Christmas magic relies on a little patience and a lot of boundaries, especially with young kids.

When a grandparent tried to keep Christmas surprises intact, one child’s early unwrapping sparked a disagreement with the child’s mother.

What followed raised questions about discipline, fairness, and what types of behavior deserve to be rewarded.

Read on for the full story.

AITA not buying more presents?

So my grandkids were over, and we made Christmas cookies.

One especially difficult grandchild decided to open her presents that she found, despite being told that they were for next week.

But the child’s mother appeared to encourage this bad behavior.

The mother wants me to buy more presents for her to unwrap next week and let her take the original presents home to play with, to the dismay of her siblings.

I refuse to buy more gifts.

I just don’t understand the parenting style; it’s really hard to watch.

AITA?

Someone has to do some parenting around here.

What did Reddit think?

This user thinks the child needs to learn the consequences of her actions.

Receiving punishment may be the only way she learns her lesson.

This permissive parenting style may be to blame for the misbehaving.

Giving into the pressure for more gifts would definitely send the wrong message.

Learning to wait is part of growing up, and this child needs to learn that.

If there’s no consequence, there’s no lesson.

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.