Why do People think its okay to ruin Santa for kids? Update - p. 21, post 307

[mhsjax]

Oh yeah. Thanksgiving this year (like those in the past) is gonna be sucktacular. The moon wouldn't quite do it though...perhaps a round trip ticket to WDW? That'd fix the crappy holiday for sure!

Isn't that the truth. Well try and have a good one anyway. Sometimes it is hard.

 

[luvmy3]

Actually, the teacher did a lot more than that. The teacher also called the parents liars (in a passive-aggressive way) and undermined the relationship/trust between the children and their parents. This isn't just about Santa.

Exactly. While I don't think that this teacher should be fired, I'm betting teaching wasn't rated high on their career aptitude test. This may be the first incident of many, or one of many, but this person does not belong in front of a classroom of young kids, if they can't manage to seperate educating them and keeping their own antagonistic view of their beliefs to themself.

 

[tlbwriter]

The whole idea of being a "liar" in this situation is so unbelievably foreign to me. I guess I've been lying to my kids all along.

"Wow! You hit that ball so good!" (the ball actually went 2 inches in the wrong direction.

"What a wonderful lizard you drew!" (it's really just a bunch of squiggles).

"Look out! I'm casting <insert Harry Potter spell here> at you with my wand!" (It's just a stick, and nothing is really coming out of it).

Never realized how poorly I was parenting with all of my lies.

This. I don't know any good parent who has never "lied" to their child, in order to encourage them or entertain them or just add a little sparkle to their lives.

But you know what? That's not even the point. The point is that it's fairly common for parents to "lie" to their children about Santa, and whether or not you believe that to be inappropriate, it was not the teacher's right or responsibility to dispel that "lie." That's the real issue.

My child has never believed the characters at WDW were real. She knows they're people in costumes. Should I, therefore, find a 3-yr-old who does believe and say "It's time for you to know the truth... that's not really a giant mouse you're hugging; it's a man in a costume" in order to end this hurtful "lie?" No. That would be rude and stupid and, most importantly, absolutely none of my business.

 

[Mkrop]

Same reason people lie to themselves about a losing football franchise having a chance... the right to believe.
If we have trouble with Santa, why the heck are we hanging out in a discussion forum about a Magical place that all started with a talking Mouse.

It's really not that much of a deviation...

You just made my day! Yep some people feel the need to keep believing in McNabb

You people are VICIOUS!!!! Sued? Head on a platter?? Out looking for another job?????? Wow!

Y'alls have that kind of power??? I'm glad I don't work where you have any influence on my job! I know what to be grateful for this Thanksgiving!!!

Vicious????? This person did not do their job and basically told the kids that their parents lie to them. Take out the religion and Santa, take out that it was a relgious teacher. If any teacher told my child that I was liar, that would not be cool and yes I would be filing a complaint. Might the complaint get the teacher fired (or in the case of relig ed in Catholic schools,most likely a volunteer dismissed) than that is what happens. People get fired for lesser things than this.

I must say, I love the personal jabs that infer I'm a bad parent.



That's the spirit!

Pot meet kettle! You have basically called all of us who have our kids believe in Santa liars and called us bad parents. Like a PP poster said, hold a mirror up, if you never "lied" to you child about anything than you are the "perfect" parent, which I highly doubt. Raise your children how you see fit but dont criticize how I am raising mine!

 

[Mickeypooh99]

I think the teacher was wrong. It isn't her place to tell the kids about Santa. If the kids brought it up she could have said you need to ask your parents.

Just yesterday I had a little boy 5 years old yell at me about Santa. I didn't even mention Santa. I mentioned Christmas. There were 5 kids ranging in age from 2 to 5 sitting around my table, and the one boy started yelling "there is no Santa you're a liar." I calmly said "we all have different beliefs," and I tried to change the subject. He kept yelling "my mommy says your a liar." He was so mad. This is a child who I have never seen so angry about anything. And I never even mentioned Santa! I didn't argue that Santa was real or not. I had to tell him that we aren't allowed to talk about Santa at my house. Then I had to warn all the other kids parents what had happened.

I have no problem with them not believing in Santa. I do have a problem with being called a liar and being yelled at by a 5 year old boy. I respect their beliefs. Why can't they respect ours?

 

[declansdad]

How about the ACTUAL magic of Christmas or Easter? Not some marketing campaign initiated by the Coca-Cola or JC Penny advertising departments?

What would the ACTUAL magic be?

 

[Magpie]

People like you amaze me..... My kids believed in Santa. They also believed in Jesus and knew full well the "real" reason and meaning behind Christmas. At a certain age they both came and asked if Santa was real and we gently explained that he wasn't truly an elf-type creature who wore a red suit but that was a good way and fun way for people to picture him because he was just a special magical part of the holidays.. And they still believed.....

Years later as my then high school aged daughter was standing with me at our front door accepting another huge donation to a holiday program we were running for under-privileged children and families out of our home I turned her around and directed her attention to our family room at the farthest end of our home. You could barely see the tree in that huge room. We were taking care of 65 families with over 200 children that year and in our family room there were groceries for a whole week for each family and a gift for each child and their parents piled in there. I quietly asked her if she saw Santa and she nodded yes.

Two years ago one of the children who received a gift in the program walked up to me in a local bar. He is now a dad and all grown up. He is and always was one of my son's dear friends and when he got a special gift one year, it was very hard for my son to say nothing when he showing his friends that special present in school. That night in the bar, he came over and gave me a huge hug and whispered in my ear...."thank you Santa Claus". Why then after all those years is beyond me, but he still remembered and it was amazing. I've got the chubby part down but I am no elf but for him I was. He saw Santa.....

I guess it is all in how you choose to view it. Be the cynic and insist that magic and the goodwill of the holidays can't be embodied in the likeness of a jolly old fellow in a red suit but don't assume the right to tell anyone else's child that something a parent shares with them is not real.

This post made me all sniffly!

I think the teacher was wrong. It isn't her place to tell the kids about Santa. If the kids brought it up she could have said you need to ask your parents.

Just yesterday I had a little boy 5 years old yell at me about Santa. I didn't even mention Santa. I mentioned Christmas. There were 5 kids ranging in age from 2 to 5 sitting around my table, and the one boy started yelling "there is no Santa you're a liar." I calmly said "we all have different beliefs," and I tried to change the subject. He kept yelling "my mommy says your a liar." He was so mad. This is a child who I have never seen so angry about anything. And I never even mentioned Santa! I didn't argue that Santa was real or not. I had to tell him that we aren't allowed to talk about Santa at my house. Then I had to warn all the other kids parents what had happened.

I have no problem with them not believing in Santa. I do have a problem with being called a liar and being yelled at by a 5 year old boy. I respect their beliefs. Why can't they respect ours?

I think it sounds like this little boy is rather upset about not being allowed to be part of the whole Christmas celebration, especially now that it's ramping up all around him on TV and in shop windows. It's in his face all the time!

I hope his family is giving him something special to look forward to this season. One of the reasons Hanukkah is such a big celebration in the West (when it's actually a relatively minor holiday on the Jewish calendar) is because parents are trying to let their children take part in the season, in a way that's acceptable to their faith.

Kids don't like being left out of things. Especially things that involve other kids getting presents.

Poor kid!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Peace on Earth, good will to men (the non-gender specific version referring to humanity in general), and all that.


As for the OP, While I still question whether telling my kids about Santa was the right idea, I think the teacher telling a bunch of 7 year olds that Santa wasn't real is over the line. Should she be fired? No. Disciplined somehow, but not fired.

I'm not sure how it became a topic of conversation to begin with. Where they discussing Nikolaos of Myra and someone asked if he was Santa?

 

[Feralpeg]

Guys, Santa is real, as is the magic of Christmas. If you don't believe, I invite you to look around you over the course of the next month. Only something as magical as Christmas, with someone as magical as Santa, can create and sustain this level of love and good cheer in times like this.

Keep the spirit alive in your hearts in whatever way works for you, but keep it alive.

Very nice! Something we all should remember!

 

[Dr.Girlfriend]

 

[FlightlessDuck]

What would the ACTUAL magic be?

That would depend on your religion, I suppose.

 

[monkeybug]

That would depend on your religion, I suppose.

The point being though that if you believe Christmas to be magical based on beliefs that some could claim are just as mythical as Santa, you really aren't doing any differently than those accused of lying.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

The point being though that if you believe Christmas to be magical based on beliefs that some could claim are just as mythical as Santa, you really aren't doing any differently than those accused of lying.

Well... no.

If you don't believe in Santa and you tell your kids about it anyway, that's lying. That doesn't necessarily make you a bad parent, though. People lie to each other all the time for what they think are good reasons.

If you actually believe in Santa, then it's not lying.

 

[tlbwriter]

The point being though that if you believe Christmas to be magical based on beliefs that some could claim are just as mythical as Santa, you really aren't doing any differently than those accused of lying.

Well, no, it's not the same thing at all. The difference is that while some people believe Jesus and God are mythical beings, others believe they are real. But every able-minded adult knows Santa is mythical (even if the spirit of Santa is real, the actual guy in the sled is not). It's not really an accurate comparison.

 

[declansdad]

The point being though that if you believe Christmas to be magical based on beliefs that some could claim are just as mythical as Santa, you really aren't doing any differently than those accused of lying.

Bingo!

Now will Dictator step up and answer the question?

 

[declansdad]

Well, no, it's not the same thing at all. The difference is that while some people believe Jesus and God are mythical beings, others believe they are real. But every able-minded adult knows Santa is mythical (even if the spirit of Santa is real, the actual guy in the sled is not). It's not really an accurate comparison.

So if you don't believe in Jesus, you aren't able-minded??

 

[FlightlessDuck]

So if you don't believe in Jesus, you aren't able-minded??

Wait, what?

Now while I can't speak for tlbwriter, I am under the impression, that in that sentence "able-minded" was an adjective describing adults who do not suffer from mental defect, be in emotional, chemical, or genetic. It infers that some adults who may suffer from a learning disability may still believe in Santa.

It was not intended to modify any of the nouns in the previous sentence.

 

[Minniemouse07]

but come on! at 7? i remember when i was in grade 2- you know that age- our teacher reading us a wonderful novel about santa and how he had orginated lost a little sister and gave toys to kids at christmas, or something like that. i wish i couldremember the name of it cus it was a wonderful book!

You are thinking of The Autobiography of Santa Claus as told to Jeff Guinn.

It is the first of a WONDERFUL series of books on the history of Santa Claus...can't say enough nice things about it. I plan on having dd read it when she comes to me to talk about the SC question. She's 9yo and I'm pretty sure she knows...but I want her to acknowledge it to me before I give her the book.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Well, no, it's not the same thing at all. The difference is that while some people believe Jesus and God are mythical beings, others believe they are real. But every able-minded adult knows Santa is mythical (even if the spirit of Santa is real, the actual guy in the sled is not). It's not really an accurate comparison.

The fact that some people really believe in a thing does not make it any less mythical. How many people really believed that the world was flat or that the Sun revolved around the Earth?

 

[PrincessKsMom]

I think the teacher was wrong. It isn't her place to tell the kids about Santa. If the kids brought it up she could have said you need to ask your parents.

Just yesterday I had a little boy 5 years old yell at me about Santa. I didn't even mention Santa. I mentioned Christmas. There were 5 kids ranging in age from 2 to 5 sitting around my table, and the one boy started yelling "there is no Santa you're a liar." I calmly said "we all have different beliefs," and I tried to change the subject. He kept yelling "my mommy says your a liar." He was so mad. This is a child who I have never seen so angry about anything. And I never even mentioned Santa! I didn't argue that Santa was real or not. I had to tell him that we aren't allowed to talk about Santa at my house. Then I had to warn all the other kids parents what had happened.

I have no problem with them not believing in Santa. I do have a problem with being called a liar and being yelled at by a 5 year old boy. I respect their beliefs. Why can't they respect ours?

I think a certain 5 year old is related to a certain Redskins fan.