The grandmother who refuses to buy presents for her grandchildren responds to criticism and reveals what she does instead

A grandmother who refuses to buy her grandchildren presents has been told she ‘must hate them’ – but insists she has a good reason.

Tammie Kelton, 50, told her grown children that when she became a grandmother, she would not buy the children gifts.

Tammie – who is a grandmother to four grandchildren aged nine, six, three and eight months – said on their birthdays and holidays, the children would already receive bundles of presents that she didn’t want to add to.

She shared her choice on social media – and was even told “you must hate your grandchildren” by trolls.

But she found that instead of buying gifts that will be thrown away, lost or forgotten, she puts money into a savings account for each one.

So while the grandchildren may not get anything now – when they come of age, they will be given the lump sum, which she hopes will be around $40,000 each.

Tammie said she wants to help them with their future in a more long-term way and thinks this is the best solution.

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

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

“When they have a lot of other people giving them gifts, they get lost and forgotten.

“But as adults they will remember – ‘this is what Grandma Mimi did to help me the rest of my life.’

Tammie explained that she had been a “pregnant high school dropout”, having her children aged 18 and 20.

She grew up in poverty herself and raised her children in poverty.

Aged just 30, she went to university and got a degree before forging a career in nursing – and now she lives a comfortable life.

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

She said: “I had a rough start and I was young so I couldn’t even help my children.

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

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

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

While they may have a few less presents to open on their birthdays, she thinks it’s important to set them aside for their future.

Tammie said that currently, her oldest grandson has between $10,000 and $15,000 in their account already.

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

“Everyone in the family knows what I’m doing and they love it – they know it will give the grandchildren a great start in life.

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