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

[tlbwriter]

She's a teacher in a religious education class. She's teaching the curriculum that Christmas is about Jesus, not Santa.

Bottom line: if you want to instill and perpetuate a myth for as long as possible in your child's life, don't voluntarily send your child to a place where that myth may be brought into question. Especially not to a religious class if that myth is about a religious event or holiday.

But unless this church makes it explicit that its doctrine excludes Santa (not all churches do), it was inappropriate for the teacher to take this decision out of the parents' hands. As someone else pointed out, she could have easily stressed the *real* meaning of Christmas without getting Santa involved.

 

[eliza61]

I feel so bad for my coworker right now. She has a 7 and 5 year old who believe in Santa. The 7 year old came out of her religious ed class last night and told her mom her teacher told them they were old enough to know Santa wasn't real and it was just something the parents made up. They needed to know bc Christmas should be about Jesus. The kids were understandably upset. My friend has tried to smooth it over but is not sure she was successful. She has a call into the church to deal with it. now I'm not disagreeing AT ALL that Christmas should be about Jesus, but what right did that person have to do this? It just makes me sad.

time out. your friend enrolled her kid in a RELIGIOUS EDUCATION class and is upset when the teacher teaches the kid about a RELIGIOUS holiday?

Uhm sorry but Christmas is the celebration of Jesus's birthday. I'm trying to figure out why you are upset because the teacher told the truth?

Sorry OP, but if you want to teach kids about the secular celebrating of Christmas, don't send them to religious school.

Teacher is totally right.

 

[eliza61]

But unless this church makes it explicit that its doctrine excludes Santa (not all churches do), it was inappropriate for the teacher to take this decision out of the parents' hands. As someone else pointed out, she could have easily stressed the *real* meaning of Christmas without getting Santa involved.

Sorry but imo when you send your kid to a religion class the natural assumption would be they would teach the class from a religious aspect. this is not public school this is a religious class. You send your kid to a christian school don't complain when they say there is no Santa, it's about Jesus.

Why should she have to figure out how the parents is handling santa, her job is to teach the religious aspect of christmas. The place for kids to learn about the non christian aspects of christmas is called public school.

No way would my church be preaching the santa claus line, they wouldn't say the parents were lying but they definitely would not say that christmas is about Santa. no way.

What's next: Easter is about the Easter Bunny?

 

[stinkerbelle's mom]

That's a terrible thing that the teacher did, but now that the kid knows I don't think I'd lie about it again. You don't want your child catching you in a lie, because how will they be able to trust you later. I think I would try to explain the whole Spirit of Christmas/Santa Claus thing and maybe have the child help play Santa for another child or adult so they can understand the magic of giving.

I would contact the church to complain.

 

[RadioFanatic]

Sorry but imo when you send your kid to a religion class the natural assumption would be they would teach the class from a religious aspect. this is not public school this is a religious class. You send your kid to a christian school don't complain when they say there is no Santa, it's about Jesus.

A couple of points - this is a catholic church. I have never seen catholics assert that santa is not allowed - in fact they also talk about St. Nick. And it is very easy to discuss teh religious aspects of Christmas without even mentioning Santa at all, which is what should have been done.

 

[dislaney]

I'm all for teaching that Christmas is about Jesus, but it's really not her place to tell young children that there is no Santa Claus.

 

[eliza61]

A couple of points - this is a catholic church. I have never seen catholics assert that santa is not allowed - in fact they also talk about St. Nick. And it is very easy to discuss teh religious aspects of Christmas without even mentioning Santa at all, which is what should have been done.

I don't think denomination has any thing to do with it. Now as a rule my the teacher at my church will not come out and say to kids there is no such thing as Santa but if a kid in our religious education class ask is santa real? they will get the truth.

At most the teacher could have worded it a bit nicer or skipped the subject but I don't get sending your kid to a religious institution and then getting mad because ** gasp*** they teach religion.

I may be in the minority if you want your kid to believe don't send them some where where they teach the truth.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

My kids are in Catholic School and if their RE teacher told them about Santa -I'd be at the school office quicker than Santa could be there.

Of course Christmas is about Jesus - not disputing it. Why on God's earth would this "teacher" think its OK to do this?

In our school, there is room for both Jesus and Santa.

 

[tlbwriter]

Sorry but imo when you send your kid to a religion class the natural assumption would be they would teach the class from a religious aspect. this is not public school this is a religious class. You send your kid to a christian school don't complain when they say there is no Santa, it's about Jesus.

Santa wasn't part of the curriculum. There was no reason at all for her to mention Santa. She could have talked about Jesus without bringing Santa into it.

Why should she have to figure out how the parents is handling santa, her job is to teach the religious aspect of christmas. The place for kids to learn about the non christian aspects of christmas is called public school.

There's nothing for her to figure out. Her class isn't about Santa, she doesn't need to mention Santa. End of story.

No way would my church be preaching the santa claus line, they wouldn't say the parents were lying but they definitely would not say that christmas is about Santa. no way.

Of course not. Like I said, she didn't need to mention Santa at all.

BTW, I'm not a Santa fanatic. I would have been perfectly happy not telling DD about Santa at all, but DH wanted to do it. I simply have a problem with this teacher's thoughtless and unnecessary act. (And as the OP pointed out, St. Nicholas isn't exactly out of place in a church, is he?)

 

[N&B'smom]

A couple of points - this is a catholic church. I have never seen catholics assert that santa is not allowed - in fact they also talk about St. Nick. And it is very easy to discuss teh religious aspects of Christmas without even mentioning Santa at all, which is what should have been done.

Exactly. Santa didn't need to be mentioned at all. If a child asked if Santa was real then the teacher should have suggested that they have that conversation with their parents. It was not her place.

 

[RadioFanatic]

I don't think denomination has any thing to do with it. Now as a rule my the teacher at my church will not come out and say to kids there is no such thing as Santa but if a kid in our religious education class ask is santa real? they will get the truth.

At most the teacher could have worded it a bit nicer or skipped the subject but I don't get sending your kid to a religious institution and then getting mad because ** gasp*** they teach religion.

I may be in the minority if you want your kid to believe don't send them some where where they teach the truth.

I completely disagree. Denomination has EVERYTHING to do with it. Some denominations clearly denounce santa and/or christmas even. Jewish people don't believe in christmas. Jehova's witnesses don't believe in celebrating. Some christian groups are clearly anti santa. thus, you know going in what to expect. The Catholic religion, however, has never taken a postion against santa; so you don't expect that to happen. Thus, without full consent from teh parents, the teacher should never have taken upon himself to do this.

 

[hambirg]

I would have been livid!

And for those that want to know why a parent would lie about a myth to their children, I'm sure that before you enter the gates of WDW that you explain to your kids that Mickey and Minne are just people in costumes, that's not really Snow White or Cinderella. . .just some actresses, and that most everything they are seeing is just a facade right?

I think allowing your kids to believe in Santa doesn't take away from the religious aspect of Christmas at all. It's part of the magic of being a child. St Nick is alive in spirit. . .that spirit of giving and bringing joy to other people at Christmas. Why is that bad?

That teacher was completely out of line. She stole part of those children's innocence and youth. As far as it being a Catholic religious class. . .St Nick is alive and well within the Catholic church. . .so it didn't have anything to do with "religion."

My DS10 and my DD8 still believe. I'm kind of shocked, but they really do. It actually makes me happy that they still have some innocence left in their childhood. In a world where it seems we force our kids to grow up so fast, I take great joy in knowing that my kids still have some of that magical, youthful innocence.

 

[hambirg]

time out. your friend enrolled her kid in a RELIGIOUS EDUCATION class and is upset when the teacher teaches the kid about a RELIGIOUS holiday?

Uhm sorry but Christmas is the celebration of Jesus's birthday. I'm trying to figure out why you are upset because the teacher told the truth?

Sorry OP, but if you want to teach kids about the secular celebrating of Christmas, don't send them to religious school.

Teacher is totally right.

But this was a Catholic religious class. Saints are an integral part of the Catholic faith. This is from a Catholic apologist:

Myths are a means of conveying certain truths pictorially rather than didactically. When parents tell their children tales of the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, the larger truths that are being conveyed mythically are that we are part of a larger universe and are watched over and cared for by good spirits whom we cannot yet know empirically. This can be considered groundwork for later introduction to the communion of saints.

As for Santa, he is based on a real person: St. Nicholas, an early Catholic bishop who is a patron saint of children because of positive interactions he was believed to have had with children during his life. The stories that have been based upon St. Nicholas are what we call legend. Legends are generally non-historical or unverifiable stories passed down through the ages about a person or group of people. While Catholic parents may want to make sure children know about the real-life saint behind the Santa Claus legend, there is nothing wrong with passing on pious legends to children.

The real question probably comes when children find out that their parents are the ones who are providing the Santa gifts, Easter candy, and Tooth Fairy money. In my experience, parents tend to worry too much about how their children will receive this news. Many children through many generations simply accept this information as a part of growing up, and, in fact, will "collude" with parents to keep the myth going by not letting their parents in on the fact that they know The Truth in order to avoid spoiling their parents' fun. But, if a child does feel betrayed to find out The Truth, then the parent can explain the context of storytelling and myth-making, perhaps pointing out to the child that Let's Pretend is a game for people of all ages.

Of course, it should be said, if a parent does not feel comfortable taking this approach to Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy, the parent is free to leave out such stories from his child's education. He should though teach the child to be sensitive to not spoiling the fun of other children by telling them that such characters are Not Real.

I guess that teacher's parents never taught her that last part.

 

[Hannathy]

And for those that want to know why a parent would lie about a myth to their children, I'm sure that before you enter the gates of WDW that you explain to your kids that Mickey and Minne are just people in costumes, that's not really Snow White or Cinderella. . .just some actresses, and that most everything they are seeing is just a facade right?

Actually yes!! My kids never believed they were anything but actors in costume. Never truly understood how kids could think anything else, they aren't exactly realistic with the hard heads and unmoving fingers etc. My DD pointed this out when she was a tiny preschooler. We have always talked about how Disney does stuff and the special effects and the facades, why wouldn't you.?
They have also seen specials on the building of Disney world.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

So it would be okay for a public school teacher to tell my child Jesus is a lie?

 

[tlbwriter]

Great find, hambirg!

 

[wvjules]

I would have been livid!

And for those that want to know why a parent would lie about a myth to their children, I'm sure that before you enter the gates of WDW that you explain to your kids that Mickey and Minne are just people in costumes, that's not really Snow White or Cinderella. . .just some actresses, and that most everything they are seeing is just a facade right?

I think allowing your kids to believe in Santa doesn't take away from the religious aspect of Christmas at all. It's part of the magic of being a child. St Nick is alive in spirit. . .that spirit of giving and bringing joy to other people at Christmas. Why is that bad?

That teacher was completely out of line. She stole part of those children's innocence and youth. As far as it being a Catholic religious class. . .St Nick is alive and well within the Catholic church. . .so it didn't have anything to do with "religion."

My DS10 and my DD8 still believe. I'm kind of shocked, but they really do. It actually makes me happy that they still have some innocence left in their childhood. In a world where it seems we force our kids to grow up so fast, I take great joy in knowing that my kids still have some of that magical, youthful innocence.

I think the teacher was wrong but I thikn the above bolded is getting a little carried away.

 

[luvmy3]

If the teacher was going to teach about Christmas did she also mention that the Christians incorporated pagan traditions (celebrating the winter solstice) into Christmas in order to get them to convert to Christianity more freely? I doubt it. The fact is Christmas is a celebration of many things, Jesus being only one of them, and some may argue the most important, however its not that teacher's job to make that decision for anyone other than herself. I can understand her wanting to tell a child the truth when they ask, but I'm guessing she doesn't do the same when they ask her if God is real? He is real to those who believe he is, so why can't Santa stay real for those who believe he is. (I'm not trying to make this a religious debate about the existance of God, just making a point of why its not wrong for a child to believe in Santa).

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I don't think it is up to this venue to help your child hold onto Santa. There may have been a better way to deal with it...but in reality, they'd have to break a commandment to keep the Santa thing real.

I taught 3rd grade at such a venue once and he never came up.

I find it difficult to condemn them in this particular circumstance for spilling the beans. But it does seem that the venue leadership should have an overall way to deal wih such matters. Even a "we can't talk about Santa here because we are hear to talk about Jesus" would accomplish the educational intent without causing heartbreak and chaos.

I do have friends who deliberately do not di the Santa thing, but they also raised their kids to not spoil it for others. And she explained it beautifully. She tells her kids he truth without condemning others...just that they as a family do not participate in that tradition.

 

[BellvilleDad]

time out. your friend enrolled her kid in a RELIGIOUS EDUCATION class and is upset when the teacher teaches the kid about a RELIGIOUS holiday?

Uhm sorry but Christmas is the celebration of Jesus's birthday. I'm trying to figure out why you are upset because the teacher told the truth?

Sorry OP, but if you want to teach kids about the secular celebrating of Christmas, don't send them to religious school.

Teacher is totally right.

My kids go to the local Christian Academy, and the teachers there know better than to do that. Everything isn't always black and white; you can be a Christian and still enjoy the idea of Santa with your children.

This teacher was wrong, and she knew it.