'Why I refuse to buy my grandchildren presents'

Marie-Claire Dorking
Updated
Tammie Kelton has shared why she doesn't buy her grandchildren presents, pictured with her grandchildren. (Tammie Kelton/SWNS)

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A grandmother who refuses to buy gifts for her grandchildren has shared her reasons for sticking to the present buying ban.

Tammie Kelton, 50, told her grown-up children that when she became a grandmother, she wouldn't buy the children gifts.

Tammie, who is grandmother to four grandchildren aged nine, six, three and eight months, explained that on their birthdays and holidays, the kids would already get plenty of gifts that she didn't want to add to.

Instead of buying the children stuff they'll throw away, lose or forget, she puts money in a savings account for each of them.

So while her grandchildren may not get anything now, when they reach adulthood, they will have a cumulative sum of money, which she hopes will be in the region of $40K (around £30K) each.

Kelton says she wants to help the, in a more long-term way and feels this is the best solution.

Tammie Kelton has shared why she doesn't buy her grandchildren presents, pictured with her grandchildren. (Tammie Kelton/SWNS)
Tammie Kelton has shared why she doesn't buy her grandchildren presents, pictured with her grandchildren. (Tammie Kelton/SWNS) (Tammie Kelton / SWNS)

"I set up their investment accounts the day each of them was born," the nurse practitioner, from Sidney, Ohio, in the US explains.

"The grandchildren have several family members who inundate them with gifts already.

"When they have loads of other people giving them gifts, they get lost and forgotten.

"But as adults they'll remember - 'this is what Grandma Mimi did to help me with the rest of my life'."

Kelton had her own children young, aged just 18 and 20, and had to drop-out of high school.

She herself recalls growing up in poverty and having to bring her kids up with money being tight.

It wasn't until she turned 30 that Kelton went to university and got a degree before forging a career in nursing.

That was the turning point for her financially and now she makes a comfortable living, but she says both she and her children haven't forgotten what life was like when she didn't have a lot of money.

"I had a rough start and I was young so I couldn't help my kids either," she explains.

"My children remember what it was like when our electric would get cut off.

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

Kelton says she would rather invest in her grandchildren's future. (Tammie Kelton/SWNS)
Kelton says she would rather invest in her grandchildren's future. (Tammie Kelton/SWNS) (Tammie Kelton / SWNS)

Kelton's aim is now to "break the generational curse" and give her grandchildren "generational wealth" because she says she and her children never had that.

While they may have a few less gifts to unwrap on their birthdays, she feels it's important to set them up for their future.

At the moment Kelton says her eldest grandchild has between $10K (around £7.5K) and $15K (around £11K) in their account already.

While she has had some negative comments about her decision, she says the family are all on board.

"They know I love them - the time I spend with them shows them that, not the gifts," Kelton adds.

"In the family everyone knows what I'm doing and they love it," she continues. "They know it'll give the grandchildren a great start in life.

"I want to help them [my grandchildren] in a way I couldn't help my children."

Additional reporting SWNS.

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