Grandma of four ‘will never’ buy gifts for grandchildren – trolls say she’s hateful

A GRANDMOTHER with four grandchildren says she has never given her grandchildren a present.

Tammie Kelton, 50, told her adult children that once she became a grandmother, she would no longer buy the children gifts.

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Tammie, a grandmother of four grandchildren aged nine, six, three and eight months, said the children had already received piles of gifts on their birthdays and holidays that she didn’t want to add to.

She shared her choice on social media and was even told by internet trolls that she should hate her grandchildren.

But she admitted that she doesn’t buy gifts that they’ll throw away, lose or forget, but puts money into a savings account for each gift.

So while the grandchildren may not get anything now, when they are adults they will receive a sum of money, which she hopes will be around $40,000 (£30,200).
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Tammie said she wants to help them with their future in a more long-term way and she feels this is the best solution.

Tammie, a nurse practitioner from Sidney, Ohio, USA, said: “I opened their investment accounts the day they were born.

“The grandchildren already have several family members who shower them with gifts.

“If they receive gifts from too many other people, they will lose their way and be forgotten.

“But as adults they will remember: ‘This is what Grandma Mimi did to help me with the rest of my life.’”

Tammie explained that she was pregnant and had dropped out of high school. Her children were 18 and 20 years old.

She grew up in poverty herself and raised her own children in poverty as well.

It wasn’t until she was 30 that she went to university and got a degree. She then started a career in nursing, which she now makes a good living from.

But she said both she and her children can still remember what life was like when money was tight.

She said: “I had a difficult start and I was young, so I couldn’t help my children either.

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My children still remember what it was like when the electricity went out.

“There were times when I struggled to put food on the table.”

Tammie’s goal now is to “break the generational curse and give them generational prosperity,” because she and her children never had that.

Even though they may have fewer presents to unwrap on their birthday, she still feels it is important to prepare them for their future.

I want to help my grandchildren in a way that I couldn’t help my children

Tammie Kelton, 50

Tammie said her eldest grandchild currently has between $10,000 (£7,500) and $15,000 (£11,300) in his account.

She added: “They know I love them. It’s the time I spend with them that shows, not the presents.

“Everyone in the family knows what I do and they love it. They know it will give their grandchildren a good start in life.

“I want to help my grandchildren in a way that I couldn’t help my children.”