Ask Amy: Hubby’s holiday responses leave wife wanting

Readers who have experienced this dynamic will weigh in.

Dear Amy: I recently delivered a small “thank you” gift to a neighbor child who had helped me with some yard work.

Afterwards, the father showed up at my door and returned the gift. He said that when one of the children receives a gift, they ALL must get a gift.

He returned it because I had bought only one gift.

He and his wife have FOUR children.

This makes no sense to me.

Dear Neighbor: Using this dad’s sideways logic, if you engage one child to help you with yard work, you would be obligated to hire all of his children.

This sort of “participation trophy” parenting might create problems for his kids down the line, but that is not your business.

Reading beneath his unfriendly gesture, you should assume that he does not want his children to help you.

If you decide to try again, you should perhaps agree on a reasonable fee for the work in advance.

Because this father seems to have a firm grip on interactions with his children, you should run this plan past him.