Oh no......DS asked "THE" question!

[Jacksmom99]

We were driving home tonight from a birthday party and DS (5) asked me what they meant by saying Bear was "alive on stage" at Playhouse Disney. Well, I tried to explain that the word was "live" not "alive". Maybe I should have left well enough alone and let him keep thinking it was "Playhouse Disney Alive on Stage." I told him that "live" was someone performing in front of you, not on TV or a movie. He then asked what alive meant. Uh, Oh......my brain starts racing here......So, I replied "Alive means you breath." OK, this might work........Not quite, the little darling's next questions was "is Bear alive or is he just a costume?" GASP!!! I calmly replied (while my heart was racing, is Santa, the tooth fairy, and the Easter bunny next?!) "Well, what do you think?" (Holding my breath here.....) Well, my little guy came through!! He said, "I think Bear's real, don't you mom?" To which I replied "of course I do, honey!" :thewave: :thewave: :thewave:

He still believes!!!!!!!!!!!!


Whew.....that was a close one!

 

[Suzanne74]

Woohoo!!!!

I could feel your pain. My dd is at a great age - almost 3 and totally believing EVERYTHING but I DREAD when she gets older and starts to figure things out. I once remember my mom saying her worst Christmas was when her youngest (my little brother) knew Santa was fake. The fantasy was all over for her ans us!

I plan on being as clever as possible to keep the fantasies alive but like you - not directly lie. I think, if he didn't say anything, I would have just said - Well what do you think?? and then pray for the "I think he is real" response that DS gave you - LOL.

Cute story!

 

[MATTERHORN]

Oh my gosh, that was a close one! Thank goodness it turned out the way it did, my heart was racing just reading it!

Bear is alive and well!!!!!!


Andrea

 

[Stimpy]

Good save Mom!!!!!

 

[lucy_love_]

when my dd asked if we could get aristocats at wdw i said yes (she adores cats). she asked if we could get a "real live" one. she wanted marie. yikes.


lucy

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

Wonderful story!

 

[robinb]

Originally posted by Jacksmom99
He still believes!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even when he doesn't believe, he'll still enjoy meeting the characters. I have always told my DD that Mickey, Bear etc. are not real, but people in costumes. It started when she was afraid of the costumed characters. She now loves meeting them and getting autographs .

I think parents get more of a kick out of their children believing that costumed people are real than the kids themselves.

 

[McKelly]

My DD5 said the same thing when we were discussing Disney. She said "Mom, they are just people in costumes". I could have died. I didn't know what to say!! But then a commercial came on and she stated that she was going to ask Santa for that for Christmas....So I just let well enough alone and said nothing. I am such a good Mom, NOT!!

 

[all4fun]

Great story and good save! I'm looking forward to taking my 16 month old to Playhouse Disney this trip. He LOVES Bear!

 

[beattyfamily]

That's what I did too! I turn it around and asked my DD "what do you think?" and she said that they were real.

What a sigh of relief!

 

[Coll0610]

DS has been going to WDW with us since right after his fourth birthday. He's a pretty easy-going kid and had no problems with the characters. I never really thought about whether he thought they were real or not until he was 7 and we were having a character meal with his cousins, who were 1 and 3 at the time. They were sure the characters were real. (That's something that is very cool to see, by the way). I asked DS later what he thought and he said that he knew the characters were just people in costumes now, but when he was 4 he had thought they were real.

All the talk of Hurricane Charley and Frances has reminded me that our first trip with him (in 1999) was almost cancelled because of a hurricane. I don't remember which one but they actually closed the parks. Two mornings before we were supposed to leave, I finally told him that we might not be able to go because there was a very bad storm in Florida called a hurricane. We were able to go but for a couple of years after that, every time it rained he asked us if it was a hurricane! I kept trying to explain to him that we don't have hurricanes here in Central Illinois, but he didn't understand...

 

[PneumaticTransit]

::Gasp!!:: Santa isn't real?





But seriously, I honestly don't remember when I knew the characters weren't *real* I honestly think I've always known the characters weren't the same characters I had seen in the videos. (For example, Mickey wasn't fuzzy on tv but he had furry ears when I met him). I was a kid, it didn't make a bit of difference to me.
Now that im an adult (according to the government) it's the premises that someone would get into a huge heavy costume in the 100 degree Flordia sun and bounce around like an idiot just to entertain strangers that is the magic. Oh who am I kidding?... Everytime I see Mickey I still get all giddy and have to have my picture taken with him.

 

[justKim]

Originally posted by robinb
I have always told my DD that Mickey, Bear etc. are not real, but people in costumes. It started when she was afraid of the costumed characters. She now loves meeting them and getting autographs .

I'm glad that I'm not the only one. My DS5 was nervous about the characters until we clarified that they are people in costume. He told me that they were too big to be the real thing...I guess he thinks that the t.v. is actual size. But he still is nervous around them. When we went in April, he wouldn't meet them, he would just step back and take their picture. It's interesting that some of his pictures with a throw-away camera came out better than my fancy 35mm pix!

Kim

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by justKim
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by robinb
I have always told my DD that Mickey, Bear etc. are not real, but people in costumes. It started when she was afraid of the costumed characters. She now loves meeting them and getting autographs .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm glad that I'm not the only one. My DS5 was nervous about the characters until we clarified that they are people in costume. He told me that they were too big to be the real thing...I guess he thinks that the t.v. is actual size. But he still is nervous around them. When we went in April, he wouldn't meet them, he would just step back and take their picture. It's interesting that some of his pictures with a throw-away camera came out better than my fancy 35mm pix!

Kim

I'm glad that works for you and your families. To each his own.

My friend and my sister do the same thing with their kids too BUT it drives me crazy when my friend's kids and my niece say stuff in front of my DDs about how they are people in costumes. Don't ruin it for my kids, please.

I know eventually they won't believe anymore in the characters or Santa or the Easter Bunny but I want it to last as long as possible and not be ruined in that way by their cousin.

 

[justKim]

Originally posted by beattyfamily
Don't ruin it for my kids, please.

I live in fear that my son is going to mess this up with my best friend's kids. I don't know what she would do to me! Her DS8 still is firmly believing in Santa, Easter bunny, the whole nine yards. My DS is just a different kind of little guy.

Kim

 

[merryweather's twin]

My kids have allways known the mickeys and stuff in the park are people( they still love them) but my son is now 9 and truley thinks Santa and all the others are the real deal.... This is his first year in a normal class in school (he has PDD) and I worry that he will be teased.... Shoulds I burst his bubble? I thought about telling him and letting him be part of the magic for his 4 younger sibs... And telling him that if he tells them or anyone that no Santa for him anymore....My DMIL says yes. She was the butt of jokes for years becouse of her insistance the Tooth Farry was real at the same age...... What do you think or do if a kid still wants it all to be real and is in 4th grade?