He can’t control how Grandma spends her money, and he shouldn’t try to.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that grandparents are supposed to spoil their grandkids in ways their parents aren’t allowed to. I believe grandparents do this because they know they won’t have as much time with their grandchildren as they’d like, and they want that time to be filled with as much joy and whimsy as possible. If that means giving in to their grandkids every wish and taking them to the zoo as frequently as possible, then that’s beautiful. 

Grandparents are also known to have slightly more disposable income than parents. After all, they’re not the ones paying for children’s daily expenses, which add up so quickly. Grandma isn’t buying new back-to-school clothes, nor is she putting gas in the tank so that Mom can drive the kids to soccer practice. Maybe you have a super-grandma who is always willing to give her child and grandchildren a helping hand with any mundane purchase. If you have a grandma like that in your life, consider yourself lucky. 

Heck, if you have any grandparent in your life who is willing and able to have a relationship with their grandkids, you’re a lucky duck. Any parent who tells their kids’ grandparents, «Hey, can you give them less attention?» doesn’t know how lucky they have it. There are always some grandparents who go too far, treating their grandchildren as if they’re their own children. But a grandpa buying his grandson one too many Hot Wheels isn’t worth pitching a fit over. Someday, you’ll miss the days of having too many Hot Wheels all over the carpet and wish you could go back to those days when grandpa was around to buy them.