"Do You Want Santa To Leave You Coal This Year?"

           Why do many Americans care so much about Santa Claus? Is it just a basic winter-time tradition or something more meaningful? If you are a parent that is celebrating this tree-decorating, present-wrapping tradition, you know all too well that this idea of "Santa" is much more than leaving cookies and milk out overnight for some bearded man that will climb through your chimney in the wee hours of the morning.
       Though many of us know Santa is not actually real, we should not allow the wonderful imagination of the younger, upcoming generations to be ruined by us. The magic of childhood is held together by the idea of imagination. When you take that away, there is no special meaning to growing up anymore.
       It is a big, exciting moment for a child when they go up to Santa's lap and he/she tells him what they want for Christmas. Adults should not ruin the bright light of the child's mind by crushing it with reality. The best part about being a kid is just that: not having to deal with the real world just yet. Telling them that Santa is not real from the very start may put a great boundary on what they will be able to imagine in the future while growing up, such as having imaginary friends and whatnot.
     Although, on behalf of those believing that kids should be told that Santa is not real, their argument is valid, too. It causes stress on the child to learn that a great part of their holiday season was a great, big lie. It may cause tension between family members, particularly between children and parents, and may cause an extra abundance of avoidable conflict. So, maybe there lies a good medium in the two arguments against whether or not the story of Santa should be told as real or not. Should kids be told at a certain age that Santa is not real? Or should they be left to find out on their own? Personally, I had to find out on my own by finding the Christmas presents stuck at the top of my mother's closet. Was I sad? No, I was more so enlightened by the fact that I was able to pick and chose what presents I actually wanted, instead of allowing some man that did not know me pick them for me.
      Telling your child that Santa is not real could potentially save you a lot of money by not buying unwanted toys, but what's the magic in that? For children, waking up on Christmas day and running to the tree with wrapped surprises underneath is the whole joy of this holiday. They don't know what's wrapped beneath the holiday-themed paper, and the anticipation for what's inside plays a really grand role in the whole holiday tradition.
    So all in all, should parents tell their children that Santa is not real, or should the children be left to find out on their own? Personally, I believe the children should find out Santa is not real on their own time, as they grow older and wiser with the world. Finding out fact from fiction is a part of growing older and is an even more important part of the maturing process. Allow your children to learn on their own time. After all, it's their life, not yours.

          

Why NOT Lie About Jolly Old St.Nicholas?

As parents know, Santa is not real. However, according to children, he's this really awesome old dude that flies around on a sled pulled by reindeer every Christmas and somehow manages to fit through your chimney and steals all your cookies and milk but leaves you presents in exchange. Personally, I feel like it's a symbol of youth and innocence to believe in Santa, and I DEFINITELY believe that parents should lie about it if the child believes in him already. Which parent would want to ruin their kid's excitement or joy of having Santa deliver him or her presents overnight? The kids enjoy going to the mall and meeting Santa Claus and telling him what they want for Christmas. Also, it's a good way to keep the kids from being annoying towards the end of the year because you can threaten them by saying Santa won't get them anything. And technically, there WAS a guy named St. Nicholas who gave good children gifts and bad children lumps of coal, so it's not really lying.


However, not only is the Santa myth fun for the kids, but it's also fun for the parents as well! They get to play pretend and dress up and assist the kids in making cookies and just watch the overall enjoyment of their child. Also, it's fun to watch how excited and eager the kids are to get their presents from Santa. Another fun part of spreading the Santa belief to their children is being able to help write and even mail letters to Santa and being able to write them a letter back from Santa.

Personally, coming from a non-Christian family, Christmas was never really an important holiday for us, so we weren't going to preach to my younger sibling about Jesus and all that other Christmas history. Therefore, the Santa myth kind of makes sense to tell them, only because they had no other understanding of why kids get presents on Christmas. So rather than making it seem like only a religious holiday, Santa is a way to make the kids happy and just enjoy their youth while they still have it.

Many parents choose not to tell their children about Santa because they're afraid that their children will be disappointed when they find out, but why would you want to deprive them of their childhood because of something that may or not happen later in the future? I think that they should be able to experience the excitement that Santa Claus brings to them, and the parents should worry about that whenever that time comes.

So overall, I believe that if a child believes in Santa, that his or her parents should encourage it rather than neglect the belief. It's a fun time in a child's life, and parents shouldn't deprive their children of that.

The Lies Need To Stop

The Lies Need to Stop.

            The mind of a child is malleable. I think a child, much like a pet, is trained in the first few years. Trained how to think, what to say, what to do, and how to react. You can tell a child almost anything with little to no proof and they will believe it. That's why they are so susceptible to believing in these made-up characters. So why do parents 

try to feed their children’s minds with the mystery of a man who can visit billions of kids in one night, or a tiny woman who gives away money for teeth, or a bunny who…what does the bunny even do? These fictional childhood characters are all lies and an inconvenience if I do say so myself. I can’t count how many times I’ve had to be careful not to reveal the secret around young, impressionable children who truly believe in these characters. 

I’m not trying to be the person who opened up a can of worms and led a child into frenzy because I revealed that Santa Claus does not exist. But in not doing so, I’ve also become a part of this master lie that started as a small white lie made by parents. I remember watching Grown Ups, and there was a scene where one of the moms accidentally let loose that the tooth fairy didn’t exist. That was the perfect time to just let her child know that all of it was fake. But no, she decides to lie and say that she works with the tooth fairy. Let’s be real for a second, parents need to be frank with their children. Instead of allowing them to idolize an old man who finds it relaxing to live in the coldest part of the earth, or a tiny woman who obviously has an obsession with teeth, or a bunny who I’m still trying to find the significance of, parents need to teach their children morals and manners. And I do not think lying to a child for the majority of their childhood sets a good example. Can I also throw in the fact that Santa Claus is a heartbreaker and dream crusher. 

What does a parent that has no money do with a child that has a long list for Santa Claus? When Santa Claus doesn’t follow through then what? Will that be the time to unravel the lies? Because Santa Claus has now also become an inconvenience to the parent? None of these characters would ever be an inconvenience if parents never introduced them into the lives of their children. All in all, I am completely against the use of these characters. If parents were honest with their children from the jump, there wouldn’t be any need for saving face during the holidays or every time a child lost their tooth. It’s time to get real. The lies need to stop.

Last Christmas, I Told You A Lie...

Since Christmas is just next month, I wanted to talk about parents that lie to their children about Santa Claus. I have one question. WHY? Why do they make up some fat, old, jolly guy and say he’s the one who brings them presents? Parents should not lie to their children simply because of three reasons: they could get more respect, their kids will also behave better, and lying is bad. Duh.

First, a really quick background information on how Santa Claus was originated. There was a man called Saint Nicholas who saw that the nobleman's daughters were poor, therefore he gave gifts to them anonymously because he didn't want to be praised for his kindness. Saint Nicholas' kind act became a trend. Although it is nice, I don't think it should continue anymore. Why? Your parents have some money, right? That's how you get gifts. But let's say that your parents didn't have any money that year. Will there be anyone who will leave gifts anonymously for you? It seems like a nice thing, but a kid waking up on Christmas morning to no presents is kind of depressing. He/she might ask, “Why didn't Santa leave me any presents?” Then they would have to compare themselves with other children that got toys from “Santa.” What I'm saying is that what about the children that don't get gifts? You can't cover up with "Santa couldn't make it all around the world." It's better to tell them the truth.

Also, why should some mythical guy get credit for all the presents YOU buy with your own money? I can understand why kids will be happier getting presents from someone that comes once a year but they can always understand that a present is a present. Whether it comes from your parents or Santa Claus, it is still a present! I think kids are more excited about the presents than the person who is giving it to them anyway. They don't appreciate you. If it's anyone, it's Santa Claus. I think that parents telling their kids that it's actually the parent that is giving them gifts will cause kids to behave better. Since these gullible little children think that Santa comes once a year, they won't remember him and his “naughty or nice” list. They don't think about Santa is "watching" them everyday (unless the month is december) because you tell them Santa will only give presents to those who are nice and coal to those who are naughty. On the contrary, if you tell your kids that Santa isn't real from the beginning, they will behave better. Since the children know it is actually the parents giving presents, they know how to behave because they are under their parent's supervision everyday. Also, don't even think about telling your kids that if they behave badly, they will get coal in their stockings. You're just lying to them again and every Christmas they will notice how they never get coal which means the behavior they have now (in school or at home) is acceptable and they will continue doing it.

Lastly, have your ever woke up Christmas morning and found the plate of cookies on the counter that you left for Santa Claus? Weird, right? I thought the man loved cookies! Now that’s where the suspicion gets started and you (the parent) is wondering how to tell your child Santa isn’t real. What's funny is that I wanted some stories on how someone told their kids that Santa isn't real but questions on HOW to tell their kids showed up. You know how google works, right? It shows searches that other people have searched before or recently. It must be hard for the parents to tell the truth because they know their kids will be very upset or even traumatized by the truth. You want to know how to solve this problem? Don't do it in the first place.

Save yourself from telling the truth about Santa Claus to your kids. Save yourself from the heartbreak, guilt, or whatever reaction you may get from your kids. Children are vulnerable. Don't ruin their life. 

“Once upon a time, there was a bird that took you out of a cabbage patch, carried, and delivered you to us when you were just a tiny baby.”

This is the absurdity that many parents tell their young children when describing to them the origin of human infants. They tell their children such a lie about something so important in order to “preserve their innocence,” but what these parents fail to realize is that they are only teaching their children to lie and crippling their children's minds/mental development.

First off, obviously, one day the child will learn the truth about how humans are created be it from friends, from the internet, or from a classroom environment. After discovering the truth, the child will think to his or herself, ‘Wow! My parents told me such an absurd lie about something so trivial for no apparent reason…I guess such lying is acceptable behavior.’ By lying to a child in order to avoid an uncomfortable conversation, a parent teaches that lying is acceptable and by subsequently teaching a child that lying is wrong teaches them that hypocrisy is also acceptable behavior.

Secondly, lying to one’s child does not mean that one is preserving their innocence and on the flip side, telling the truth does not mean that a child is automatically stripped of their innocence. It is generally accepted that children should remain ignorant of certain aspects of human nature. While this is true of some aspects of human society such as violence and atrocities, this should not be true of something as benign and un-corrupting as sex. The only reason American society sees sex as something that should be hidden from children is due to its conservative, religious roots. While exposing young children to violence and the dark side of human nature may corrupt their young, impressionable minds, exposing them to the ancient mechanism by which humans reproduce would cause no harm, but may instead serve to liberate their minds and provide necessary knowledge as to how the world works.

As they say, the truth shall set you free.

Santa are you a lie, like the cake!?

When we were young, we were told tales of Santa Claus and how he'd bring us presents if we were nice. As we grew older we've realized that these presents under the tree at Christmas were from our parents and that Santa was a lie. Then we think about all the other holiday figures that we've come to know and love, were they lies too? What other news are you going to toss on us? Is the cake a lie too? These are some questions that come to our minds when we see through the smoke and mirrors but was it really okay for our parents to enforce such an empty token economy?

According to Dr. Benjamin Siegel, when we were seven years old and younger, we went through a period called "fantasy life magic years (What, that's too much. I could barely understand that)." Basically during this period we're susceptible to the influence of the holiday stories that we all hold close to our childhood. But these are all going to become lies and will harm us right? No, it isn't really going to hurt us in the long run, but these myths emphasize the importance of morality and actually benefit us. But why tell us this lie in the first place? One word. Magic. Special moments or holidays just aren't as enjoyable without a little pizazz; not saying that time with the family is boring but when I was little, my definition of fun was completely different from my older family members. But magic is fake too! Stop being so pessimistic!  This magic isn't the one with smoke and mirrors that we can never imitate without being a magician, this magic is a child's imagination fuel. These myths engage a child's imagination and brings out many of life's joys.

So should parents lie about Santa and Co.? Meh, go for it. Not like it really harms us anyways, we all love the magic of holidays. Why? Why not!? Magic is like the icing on the cake, it just makes it a lot better so just stop downing the mood. When we come to realize that they're fake, we come to realize they're fake. There's not much to it. Sure it might have been a lie but we enjoyed the moments before right?Any-who! Holidays were a time meant to be enjoyed with your family and those myths were meant to spice up that time. Whether you freaked out when you found out that those myths were a lie after all, it won't hurt you in any way. This magic just gives us something to actually look forward to, other than that time with family. Sure Santa might have turned out to be a lie, which makes this easy to relate to "The cake is a lie!" Okay, the cake is a lie..? Just make your own cake and the cake isn't a lie anymore. Bottom line is, it's fine for parents to lie to their children about Santa and other myths. These myths just give us a little something to look forward for throughout the years of our childhood, making our childhood...a childhood.

Santa Claus's Secret

For years now, the debate whether to tell the truth about Santa Clause and other fictional characters has been brought up with valid points supporting each side. Those in support of telling kids the truth have continuously claimed the lie will impact the child’s trust in the parents and make the relationship distant. There have been studies done which do claim that being a consequence, but for many children that is not the case. As children begin to come into the age of reason, they slowly begin to dismiss the idea of Santa being real because of the simple logic that one old man with eight reindeer can’t possibly deliver presents to everyone around the world in one night. But until children get to that age, the thought of Santa Clause only beings join the Christmas spirit. Dr. Benjamin Siegel, a Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at the Boston University School of Medicine, claims the ages in which children do believe in Santa are the child's prime years in developing their imagination.  The thought of Santa boost the their desire to believe in something bigger than they are. 

The way parents present Santa can have impact on how children take the truth later on. Typically parents continue the traditions they had as a kid and once their children do find out about the jolly old man, they share their stories of how when they were little they imagine all the same things. Santa is looked as more of a write a passage than way for parents to deceive their children. Of course there are those parents who use Santa Clause not bringing them any presents as a treat, but that should never be the image of Santa. The point of bringing him into Christmas is to have a positive image of someone wanting to give and share the joy of Christmas. To spread the cheer and happy times the holiday hopefully brings to people. Children should learn to appreciate what Santa meant to them and how Christmas itself wouldn’t have been the same without him. As they get older, they begin to go along with the story for their younger siblings. Sometimes, parents are the ones who feel worse when their children find out the truth about Santa Clause. They like seeing their children light up with excitement on Christmas morning, and how they had such a strong belief in all the myths about what was going on in the North Pole.  Kids don’t typically blame their parents for putting such a lie in their heads and ruining their childhood because of trying to make them believe in such a positive image. It’s an understood concept that parents are trying to make their kids happy and have a chance to believe in something they once believed in.