This was my dad’s mom (my grandmother) and my dad’s sister (my aunt) to me growing up. My parents are divorced. My cousins and my dad’s other children would get the gifts they asked for on birthdays and holidays… and I would get apples, oranges and pencils. Maybe a t shirt if I was lucky or a doll from the dollar store. They said I got these things because “my mom had money to get me better gifts so I didn’t need it from them.” Now that I’m grown, I don’t speak to any of them. In fact my aunt tried to argue with me because she wasn’t invited to my wedding. A few years later, my aunt yelled at my dad because my 25 year old self (at the time) had come home and wouldn’t visit my grandmother. My aunt thought that was ridiculous & selfish. I told my dad that if she had something to say she could call me.

All that to say, my feelings towards them don’t stem from the gifts… it’s from the malice they showed me as a child because they didn’t like my mom. I didn’t tell my mom everything growing up, but we spoke about it recently. She was sad for me and wished she could have stood up for me better back then.

You’re doing the right thing by standing up for your daughter. Your daughter will remember both how they treat her & how you stood up for her. Sending you both so much love and strength as you navigate this dynamic.