Will you raise (or have you raised) your kids to believe in Santa?

[diegoblunt]

Heyyyyyyyy, wait a minute ... santa claus isn't real?

But who's been eating all my milk and cookies?

 

[GillyWin]

My santa always got two lines of chocolate, and a glass of diet coke. Why oh why didnt i pick up on this earlier! Close relatives buying you presents, but your parents not getting you anything (supposedly).

I know its all nice and happy fond memories, but I dont like the deceitful nature of it. If your celebrating christmas because its a part of your religious beliefs then maybe thats different?

Did anyone else here not do the easter bunny thing? My family dont, and a lot of other irish families i know dont either. Perhaps the Easter Bunny is an australian/american thing?

 

[anna!]

I think it's interesting that everyone in this thread is calling him Santa! He's always been Father Christmas at my place.

Anyway, I adore the idea of Father Christmas. It's one of the few magical things that we're still allowed to have, and if I have to stretch the truth a little (or a lot) to bring some of that into life, then I think there are worse things I could do.

I actually don't really remember ever believing in him, really - as early as my third Christmas I know my parents bought me my presents (a fabulous wooden dollshouse, incidentally!). But we all went along with it anyway, just for the "Christmas spirit" of it. And sometimes it was almost possible to believe it - especially in Adelaide when the whole city came to see the Christmas pageant/parade, which ended with Father Christmas going off to his Magic Cave in John Martins, which was always magical.

I still cling to it a bit. I really do love Christmas - Father Christmas, Christmas trees, family lunch, midnight mass, Christmas shopping, Christmas carols, presents (especially giving!).. I love it. It's my favourite time of year. So I'll tell Georgia about Father Christmas, but it might partly be so I have an excuse to "believe" again

As for the original question - I don't really see how you telling your son that Santa is real is any different from not telling him that he's not a wizard. I mean, you don't believe he is a wizard, right? So it's just all about letting kids have fantasies. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

 

[kryalkastleE]

well i think the whole santa/tooth fairy/easter bunny thing is an awesome idea and although it does involve telling of the little white lies, i think it is what keeps the "magic of christmas".....

in my family i have 2 much older brothers so every xmas they would get more presents from "santa" because they had to keep pretending for me. when i was about 10 or 11 i think i knew that he wasnt real but we kept playing the game for a few more years. although i had all the kids at school, from about grade 2 onward, saying he wasnt real - like your son does doofqueen - i still had fun thinking that it *might* be true....esp. when my mum painted sparkly hoof shaped footprints on the pavement outside...i thought the reindeers had been there! i dont think you should feel guilty about it at all. like someone else already said - you are the real santa!

i made my mum look me in the eye and promise me that santa was real when i was about 7 or 8 and when i realised he wasnt, i wasnt mad at her or anything, i seemed to appreciate the fact that she had done all those nice things for me and eaten the *horrible* cookies that i used to make for santa every xmas.....he he he....

i think parents who tell their kids that he isnt real when they are like 4 sort of ruin the whole fun of it all. i look back now and really appreciate what my parents did for me

 

[doofqueen]

quiet roar - glad there is another parent that feels the same way

keystroke - he won't evn find out that pixies and fairies are not true if he never finds them but continues to believe in them. You don't need to see to believe , that's what faith and magic are about. I actually think enchanted forest folk exsist within people. You have never met one? Maybe your not open to magic yourself

wazza - yep it's the commercilisation that i hate about it. It's not about the love of xmas and the time with family. It's all about making more and more dollars and an excuse to jack up prices that the rest of society follows like sheep baaa baaaa baaaaa

zaineaol - we alreday have a drugs and kids thread in aussie social. I'm sure if you did a search you can find it and your more then welcome to post in that I get way too heated when i start talking about that so i'm not going to start Iw ill say though that i am open with my son about pretty much everything though ( with his appropriate age though)

smart-e - i was also devastated when i found out he wasn't true. That i had been lied to and the magic disapeared. I thought it was horrible so i really can't beieve that i raised my son to believe in him

mazdan - liek i said yep it's the commercilisation of it that gets me. Did you know coke stole santa? They took an innocent and giving man, put him in a red suit to match their advertising and took advantage of his kindess to make some dollars.

I have never pushed my ideals on my son. Quite the opposite actually. I have taught him that there is no one answer to any question. That there are many perspectives on lots of different things and that if he wants to find something out he does just that - goes and finds something out. He goes on these crusades reading newspapers, watching tv, getting vids, visiting the libary and talking to lots of different people on their opinion on any given subject that he's interested in and comes to his own conclusion. I have taught him to think for himself. Alot of parents don't and i'm extremly proud that he does and is so open minded about pretty much everythinmg in life So no have never made him believe anything without his own opinion. I of course give him mine but always tell him that i may not be right (even though he think's i'm god )

shnouzerpuff - yep wish i had just done the whole game thing and never got him believing. Bit late now because i sure as hell won't be the one shattering the magic of xmas for him. He will find out on his own (if he doesn't know alreday but doesn't want to tell me)

silvia saint - i like the organised religion aspect you mentioned agreed!

guest - i would also like examples of what you mentioned....

anna - of course he doesn't actually think he's a wizard. I have taught him that he can be anything he wants to be if he puts his mind to it though and he believes in magic. He is aware of fantasy and reality though

that last sentence goes against him believeing in santa though doesn't it?

wow totally great discussion guys

 

[MazDan]

yeah well I still hold to my original opinion that I stated some time ago.

Ur a bloody fantastic Mum..........Im sure ur son knows that so i wouldnt hassle about it........he will undertystand when the tiome is right and he will love u all the more for it.

Cheers.

 

[doofqueen]

He tells me every day "your the best mum in the world" that's enough for me

I know i'm a fantastic mum, i have the child to prove it

Thankyou very much though As a parent i'm just always going over things and making sure i'm doing the right thing is all

 

[doofqueen]

could a poll be made? I want to know those without kids (and those with) if you will raise (or have raised) your kids to believe in santa?

 

[Strawberry_lovemuffin]

Poll as requested.

 

[jakoz]

Be thankful you dont live in (I think) Norway... they also tell they kids of (I think its called) the Drogen, which after Sants gives presents to the good kids, comes along and steals the bad ones.

Yeah... Ill be telling my kids about Santa What's wrong with having a little magic in the world? I can remember when I was little leaving milk and cookies out and being amazed when they were always eaten the next day. :D

Growing up is a continuous ritual of losing your suprises in the world and finding out the truth of things. And the fact is: who's happier now than when they were little?

Knowing might be nice, but dreaming is miles better.

 

[anna!]

^ I agree!

I voted for the first option, because Georgia would have no idea what I was talking about if I sat her down and explained Santa But when she's old enough, that's what I'll be doing. Like I said in another post, it gives me an excuse to believe in the magic of Christmas for a bit longer

On that note though, my kids will also be told the Biblical Christmas story, and we'll have a nativity set up and go to mass and whatnot (G was too little last year). So they won't only be exposed to the commercial side of it, as I wasn't (and I LOVE Christmas to this day, 99% for the "right" reasons of giving and family and whatnot).

 

[muzby]

i have a feeling my kids will be dyslexic, and will grow up believing that satan brings their presents, and then when they discover that he isnt real, they will go through a dark phase and sell their soul to santa....


but i liked santa.. the idea of a big fat man coming into my room at night when i was asleep was great!!!





but in all seriousness, i will teach my kids to belive in santa.. hes not a religious figure in my eyes, and he helps to create the magic of christmas....


jingle all the way...

 

[Tabernacle]

No way he's a fascist owned by Coke (who resembles a ku-klux-klansman)! Annual giftman for me and my kids!

 

[lostpunk5545]

santa apparently works for the thought police. a nice little way to coerce children into organized religion whilst making a few dollars on the side.

Haha funny stuff

I will tell my children about Santa Claus being fake if I ever have any (and my significant other at the time doesn't threaten to leave me ).

My main reason for doing this is because of the lies aspect that has previously been mentioned. Also I would like to teach my future children to think objectively, to always question what they are told, and never to just believe in something just because - that said they will be free to form their own beliefs even if they are in opposition to mine.

I don't think perpetuating bullshit to my children is very respectful nor would it be helpful in helping them deal with everyday life. I would say for instance that the kid that believes in Santa is probably more likely to believe in the nice man offering lollies. I think having a fully functioning bullshit detector is an important facet for any human being.

Reading through the last two paragraphs makes it seem like I would be stifling the creativity of my children, but I don't believe I would do that. For me an active and flexible imagination is something to be encouraged not disdained.

I would also like to teach my children the intrinsic value of nature over man. To me Santa is just more sociological baggage our species is carrying around. I want my children to find value in things like feeling cool grass beneath them as they sit under a tree on a summers day, to find value in a blade of grass and the ant crawling on it. To find value in knowing about the world around them.

I don't believe in Santa Claus - The Vandals

I don't believe in Santa Clause-
his corporate image forced upon
the blinded spending masses,
to enslave the lower classes

with obligatory gifts that serve to cleanse
a year of guilt and shame.
One token gesture justifies
the apathetic, hypnotized.

Leaving them to be Kris Kringle's slaves.
Buy! Buy! I won't do it.
The seasons obligation has not my participation.
Buy! Buy! I won't do it.
The money hungry mating call of corporate swine.

Cuz-
It's only for the money!
It's only for the money!
It's only for the money!
It's only for the money!
Now Buy!

He monitors naughty and nice-
Big brother is St. Nick!
Methodically his judgment made
documented on his list.

I- Don't believe in Santa Clause
or his mystical facade
to teach the children wanton greed,
they're lust for gifts becomes a need.

Brainwashed by the marketing
and victims of the corporate scheme.
Material possessions becoming they're obsessions
till human life has lost it's value
and you blindly do just what they tell you
I don't believe!!!!

His tactics of intimidation repress the minds of youth
using fear for generations, His image hides the truth
He's just a puppet for the system, a glutton in a suit
with Yuletide propaganda and a bearded mask to boot!

That and I couldn't find parking at the mall.

 

[Strawberry_lovemuffin]

^ I really think you've over-thunk this :D

But; it's interesting to hear your point of view. I was bought up in almost the exact opposite way. (ie. believe in everything, magic, anything's possible... that kind of thing.) I still turned out relatively in control of my faculties (I think)

 

[anna!]

There's really nothing to say that a child can't appreciate both Father Christmas and the ant on the blade of grass. Truly, children are so full of wonder that they find joy and magic in everything - if you add another idea into the mix, it's not going to cancel out the others.

The thing I'm trying to get at in this thread is, I think, that thinking objectively and learning why and how all the time is exhausting. It's nice to be able to have some escapsim, even if it's not real. Plenty of time to learn about how relentlessly real the world is outside of Christmas

 

[Sllip]

My parents never told me about Santa, and they never bought me any presents, and neither will I.

If your kids find out that you are lying to them then they will never believe you again. Treat them like an adult and cut them no slack. This is how I was brought up and I'm a much stronger person for it. No matter how you bring up your kids they are going to hate you when they become teenages, so you may as well arm them with strength.

 

[anna!]

I don't know a single person who resented their parents for telling them about Father Christmas. Not a single one.

I don't plan to treat my kids like adults until they can actually act like adults - certainly not when they're 4 or 5 years old. I think it's extremely important to be able to differentiate between "childhood" and "adulthood", and I have no desire to contribute to my kids growing up any faster than they already will.

My parents brought me up believing in Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy and all kinds of things that aren't true, but I still trust them implicitly (well, mum less so, but it has nothing to do with Santa), and I'm a strong person too - they taught me to believe that life can be fair and good sometimes, and that when it isn't, there are people around who care enough to support and love me. And that hasn't made me any less strong a person

 

[eloise]

after a careful consultation with ozbreaker, we've decided to bring our respective children to believe in the hannukah turtle, and if they're lucky, the moses fairy.

(closest thing really though, might be elijah's cup at the seder- waiting for the prophet elijah to come and join us... but that's not as fun as an easter bunny really- he doesn't come bearing gifts, and if he did, they'd be gifts of matzah or something)

tooth fairy i used to leave little notes for though.
now i just keep my damn teeth.

 

[ozbreaker]

that elijah makes me sooo angry. it's all about take take take with him.

But the turtle will rule the roost. Now to try to get coke to buy and market the concept... 8)