Son is 16, best friend is 17, they go to the same high school. Best friend’s family’s wealthy. He bought son a brand new iPhone 16 Pro Max & a pair of AirPods Pro 2, so they can “match”. Son’s obviously very happy, but I think it’s a bit too much. I called the parents and they said it’s fine, it’s just pocket change.
If they’re actually wealthy and they said this was just chump change for them, and it was a gift, I just don’t quite see where the “unhealthy dynamic” is. You sure this isn’t just about pride?
Maybe a little bit of that too. But not my pride; I don’t want son to be seen as a charity case.
But isn’t that still your pride talking?
I guess what I’m trying to get at here is that I doubt the people giving the gift see your son (or you) as a charity case. To your son’s best friend it’s just about giving his bestie a gift he knows he’ll like
It’s very likely not charity to them.
Think about it this way. If you had a really good friend that maybe wasn’t doing as well financially and you had to get them something for their birthday, and you knew there was something they wanted that they couldn’t afford but you could easily get for them, would you feel like you were doing charity or just something nice for a nice person?
Don’t let pride get in the way. Just think about what’s best for your kid and if he gets some nice things here and there, no big deal as long as he’s not getting hurt or used.
It could actually end up being a valuable friendship and not cause of how rich these people are. You never know.
yeah you need to drop this bullshit American mentality, sorry.
sounds like pride, probably either dont want to be seen as “poor” recieving handouts, or getting stuff for free/gift you dint buy yourself.
its a little different if they are gifting and the wealthy family thinks your poor and needing a handout, but its not in this case, this would be insulting your intelligence, and kinda mean.