What's a parent to do with Santa?
Shannon and I have had a long-standing opinion that we would not encourage the belief in Santa Claus among our boys. But that's easier said than done.
The idea was that we didn't want to put ourselves in the position of lying to our kids. We could imagine the eventual conversation: "Well, son, you caught us. Santa was big fat lie. But all of that God stuff, well… that's real." We didn't want any doubts about our trustworthiness or any crushing blows of disillusionment either.
Not that we avoid Santa Claus. Not at all. We have Rudolf stuffed toys and watch the Christmas specials on TV. We love Santa at our house. We just understand that he's pretend, like Mickey Mouse, Scooby Doo, and CNN.
And I feel very strongly about kids having stories that stir their imaginations and create wonder and awe. But I also feel strongly about not telling them that a strange, fat old man is going to sneak into our house at night, that he keeps a list with our names on it, and that he knows if we're sleeping or awake. In that light, Santa's only half a step away from being some kind of stalker and we tell our boys to stay away from people like that. With Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and other night time visitors, it's a wonder we get our kids to go to bed at all!
The hitch is that all the children our boys know do believe in Santa. They think Santa is real and have proof in the presents marked "From Santa" and the confirmation from their parents. This time of year the conversation amongst four-year-olds is all about Santa. I don't want my kids to ruin other kids' fantasies and I'm more than a little worried that my boys will be way too informative. We're also put in an awkward spot when we have to explain why other adults might say Santa is real.
"Well, son… Grandma has a problem telling the truth sometimes… at least when she's talking to kids."
Yikes. It might be easier just to lie to them.
No comments:
Post a Comment