I think fantasy is not only harmless, but a necessary part of any child's development. Word constructions can transport us to fantastical places, and help us concieve of futures never seen.
Should I teach my kids about Santa Claus? (Lie vs. Harmless Fantasy)
by AlmostAtheist 62 Replies latest jw friends
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drwtsn32
Santa isn't real?! *runs off sobbing*
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redhotchilipepper
I used to feel the same way as you Dave. I didn't want to lie to my kids. It's a bit of a funny story. I'll try to make it brief. I've become friends with a couple, our downstairs tenants. It turns out they go to parties and functions every year as Santa and Mrs. Claus. I've never seen such a commotion. Mrs. Claus sews Santas suit and her dresses. She makes everything. She is quite the seemstress. They are in their late 50's and fit the part to a tee. They even bleach their eyebrows. It's unbelievable. I know that they aren't the real Santa and Mrs. Claus but they have so much Christmas spirit and enthusiasm I'm starting to believe that they really are. It's amazing, the stories they tell me of their adventures. The kids that they have helped. Really sick kids. They talk to these kids about Rudolph and the other reindeer. It's enough to make you cry. After meeting them, this wonderful couple and their mission in life, I can't help but believe myself. I don't feel bad at all for celebrating Christmas knowing that my friends are out there doing a world of good for these poor needy kids and people in general. It honestly fills my heart with joy. I get to see them get in there car all dressed up as Santa and Mrs. Claus. Off they go to touch the hearts of many for another day. RHCP (the way they have touched my heart)
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redhotchilipepper
So you don't have to lie to your kids Dave. You can tell them that your friend Chrissie in Canada actually knows Santa and Mrs. Claus. I have coffee with them all the time. Say hi to Gina for me
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redhotchilipepper
So you don't have to lie to your kids Dave. You can tell them that your friend Chrissie in Canada actually knows Santa and Mrs. Claus. I have coffee with them all the time. Say hi to Gina for me
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siegswife
My 7 year old daughter believes in Santa. I don't think that her dad and I ever really started it (she heard about Santa from relatives, friends, TV etc.) but we've been playing along with it so far.
Ever since she started believing though, I've been saying stuff like "Daddy's Santa" or he has been making the claim that he's Santa. It's done in a joking way, and since we often joke around with her, she takes it as such. We've had some interesting occurences so far this year though.
First of all, some of her older cousins and her friends at school are no longer believers, and she's been hearing things. Two days ago, when she and her friend Tanya came home from school Tanya asked me if there really is a Santa. I just started whistling Christmas tunes and avoided the question. I did make the statement later that "I think daddy is Santa". That night I brought it up again to Rebekka by showing her a credit card receipt that Sig had signed that kinda sorta looked like it was signed "Santa". (His signature is really unreadable, but the way he had it written on the receipt ended up looking like it was a mixture of upper and lowercase letters that spelled Santa)
I told her that was proof that's who he is. That night I could tell that she was thinking about alot of this stuff while watching Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer (which makes Santa and his elves look like a bunch of elitists IMO lol). I think she was recognizing how much fantasy is associated with the whole concept of the Santa story.
Yesterday we brought our suspicions to Tanya so now the girls have started a folder which contains documents outlining the similarities between Sig and Santa and plans on how to discover the truth of the matter. LOL
My point is that the Santa fantasy doesn't have to end up being about you lying to your kid. It's something you can use as a learning experience and have fun with at the same time. It's true that there is a level of disappointment when a child realizes that it isn't real...but that's part of growing up and learning.
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Xena
We were dubs up until my daughter was about 5...so she was taught Christmas was pagan and Santa wasn't real. When we started celebrating Christmas she WANTED to believe in Santa so I played along with her. When she would ask me if Santa was real I would ask her what she believed, she said she thought he was so I told her then he was real to her and that was all that mattered. She told me recently that she knows there isn't a Santa, that I give her the gifts and now she wants to help me be Santa for other kids....I asked her if she was sure she was ready to give up Santa....she said yes. It doesn't have to be hard....
Let kids have fantasy and dreams while they can, they grow up soon enough.
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xenawarrior
When we think it's cute that a child believes in Santa Claus, we're really thinking, "Aww. Look how gullible and ignorant that little boy/girl is."
Bull. Who is this "we" you speak of? You have a mouse in your pocket? That may be what you are thinking but it's certainly not what I've ever thought.
XW
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pc
First I wonder if peoples responces on this topic are varied based on them having children or not, and childrens ages.
I also wonder for all those saying we are perpetuating a lie, I guess reading Peter Pan, Alice In Wonderland, and Harry Potter are also unacceptable.
My sister-in-law (Catholic) decided she wouldn't "lie" to her children and told them the truth at ages 5& 7. As teenagers now they wish thier mother had "lied". One of my sons still believes at 9 and I am so happy he does. Everyone wants to believe in something so out of the ordinary and magical. I love my JW brothers who can't wait to through all these comments about Santa to spoil it for him. It just shows there hurtful nature. In the scheme of what goes on in life what does it matter! HO HO HO !
Just my opinion for what it's worth. pc
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Princess
My 8 year old son's teacher totally screwed us over yesterday by telling the class all about the wonderful celebration of St Nick day on December 6. I think Country Woman posted about it as Sinter Klass or something like that. Anyway, she has always celebrated St Nick day and told them all about leaving your shoes out that night for St Nick to come and leave gift in them.
So, Rhys comes home telling us all about it. Explains the whole story to his six year old sister and they go to bed leaving their shoes outside their door. They asked if we thought he'd come. I didn't know what to say! I sure as hell didn't want to start another tradition that involved me spending even more money.
Those two sets of shoes were so damn cute in their doorways though. Unfortunately I had very little cash and no small toys and not much candy laying around yesterday. If I'd known about it I would have bought something small and appropriate but I was caught off guard at 4:30 when Rhys came home from school.
I had a couple dollars in my wallet and found a two packs of M&Ms in Rhys' halloween candy bag. They each got a dollar and a pack of M&Ms. Pretty pathetic but we'll see what they do. The kids won't be up for another 30 minutes.