My MIL (bless her soul) had this opinion that when you have two kids you should always get them the same of everything to avoid jealousy issues.
Easy for her to say, her kids were both boys with a very small age gap. I have 2 kids with a biggish age-gap and completely different interests. So, I did what I usually do and gave her advice the deaf ear.
Until I realized the fun of same-same shopping. While I don’t go all out and get them both the exact same thing, I try to keep a theme in mind. And if Snubnose gets something for her birthday, I try to make sure there is a little something-something for Piglet as well. And of course, this works both ways 🙂 .
It happened all by accident when Santa gifted Snubnose a reversible Panda sweatshirt two years ago. Piglet ended up getting a Panda Lego set.
It would have been easier to just get them the same sweatshirt. But thrifty ole me has decided that Piglet will get Snubnose’s sweatshirt anyway when she outgrows it, so there’s no point in getting him one. Instead he got building blocks to improve his motor and analytic skills.
Piglet loves his Panda and at the time he was gifted it, he was too small (just 1-year-old) to question anything.
This time around though it’s going to be more difficult. Piglet is now 2, and has shown himself to be a jealous and possessive little person. Now that Snubnose’s birthday is rolling around, I am sure he’s going to set his round covetous eyes (and paws) on whatever gifts she gets.
So, I am thinking whales. A sweet little birthday dress for Snubnose, which won’t attract Piglet’s interest, and a huggie whale pillow for Piglet, which he”ll love to chew on (he still hasn’t lost his affinity for eating cotton and wool).
The pillow though is of good quality and will not pill, or burst, or lose color. I am confident this buy is 100% Piglet-proof and that he will love it to bits.
And isn’t Snubnose’s dress just the cutest? I love the whales appliquéd on it, and I can’t wait to see Snubnose in it on her birthday.
It’s a surprise for her (and part of many surprises that I am planning 🙂 ). I have hidden it safely so her prying eyes won’t spot it. Hope the suspense lasts till her birthday 🙂 .
For those moms with more than 1 kid, how do you handle shopping for them? Do you try to keep things on the same level, or do they just have to accept that sometimes one gets something, and not the other.
I had a girl and a boy with very different interests and a 3 year age gap but for Christmas I did as you are doing and tried to link the presents (sometimes very tenuously) I do love the dress, that is beautiful. For birthday’s only the birthday child got a present as I felt it was important that each child had their own special day.
@disqus_mUBrEiIQ5D:disqus yeah, it’s very hard to explain to Piglet just yet. Snubnose is getting a dress and something else, whereas Piglet gets just the pillow to stop fights. When he grows up a bit, I can explain better to him.
Haha! My brother and I have a big age-gap (8.5 years); so as a little kid, I was stuck in a limbo of he gets more toys than me vs. yuck, I won;t play with those!
The pandas are the cutest I’ve seen. I’m sure the kid would love it. :3
@laavanyas:disqus Yeah, they both loved their gifts. Now, hope the birthday presents also work just as well. I am not worried though, I am pretty sure they”ll love them.
I never bought any of my kids anything without buying them all something, but never bought themed gifts. If it was one’s birthday, they got more money spent on them of course, and the other two got something that cost less. If one of them wanted something while we were shopping and I bought it for them, the other two got something of equal value. It worked great for me and for them.
@VickiSN:disqus Looks like yours is the way to go 🙂 It’s a bit hard on the budget, but a little bit extra prevents resentment and fighting.
I started doing that when my kids were really little because I had all 3 kids in 2 1/2 yrs. and since they were so young and close in age they wouldn’t have understood why one was getting a present(s) and they weren’t.
Let me know – what works in the long run, because I am about to join the bandwagon of more than 1 kiddo 🙂 Oh I love what your chose for Snubnose, so so cute 🙂
@veens:disqus I am not sure my budget will last if I do this always 🙁 . i hope in a couple of years J will be mature enough not to keep wanting new things all the time. High hopes though. Let’s see 🙂
This is an awesome idea for how to handle giving things to kids, and those whale items could not be cuter. I’m biased because I love whales, though. :p
@readingtheend:disqus yeah, I love whales and pandas and koalas 🙂 , there are enough animals to last us for years 🙂
I don’t know if I am doing the correct thing or not. According to my old-school mom, I pamper the kids too much, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with treating them every once in a while 🙂