110: What a wonderful mother you must be and how fortunate your daughter is to grow up in a safe, loving, secure environment. Every night of my childhood I went to bed with my stomach churning and every morning I woke up the same way, with the same worry; what was going to happen today? What stupid, asshole thing was I going to get blamed for that I was nowhere near? What crappy stunt was my mother going to pull? Was she going to cheat me? Set me up for the neighborhood bully? Steal from me? Was she going to slap me silly over something so miniscule a normal parent wouldn't haven given it a thought? Or would this be a day when nothing bad happened? I never knew. I was completely set up for failure by the person who should have been doing the most to help me succeed. Everything I did was in spite of her, not because of her, yet she grabs the credit for my success. No child should ever live the way I did.

Honestly, some parents aren't concerned with actually being good parents. They are only concerned with their own wallet and with others thinking they are good parents, which is not the same thing. The illusion is cheaper and easier. Who cares what your kids think? It's what your peers think that matters. I would be willing to bet the OP's parents bragged to everyone that they got the OP an xbox for his birthday, conveniently leaving out the little detail that the OP actually paid for it himself. Presto! The friends and neighbors give them kudos and they strut around and think it didn't cost them a thing. Here is the real cost; the respect of their son. In the choice between their wallet and the respect of their child, they chose their wallet. They made this choice because they think they don't have to earn their child's respect. They think it's "automatic" that kids respect their parents so they have it "in the bag" and don't need to work at it so by their estimation they have their money AND their son's respect. They view this as, "he's mad now, but we're his parents so he'll get over it and we'll have gotten away with it." But the memory of being screwed over by your own parents is forever. It isn't the money; it's the lack of respect that's painful.

What does 'ingrateful' mean?

What should he be grateful for? He bought it himself.