I'd rather they know the Christ that is real, and desire in life to create a society that will have less to answer for when he returns, than to fill them with belief in some ridiculous rabbit or in a bastardization of St. Nikolas of Myra that has the beard of Odin.
At this rate, in this world, they'd be better off believing Krampus is real, rather than Santa! I mean, this is the era where the death of Epstein exposed just how huge global child trafficking is! Difference is, Krampus primarily targets really bad kids. The types on Epstein's flight log would target anyone, so long as they were under 17! (And they use their reach to kill whoever gets in the way, or knows too much.)
I'd ask them, if they want to shatter another child's illusions, to use tact. Or else, to ignore it. I get the urge to indulge some iconoclastic tendencies. Yet, wherever Karen gets involved in things, you need to pick your battles wisely.
My dad told my bro and I that all that crap was fake because we asked him if Santa Claus was real. He said he wasn't going to lie to us, and that my mom and him got us the presents because they loved us. That was good enough for us, because we never really believed Santa Claus was real. By the time we were 6, we new it was bullshit and asked my dad. The next year we were at my aunt and uncle's house and my 10 year old cousin said "look what I got from Santa". My brother and I looked at each other and laughed, and told him there's no such thing as Santa Claus. He got sad and went crying to my aunt, who got pissed. My dad defended us, saying "are you kidding me? Your 10 year old still believes in Santa Claus?" We were little jerks, but we didn't think he would start crying and somebody had to tell him.
Honestly I don't see it as a bad thing we never did a huge deal on it but Santa did put nick nacks in my stocking each year and from I wanna say 7/8 I knew that Santa wasn't real but I played along till I was around 11/12. We never did the Easter bunny thing and tbh I probably won't do that either. But I do want to plan some Easter egg hunts so I've started doing that. As for the tooth fairy I've always loved fairies even now I still love them. I remember crying as I lost my tooth and the "tooth fairy" wrote me a letter and sent it through the door. I kept that letter for years but always knew it was dad who wrote it.
And when I found out it didn't make me feel sad or devastated, or haunted cause my family lied to me. It's alright to make things magical and wonderous a few times a year, god knows we have enough misery around.
Providing it wasn’t a cultural thing I’d actually be pretty sad for them… my kid is 3 and just really getting into the Santa and Easter bunny thing and it’s magical. It’s so much fun setting things up for him and seeing how amazed he gets, some of my strongest memories from childhood stem around the fun I had with my family and I love passing that onto my kid.
It’s not for everyone but it does feel like something that when done thoughtfully and not just as a bribe for good behaviour can be a really special thing for a kid that isn’t solely materialistic
Opinion
20Opinion
Nothing wrong with it. Sometimes that stuff just isn’t a part of every other culture and faith in the world. I’m not gonna be shocked if a person who isn’t part of my culture or religion didn’t grow up with things from my culture or religion, it’s simple they’re different to me, I’m different to them, we both grew up different and there is nothing wrong with that and there is most likely beauty in that. I don’t understand why the concept of people having different upbringings is such a shocker to some people, like there’s almost 8 billion people in the world, we’re not all gonna grow up the same.
I'm divided on this. I think it's kind of cute how excited the kids get when we do an Easter egg hunt. But, is THAT what Easter is really about? Same for Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. Yes, I believed and it was kind of hard when I realized they weren't real. My parents explained Santa Claus as a "representation" of the spirit of giving that we all experienced when God gave us His only Son. Yeah, OK, but... I think I cried.
So, while it is fun and cute, it's pretty hard when they find out. When I have kids, I think I'd like to explain that the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus REPRESENT this and that, but that not all children are "grown up enough" to understand so we shouldn't spoil it for them. But it's so sad that MY kids would not get the excitement... I just don't know. I'll let my husband make the call. Then, if it goes wrong - it's HIS fault. Yeah, that's my plan.
I don't get all these people saying it's awful and child abuse to tell your child about Santa. The mythical being called Santa Claus/Sinterklaus is based on a real historical figure of the Catholic and Orthodox church, named Saint Nicholas of Myra, who gave gifts to poor children. Many Orthodox give gifts on his feast day rather than the 25th of December.
I appreciate the times I had with my family and the stories they read to me about Santa. In no way am I upset about it. I eventually figured out that the mythical being wasn't real but I still believed in the spirit of Christmas. I figured it out much earlier than other children so I held my tongue.
If a family isn't religious or has no connection to Catholicism/Orthodoxy then I can understand that they'd tell their child he isn't real. Doesn't bother me.
My guess Probably wouldn’t believe in god especially cuz of Santa comes on Jesus’ birthday but I don’t know I think kids know before they “find out” . Obviously some are dead set on it but I don’t think most are too surprised by the time the news breaks. They just get sad cuz it was fun to believe and hope. And your parents played along. In the long run I think they would be fine.
We are going with the don't tell unless asked approach, which I'm sure will happen at some point. I don't like to lie to my kid and I wouldn't want him to feel like we kept him in the dark about something that is actually magical when you're a kid BECAUSE you think it's real. When you find out it's not, it's just a dark blank and it sucks. I remember still wishing things like that could be real because of how wonderful it all seems. Too bad it's not, but that's a reality I would rather be let in on than to be lead on as if it were true. Same for most religions. Buddhism seems to have no doctrine. Sounds good to me.
I feel like kids only have a few short years where everything is magical. I know a parent who decided she didn't want to "lie" to her kids. Sadly, she told me she regretted her decision when she saw the other children light up at the arrival of Santa or the Tooth Fairy, but her own children just looked sad and disappointed.
You mean "raised Muslim, Jewish, Hindu.. etc"
Most of these problems are of Christians making.
They want to make Jesus seem like a "special guy" and so have to have special guys out there to make him seem more plausible.
As a kid who grew up with none of those beliefs, I don't see it as anything bad. There were still lots of wonder and amazement in my young childhood days with other things that were actually real.
I mean I was that kid growing up. We didn't celebrate anything except birthdays. I never believed in Santa or the tooth fairy or the Easter bunny or any of that lol.
s I feel fine. Thats what we do with our kids. We don't lie to them about that stuff. I'm not building up their earliest memories of them not being able to trust me.
Its fun to pretend but your kids will hang around other kids that don’t subscribe to such imaginary phenomena and will later ask you questions and at some point you’ll let go of the façade and tell them it’s all fictional. Best to remain indifferent.
It's fine. You can't miss something you don't know and I actually think it's more upsetting to have your fantasy ripped apart when you grow up.
I think it made me think about the reality of the whole thing. How does Santa visit all those houses in just one night and how does he load up his sleigh with toys for every kid on the planet? I do not think it had an adverse effect on me.
Good. It’s better than them being lied to by their parents.
Indifferent. My parents did that with us.
We knew they didn't exist, but it was fun "pretending".
Honestly a lot of my kids I work with now tell me I can’t wait to lose a tooth my dad/mom gives me money etc. it really doesn’t matter in my opinion. I think it’s better to say it’s imaginative and fun but not real.
I was told these things were real, and learned adults just can't help themselves around the holidays and such.
I was never under the impression that they were real. I turned out just fine.
They lost childhood memories that I myself cherish.
I was raised not knowing any of these because my parents did not understand western traditions. I was thankful I wasn't told and I hope to pass that tradition on forward
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