My 9 yr old child opened all her Christmas gifts under the tree, should I return them as her punishment?

Answer 1

Man... that's rough. I put so much thought into my kids gifts it would probably hurt me more to bring them back than them! BUT... in this case, I would take all but one of them back. Hide it, then....On Christmas morning, pull it out and give it to her. Fretting that all her gifts are gone will be punishment enough!

Answer 2

Awww..she was so excited! But really, what I think you should do is just keep them put away until Christmas day and give them to her then, after everyone else you are with has opened all of their gifts and she has to sit and just wait and watch. This will be a good lesson in patience. She will also learn that she ruined the great part about Christmas day because the morning will come and she will not have anything to open. That will be a good lesson. I would not return them NOR would I re-wrap them and let her open them again! I'd go middle of the road on this one. BTW...I know how frustrating that must have been for you! Hope you have a Merry Christmas!

Answer 3

Returning all her presents is too harsh and as already commented upon, tis the season to be forgiving, just as Jesus forgave us.

9 maybe old enough to know better, depends on how you brought her up. I would think that at 9, if she knew what she was doing was wrong, she would have made efforts to hide the presents or rewrap them.

I would leave the presents exactly where they are, unwrapped beneath the tree. This could also provide a starting point to discuss her actions. For instance, if someone asks why they are not wrapped you could look at your 9 year old daughter while explaining. The extra support from others will help her to understand that repeat performances are unacceptable.

Her disappointment of having no presents to open on Christmas Day when the rest of the family are all excited over their surprises will be punishment enough. The presents she has unwrapped will not hold the excitement they would have.

Answer 4

Why punish a child for curiosity? How often have adults opened their presents before Christmas despite being told by the giver to wait? Over the years, I have given out many, many presents with express instructions to wait till Christmas. About 80% of the recipients confess to opening it immediately upon returning home. If adults don't have patience, why expect it of a child. Besides it's Christmas and to punish a 9 year old kid for opening her presents is the ultimate in Scrooge behavior.
What happened to the spirit of love and forgiveness? How do you teach a child about love and forgiveness if he gets punished every time he does something his parents don't approve of. Most of these parents calling for this kids neck sound like army sergeants. Relax. Some things must be laughed off. The kid has already ruined her Christmas. If she gets punished for it. she'll never want to celebrate Christmas again. I know that I wouldn't, because it would always remind me of the humiliation I was subjected to.

Answer 5

Actually, she has already paid for her mistake. Think about it this way. The thing that makes Christmas so awesome is the UNEXPECTED gifts and surprises. She will have no surprises if she has already discovered the gifts. I did this when I was a child. I 'peeked' at all the gifts and knew what everything was before Christmas morning. I was so disappointed on Christmas morning yet I could NOT divulge to my parents that I was unhappy because I had no surprises.

Never since have I been tempted to 'peek' at a present with my name on it.

I suggest you sit back and and 'let' her earn her just reward. If nothing else, she should learn hindsight. You can let fate take care of the lesson and you can just enjoy Christmas and everything that implies.

Answer 6

Why would you put her presents under the tree before Christmas? Personally, I think you are the one in the wrong here, not her. Don't rewrap them, just put them under the tree. You can not punish her for something that was YOUR wrong doing. If you had hid them some where, then put them out Christmas Eve after she had gone to bed, you wouldn't have this problem. What kind of parent would take all the presents back? That's just mean and hateful, and shows NO Christmas spirit what so ever.

Answer 7

First off, why, why, why are the presents already under the tree? How about if someone gives you something you absolutely love and tells you that you can't have it for a week but you have to look at it, smell it, deal with it, untill they allow you to. She's 9. Why would you temp her that way! I think you should take them away rewrap them and hide them untill Christmas like you were suppose to do in the first place! But, ground her from the phone for doing what she did, cause she is 9.

Answer 8

Oh baby....You know what the rule in my house has been since "birth", if you open your gifts before christmas you have to take them to the local charity toy drive and donate it to a child who can really appreciate it, I also do this when my kids don't like their gifts. Of course after they have learned their lesson and stopped crying and complaining and see for themselves, why it is better to give than recieve, I replace it. Believe me I have three kids and I only had to do this with my oldest son (12 yrs now)once and he has made it clear to the siblings about the how and why. By the way, he never passes a donation box with digging in his wallet. Happy Holidays.

Answer 9

I would not return the gifts nor would I rewrap them and put them back under the tree. I would simply let her keep the toys and explain to her that on christmas morning when the rest of the family is opening their gifts she will not have anything to open because she opened hers early.

Answer 10

If it was my child, I wouldn't. She just wouldn't get the joy and excitement of opening her gifts on Christmas morning with the rest of the family. I "peeked" at gifts at about that same age, I think, and my mom just told me if I wanted to ruin all my surprises, to just go ahead, and then she wouldn't have to work so hard to make Christmas nice for me, etc. I felt so guilty, I never did it again! But that was me, and my kids would probably be the same way. But - and this is important - I'm their mom and I know their personalities and I know what would make an impact on them, just like my mom knew would make the biggest impact on me. You are your daughter's mom, and you know her personality, and what would make the biggest impact on her. If you told her the same thing my mom told me, would she just say "Yay!!" and be happy and keep doing it, or would she feel guilty? Only you can say, so you ultimately have to choose the punishment that is in proportion to the "crime" that she is most likely to respond to/learn from. Good luck!

Answer 11

u need to punish her. she's old enough to know better. and if u told her not to open them, well then that gives her NO right @ all to open them. what i would do, is return ALL but one gift, and make her re-wrap that present. it will be hard, but she's old enough by now, and has gone through about 5 christmases that she remembers, to know better than to do that. just dont yell @ her, that will only make the situation worse. tell her FIRMLY what she did was wrong, and that u will need to return them back to the store. this really isnt a laughing matter like some people say, she's testing u to see what u will do, eventually she will learn that u dont do anything about it, so she can keep on doing it. God Luck,and God Bless!!
or instead of returing them, give them to an orphange, or a homless sheltar, those kids would benifit them and make them so happy. i would really consider doing that, so u can see a childs smile!