Art Vandelay wrote:I fully understand, and basically agree with the Santa Myth and fostering it in children, but I guess I don't understand going to extreme lengths to trick a kid whose natural intuition and inquiry has led them to question Santa's legitimacy.
edit: That wasn't directed specifically at you, Omaha. I wouldn't classify what you described there as "extreme," though I know people who have gone to ridiculous lengths to trick their kids into continuing the belief.
I was never told about Santa as a kid and at times felt a little left out. Even with this, however, I was "waffling" (to use Knapp's word) on whether or not to encourage the Santa myth in my child. Of course, the wife's input was taken and we went with giving Santa gifts every year. Most years I haven't personally gone to any lengths, except to eat the cookies and drink the milk meant for the big man. But this year I decided to because he made the letter and it turned out to be pretty cool for him. He thought it was really neat. And I can certainly see him, when he figures out it was me in a few years, saying "Daaaaaaaaaad" and having fun with it.
knapplc wrote:I've waffled on the Santa thing. I've gone from thinking I would never tell my kid about Santa, to actively encouraging letters to Santa and messing with the fireplace Christmas morning so it looks like someone came through overnight. It's a charming little thing that kids like, so I go with it.
We weren't sure what to do with Santa, either. The whole 'lie to your kids' thing. What we decided to do seemed to work out pretty well. We did put out Santa gifts and stockings. When they were something like 4 and 6, my six year old asked if Santa was real. We sat them down and told them that Santa was make-believe... kinda like Barney.
And ya know what? Knowing the truth about Santa did not mess up Christmas for them one tiny little bit.
Yo, Met... thanks for the sig! GO DUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kids really get the whole Santa thing. They've all seen enough cartoons and whatnot to know what's real and what isn't. I strongly suspect my daughter knows that Santa isn't real, and that's OK. As for "lying" to my kid about Santa.... I've heard that, but I equate the Santa thing with Dora or Barney - it's just a story. No harm done.
My wife and I already talked about this and our little girl hasn't even been born yet. I'm going to go along with the whole "Santa" thing, but as soon as she starts doubting that Santa is real and starts asking questions, I'm going to ask some questions of my own. Do you really think Santa knows every boy and girl in the world and whether they've been naughty or nice? If it takes us 6 hours to get to grandma's house, do you really think Santa can visit every single house in the world in one night? Do you really think all of those presents can fit into one sleigh? Do you really think reindeer can fly without wings?
Hopefully, when she applies logic and reason to the crazy stories surrounding Santa, she'll come up to her own conclusion without me having to tell her. I'm hoping Bob will catch on any year now.
knapplc wrote:Kids really get the whole Santa thing. They've all seen enough cartoons and whatnot to know what's real and what isn't. I strongly suspect my daughter knows that Santa isn't real, and that's OK. As for "lying" to my kid about Santa.... I've heard that, but I equate the Santa thing with Dora or Barney - it's just a story. No harm done.
Just in case... I wasn't implying that playing the Santa thing was lying to your kids. I was just stating the question as some people pose it. We just decided that we'd play the game, but tell them it's make-believe when the subject comes up.
Yo, Met... thanks for the sig! GO DUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
josebach wrote:My wife and I already talked about this and our little girl hasn't even been born yet. I'm going to go along with the whole "Santa" thing, but as soon as she starts doubting that Santa is real and starts asking questions, I'm going to ask some questions of my own. Do you really think Santa knows every boy and girl in the world and whether they've been naughty or nice? If it takes us 6 hours to get to grandma's house, do you really think Santa can visit every single house in the world in one night? Do you really think all of those presents can fit into one sleigh? Do you really think reindeer can fly without wings?
Hopefully, when she applies logic and reason to the crazy stories surrounding Santa, she'll come up to her own conclusion without me having to tell her. I'm hoping Bob will catch on any year now.
yeah...i plan to go a similar route with my kids...i feel bad lying to them but they get so much joy when they are little believing it...once he figures it out then i can break the whole "there's no Jesus" thing to him too
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Dan Lambskin wrote:once he figures it out then i can break the whole "there's no Jesus" thing to him too
not letting him form an opinion on that one, eh?
ha...what? How would that be "not letting him form an opinion." Or are parents who teach their kids that Jesus does exist also not letting their kids form an opinion?
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by Omaha Red Sox » Tue Dec 30, 2008 2:22 pm 
