To think no one does this - Christmas toys related

My kids eyes do light up at receiving a wanted gift.

They don't suffer for waiting 5 minutes.tingwt it out of the packaging or whatever.

get the hardest console she got her babies. see if she can actually play 🙄

You said you ensure there are batteries etc as needed, that’s the best I can do as well. She sounds annoying AF, but there is really no need to point out she had more time than you etc. It’s possible she has immense guilt over what you revealed about her and the human brain makes up for its regrets. ‘that’s great, but i don’t bother’ is enough of an answer.

I suppose the original question was ‘ Aibu to think that no one does this’ and since a fair bit of people do ‘this’ YABU to think your mil was the only one. YANBU to do what works for you and your family though.

Have done both SAHM and FT work with medically complex children. Whatever the situation of course I had more time to do child/home oriented things as SAHM - that’s the whole point! 😂

This isn’t about batteries and toys or whatever.

you both just sound as if you need to make more effort to get on with one another.

My dad used to set up our computers as they might have needed an update. I'll probably do the same when my children are older and I can return them if they are broke. Some games now take hours to update and download when you buy them.

My daughter is only 3 and my son is 6 months so I'm opening their presents and putting batteries in before wrapping them this year. I do it when they are in bed and I'm watching I'm a celebrity. I felt last year me and my partner spent ages putting batteries in toys and cutting them from their packaging, that along with getting the dinner ready, I spent very little time playing with them.

Quite.

I think people must be hyping their kids up too much. We had lovely Christmases with our kids. If something was ever (rarely) broken or needed making, my kids waited. Happy to play with something else from their stocking etc. They would never have acted like brats over this stuff. And we have never found making toys up, stressful. Young kids get up soooo early! There is loads of time to make toys and put batteries in.

I think some parents need to relax a bit and not get into a panic that they need to have every present ‘ready to go’ and perfect. If your kids cannot wait an hour or so to play with their new gift, then maybe you need to think why they are behaving like this… Goodness.

@gamerchick right?? so far I’ve had 2 instances where parts were missing (out of 4 yrs of Xmas with kid) . Last thing I want is hassle to deal with after the holidays when everyone else is also returning etc even if my kid doesn’t mind waiting.
also am I the only person who wants to sit and enjoy their coffee in peace instead of dealing with toy assembly even though it’s Xmas morning?

It wasn’t a dig, it was a fact 🙄

No because half the fun is figuring out how to open it . I think she's talking rubbish

I reckon she's riddled with guilt over her terrible mothering your poor DH. Some great tips there though, I hadn't thought to do anything beyond making sure we have batteries.

I'd like to know how the adults saying kids should learn to wait for told their long awaited gift didn't work because the buyer couldn't be arsed to check I worked before giving it them and they need an instant gratification check. Can imagine the thread now

"And sorry but SAHMs DO have more time for domestic stuff. It’s fine, it’s not a bad thing but I don’t see the point in pretending otherwise. Because parents who work deal with the above too."

You're right OP. Anyone who argues otherwise has not worked full time and raised children. I've been a working mum and a SAHM (although the latter only briefly) and I can tell everyone bloody straight without any qualms which is easier.

Oh come on. They will have waited all month for Christmas. There are plenty of times in the year to learn these things.

If it helps parents to have a good Christmas Day there is nothing wrong with choosing to set toys up in advance!

Genuine question, how are kids supposed to learn delayed gratification and patience if they never encounter situations where it's required? It's not like we're talking about making them wait till the shops are open again to get batteries (which I agree wouldn't be fair on them).

Allthenameshavegone1972

the tone was definitely off though (from someone who has done both). And yes I get offended over that sort of thing! I am extra tired and cranky at the mo and didn’t mean to derail the thread so sorry!

As ever the devil is in the detail. Popping a couple of AA batteries in, yeah sure, do it there and then. And NT kids can learn to do it themselves no problem, and cope with disappointment or waiting. But a complex building process that can take hours, like with the football table above will probably result in pissed off parents, whinging kids and a spoiled day. Why do that? Theres a big difference in a toy where building it is part of the process like Lego and when it's just an obstacle. Anyone want to be given a flat pack IKEA set for Christmas? So many posts here rubbishing the whole idea of a bit of prepping because it's easy to put in batteries. ...how about ND kids, single parents dealing with multiple kids who all need help at the same time, complex tech that isn't the same as an Atari. Nuance matters.

It can take more than a few seconds if you haven't got the right batteries, or the toy needs a screwdriver to undo the battery compartment and you can't quite remember where the screwdriver is, and then you need your glasses too ....

Different families, different children, different levels of organisation. It is all ok.

It takes literally seconds to put batteries in. People are hardly delaying cooking lunch because they haven’t taken a present out of the box before wrapping!