Since its the holiday season starting tomorrow, and because I ran into this dilly of a headline, I'm going to delve in the santa clause thing.
Here is the headline. Google it.
*Cops at holiday parade arrest jerk who told kids Santa isn't real*
I'm not going to get into the nonsense of this article. How it utterly violates freedom of speech.
I'm not going to talk about how the headline should have said, * man arrested for being publicly drunk at kids event*.
I won't mention the cops who are apparently ready, willing, and able to lie to your children at the smallest request.
I'm not even going to go into how burned into those child memories this drunken man with his satanic hair horns now is. Or the fact that said man will be remembered by the kids as the only one who was telling the truth.
Nope.
I am however going to tell you why its a completely stupid idea to lie to your children about santa.
1) We want our children to know lying is wrong.
Yet year after year we tell our innocent little ones about some guy dressed in red suit who leaves toys for good boys and girls. So its not just that we lie to them, its a continuing, ever growing, trying hard to keep it going lie. Lets not forget those wonderful parents that use the santa lie against kids too. As in *You better be good for me or I will tell santa not to bring you anything this year*
Sound familiar?
So now you have three lies, each one trying to hold the other up.
2) Don't go along with the crowd, think independently.
There is no good reason to tell a child santa claus is real it has absolutely no life, learning, or future benefit at all.
None.
The biggest reason I hear for continuing this sham is * Everyone else does it, and we don't want little timmy to be different*
It might seem cute, and fun to do the santa thing when they are little, but they don't stay little. Eventually they will realize there is no santa. They won't be consciously aware of it, and you can't see the moment it happens. The instant santa becomes fake is the instant you, the parent, have just concreted lying and going along with the crowd as accepted and condoned behavior.
You mommy and Daddy have just silently let your children, through your actions, know that if you want to lie, its ok....
Because everyone else does it.
Another huge problem with Santa is the commercial factor. While there are historical stories showing that there might have been some guy, a long time ago, that might have given toys to kids sometime during history, (whew), the bulk of it is made up.
Completely made up by toy industries, and department stores, just like Rudolph, to entice children, and make parents buy.
Santa has been used to mask and cover up any real meaning to Christmas, as it fits so nicely into the last quarter sales quota.
We don't do the santa lie in my house. I don't want my children to lie, or go along with any crowds. I will not set them up for behavior failure before they even have a chance. I refuse to advocate anything that has no benefits to anyone but toy companies profit mongers, just because. We also do not do the tons of presents thing, we focus on family, and even more on helping others, no matter what time of year.
Christmas is no less fun in my home because of it. My son knows his mommy and daddy bought him the toys. He knows we love him, and presents are just one of the fun ways we show him. We have Christmas carols, and cookies, the tree, the big dinner and we even decorate with lights, and yes, Santa's.
But little man knows how santa got started and what santa really is, an idea, an expression of love and giving, and that is the best gift a child could ever have.
Open and honest parents.
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