Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Elderly parents

Greedy and manipulative how to deal

4 replies

TopazQuartz · 17/08/2025 23:43

Elderly parent (mother) always been abusive to other parent (now deceased).

Today myself and elderly parent given a gift / ornament. Mine was larger and different colour to my mothers' one.

Tonight my mother said the gifter 'showed us a better one' and 'then gave me this one and kept the better one, but I liked that one, not this one.'

Like the idiot I am I said 'no, they never kept it, they gave the other one to me.' Historically the gift in question has always been more my thing than my mother's but truly I like her's too.

Then like the double idiot I am I said she could have mine as I really don't mind.

Truth is I don't, it really doesn't matter, I'm not materialistic.

But now I'm reflecting on it, it's not about whether I mind about the gift itself, I mind about my mother's greed and manipulation. She saw it being gifted to me, she saw me commenting on it etc.

So she actually lied saying she thought that they took 'the best one' back. She was just waiting for me to jump in and say no they didn't, they gave it to me.

I cannot believe it's that important to her to have the gift. That's the thing. So important to her that she wants it off her own daughter. I just don't get it. If it were the other way around I'd have been happy being given the other gift. They are both lovely. I truly don't care if my mother has mine, but I'm angry at how pathetic she is that it's that important to her and that she has resorted to lies and manipulation to get it. Something is wrong with all this.

Anyone around who gets what I'm saying? (I'm not being that clear tonight I know). I've said she can have it now and I truly do not care that much about the actual gift, but I want to be able to anticipate my mother in future and it's hard when I don't think the way she does.

OP posts:
myplace · 18/08/2025 07:46

Totally!
DM gets upset if she hasn’t got the best- the biggest serving of dinner, the best present etc.

She gives awful presents.

She will take someone else’s allocation without guilt leaving them worse off. And she’s richer and better able to buy for herself than anyone else so it pees me off to see her taking from her grandchildren.

defrazzled · 18/08/2025 12:01

SIL is like this and I no longer give DB the lovely personal gifts I used to because he gives them to her! I found it quite hurtful tbh. In future refuse and say ‘no, it was xxxx gift to give and they gave it to me, not you!’

defrazzled · 18/08/2025 12:03

Sil tried to steal my gmas engagement ring from
me because she ‘didn’t understand’
why db was given less financial valuable but very sentimentally important books. Arrgggghhhh DD told her what was what then, she snarked and pouted all day. It’s so pathetic! I am sorry you have this with your mum. I can’t fathom it, I mean you’re her baby! Who does that!

SwirlingSea · 18/08/2025 12:35

My friends mother is like this. My friend and I went to an exhibition together and we both got momentos and “gifted” them to each other.
When she showed her mother, he mother literally sulked and pouted that my friend hadn’t got her one til my friend felt obliged to give it to her mum.
Her mum was thrilled with this.
I really don’t get how a parent can be like this and I feel so sorry and angry for my friend. She is manipulated like this all the time.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page