take me. My dad found out n obviously told her she can't do that. So what did she do? She decided to take my two brothers instead... WHO DIDNT WANT TO GO n hated every minute of it. Needless to say that I have been NC w/ my mom for awhile now. Every time we "make up" I'm quickly reminded of why I've spent most of my life avoiding her. Yeah, it sucks that the brother has never been to a concert. But going to see a band you don't like isn't a fun experience..it's seeing a band you love that makes ut special.
Lawpanda 7 months ago
Exactly he probably won't even enjoy being there. For that mom will be mad and complain. Sorry about your mom.
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Weasel Wise 7 months ago
Sounds like something my parents would have (and have) done, take my birthday gift without asking me and give it to someone they've decided needed it more.
Sherman 7 months ago
Are we siblings? Lol. Nah my mom was the one who would do this all the time to me. One time I had a 6th bday party n 2 guests got me 2 different CDs by the same band. I band I LOVED (The Doors) n everyone knew this. But my mom decided that i didn't need two CDs from the same band bc they "all sound the same" n gave it to my brothers friend a couple days later just bc he was wearing his parents old band tshirt. It wasn't even "The Doors" tshirt. It was a pink Floyd shirt. But she figured "he'd enjoy it more than I would since I had 2" 2 DIFFERENT CDS! I also wrote about a story in the comments of her doing this exact thing to me. I could legit write a whole book about my mother doing this s**t to me as a kid. My dad was always great. He just worked 60+ hrs a week. But When my parents got divorced our family split - mom/2brothers n me/my dad. I have never felt like I was part of "their" family. My dad died in 2020 n I feel like I lost my entire family. Some ppl shouldn't be parents.
Load More Replies...
Alexandra 7 months ago
Why do some parents think that their children are the same? I understand about not wanting to favour one child above the other, but different children have different interests and that's okay as long as every child with an interest in something gets the chance of doing something with that interest. It makes no sense in dragging that boy to a concert just because his siblings went to one when he doesn't like concerts. Do something with him that he does like.
Sherman 7 months ago
This is the type of stuff my mom didn't me as a kid. I'm the youngest of 3 n have 2 older brothers. My mom would always exclude me on things, even when those things were for me. Like when my paternal grandma passed away, but she had season tickets to the ballet.. she used to take my mom n me every year to see the nutcracker. When she died, the tickets were left to me.. my mom decided to try to sell them instead of taking me or letting my dad take me. My dad found out n obviously told her she can't do that. So what did she do? She decided to take my two brothers instead... WHO DIDNT WANT TO GO n hated every minute of it. Needless to say that I have been NC w/ my mom for awhile now. Every time we "make up" I'm quickly reminded of why I've spent most of my life avoiding her. Yeah, it sucks that the brother has never been to a concert. But going to see a band you don't like isn't a fun experience..it's seeing a band you love that makes ut special.
Lawpanda 7 months ago
Exactly he probably won't even enjoy being there. For that mom will be mad and complain. Sorry about your mom.
Load More Replies... Weasel Wise 7 months ago
Sounds like something my parents would have (and have) done, take my birthday gift without asking me and give it to someone they've decided needed it more.
Sherman 7 months ago
Are we siblings? Lol. Nah my mom was the one who would do this all the time to me. One time I had a 6th bday party n 2 guests got me 2 different CDs by the same band. I band I LOVED (The Doors) n everyone knew this. But my mom decided that i didn't need two CDs from the same band bc they "all sound the same" n gave it to my brothers friend a couple days later just bc he was wearing his parents old band tshirt. It wasn't even "The Doors" tshirt. It was a pink Floyd shirt. But she figured "he'd enjoy it more than I would since I had 2" 2 DIFFERENT CDS! I also wrote about a story in the comments of her doing this exact thing to me. I could legit write a whole book about my mother doing this s**t to me as a kid. My dad was always great. He just worked 60+ hrs a week. But When my parents got divorced our family split - mom/2brothers n me/my dad. I have never felt like I was part of "their" family. My dad died in 2020 n I feel like I lost my entire family. Some ppl shouldn't be parents.
Load More Replies...
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