In-Laws Demanding To Keep Expensive Baptism Gifts Dragged: 'Madness'

A husband's parents have been dragged for keeping their grandson's valuable baptism gifts.

In a viral post shared to the discussion site Mumsnet, user OctaviaWS12 explained the baptism took place in France, where the in-laws live.

Some 98 percent of 1,920 Mumsnet users voted: "You are not being unreasonable" on the poll and 375 people have responded since it was posted on November 15.

Newsweek spoke to a psychotherapist who said it is "possible something has been lost in translation" and suggests the family improve their understanding of each other.

It is considered a good form to bring a gift to a baptism.

The website gifts.com says silver is a traditional baptism gift that represents a wish for prosperity.

The Mumsnet user described their son as "very lucky" as he received many gifts from relatives. Two of these have caused issues with the in-laws, who are demanding they keep the handcrafted silver picture frame and a gold gift.

"My in-laws say that it has to stay in their house so that the person who gifted it can see it and they can enjoy it. However, we don't see our in-laws often as they are 'busy', maybe twice a year. In addition, they said that we would have to decide together who takes the gold and silver gifts home, as they want to keep some as a 'memento' of the baptism."

The parent refers to the situation as "madness" in the comments and asks other users if it is unreasonable to take all of the gifts home.

London-based psychotherapist William Pullen told Newsweek the concerns seem "understandable".

Assuming this isn't a "cultural dilemma," Pullen said: "In other words, there is no tradition in parts of France of keeping the baptism gifts given to your grandchildren.

"It's possible something has been lost in translation—perhaps their request came across as more of a demand or expectation—it sounds like this is what you are saying. In this case, it may be an opportunity to try and improve the quality of communication between the two parties. Perhaps there is a question as to why your husband isn't helping you navigate this issue.

"It is reasonable that they may want a memento from the christening and wonderful that they value their grandchildren in this way. But it sounds as though they have an expectation to 'split the loot' rather than keep one gift. Perhaps their family has a long tradition of sharing gifts equally in this way.

"Whether they do or not, I would suggest taking this opportunity to improve your understanding of each other and spend some time thinking about how you would like the communication to proceed in the future."

Newsweek was not able to verify the details of the case.