Santa!?!?! I hate the lie!

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  • workout_ninja
    workout_ninja Posts: 524 Member
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    My son is 2 and not quite understanding Santa yet, but by golly is he seeing him everywhere just now! He calls everything to do with Christmas a "snowman" which is adorable. I will start introducing Santa next year when he understands a bit better. What I will do though, is explain to him that the big presents he wants, santa cant make and I will have to get them for him.

    He also thinks there is a tiger in the bushes in the garden, am I supposed to tell him there isnt? He will figure it out for himself when he is ready.

    Everyone has the right to raise their child the way they see fit. We arent all going to agree. I personally love the idea of Santa, Im an atheist so I am so hypocritical of every christmas but I dont care.
  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
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    Tell him the truth. My mom did, and I learned to appreciate Christmas for the family time and spirit of generosity. I'm going to do the same for mine.


    So true! My kids understand and appreciate Christmas, whereas the ones that get told the Santa lie, end up believing that Christmas is all about presents.
    Is that so?

    That has been my observations over the years. My kids are now observing the same with their classmates in high school.

    Gimme, gimme, mine, mine...

    LOL Just as one day of eating at Thanksgiving did not make anyone on MFP fat, one day of gift giving by Santa did not make any child self-centered and greedy. It is more in the day to day parenting that is done in homes to produce such children.

    Stop it. That makes too much sense.
    :flowerforyou:
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    Sometimes being a good parent means lying to them.

    My kids still believe. I love that Christmas is magical to them. Believing in santa doesn't mean you don’t teach them the meaning of Christmas though.

    Another crock!


    Love = honesty

    So you have never fibbed in any way shape or form to your kids?

    Gold Star.

    No, I have never needed to lie to my kids. Lie about what? Why should i?
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,611 Member
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    Sometimes being a good parent means lying to them.

    My kids still believe. I love that Christmas is magical to them. Believing in santa doesn't mean you don’t teach them the meaning of Christmas though.
    I will never agree with that!

    You are in for a tough road ahead then.

    Nope, not so tough. My kids are nearly grown, and have told us that they love the fact that they can know that we will always be honest with them. I feel sorry for kids whose parents lie to them for their own convenience. Screw that.

    Our teens have an open and honest relationship. Since we have always been honest with them, they are free now to be honest with us, even on tough issues like sex/drugs. Being a liar is no good for long term relationships.
    you can do what you want, but please stop insulting others who do things differently.

    I have the same exact relationship with my kids, regardless of Santa. I find it so strange that you would equate that one tradition with how anyone's kids turn out.

    It's not just about Santa, but about a pattern of telling lies.

    You can be honest with your kids outside of the Santa myth, especially if your kids are still little. But if you continue to try to lie to them when they know better, and/or you lie about other things outside of Christmas, then you will struggle with them when they become teens.

    You seem to be projecting something from your personal life onto this Santa debate.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    Tell him the truth. My mom did, and I learned to appreciate Christmas for the family time and spirit of generosity. I'm going to do the same for mine.


    So true! My kids understand and appreciate Christmas, whereas the ones that get told the Santa lie, end up believing that Christmas is all about presents.
    Is that so?

    That has been my observations over the years. My kids are now observing the same with their classmates in high school.

    Gimme, gimme, mine, mine...

    LOL Just as one day of eating at Thanksgiving did not make anyone on MFP fat, one day of gift giving by Santa did not make any child self-centered and greedy. It is more in the day to day parenting that is done in homes to produce such children.

    Stop it. That makes too much sense.
    I have a 19-year-old college sophomore daughter. She and her friends grew up with Santa. They are the sweetest, most giving, unselfish children I know.

    Sounds like you know a lot of kids with bad parents.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    Sometimes being a good parent means lying to them.

    My kids still believe. I love that Christmas is magical to them. Believing in santa doesn't mean you don’t teach them the meaning of Christmas though.
    I will never agree with that!

    You are in for a tough road ahead then.

    Nope, not so tough. My kids are nearly grown, and have told us that they love the fact that they can know that we will always be honest with them. I feel sorry for kids whose parents lie to them for their own convenience. Screw that.

    Our teens have an open and honest relationship. Since we have always been honest with them, they are free now to be honest with us, even on tough issues like sex/drugs. Being a liar is no good for long term relationships.
    you can do what you want, but please stop insulting others who do things differently.

    I have the same exact relationship with my kids, regardless of Santa. I find it so strange that you would equate that one tradition with how anyone's kids turn out.

    It's not just about Santa, but about a pattern of telling lies.

    You can be honest with your kids outside of the Santa myth, especially if your kids are still little. But if you continue to try to lie to them when they know better, and/or you lie about other things outside of Christmas, then you will struggle with them when they become teens.

    You should probably write a book and make millions since you have everything figured out and like to present it as fact.

    And answer my question about the cheating husband please :)
  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
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    Sometimes being a good parent means lying to them.

    My kids still believe. I love that Christmas is magical to them. Believing in santa doesn't mean you don’t teach them the meaning of Christmas though.

    Another crock!


    Love = honesty

    Disagree! There are adult things that children should NOT be exposed to. I believe lying is at times necessary to protect them.

    Protecting little ones is NOT the same as telling them lies. Don't be absurd.
    take your own advice.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    Sometimes being a good parent means lying to them.

    My kids still believe. I love that Christmas is magical to them. Believing in santa doesn't mean you don’t teach them the meaning of Christmas though.

    Another crock!


    Love = honesty

    That is a rather simplistic view of love. While love means honesty, it also means nuture, protection, teaching, and allowing your children to figure things out for themselves.

    Get over yourself.

    You can do all of those things without blatantly lying. :wink:
  • markpmc
    markpmc Posts: 240 Member
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    Kids enjoy believing in Santa. Why take that away?

    Yep. My youngest is still there...
  • dlionsmane
    dlionsmane Posts: 672 Member
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    My daughter is 25 and I still wait until she is asleep on Christmas eve to fill the stockings, (even mine) I always put one extra little surprise in there 'from Santa' - I know she doesn't 'believe' in Santa. But she believes in the spirit of Christmas. :) Which I think is a good thing. :)
  • jenifr818
    jenifr818 Posts: 805 Member
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    What is this, www.newmoms.com?

    Raise your kids however you want, they are still going to end up in the fast food business.

    :laugh: :sad:
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    Personally I cannot stand what Christmas has become. I hate hearing about all the drama between people who celebrate and people who don't. I hate that so many people just have turned it into a meaningless retail free for all.

    I wish that there was a stronger focus on being with your family and friends, and just loving each other and enjoying their company, less focus on buy buy buy.

    This X1000!

    +1
  • Mother_Superior
    Mother_Superior Posts: 1,624 Member
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    Yes Virginia...
    21784_457330764304168_1598365142_n.jpg
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    Sometimes being a good parent means lying to them.

    My kids still believe. I love that Christmas is magical to them. Believing in santa doesn't mean you don’t teach them the meaning of Christmas though.

    Another crock!


    Love = honesty

    Disagree! There are adult things that children should NOT be exposed to. I believe lying is at times necessary to protect them.
    There are times to withhold detales but I feel there is never a Reason to lie.

    Agreed!
  • NKF92879
    NKF92879 Posts: 601 Member
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    So my oldest is 3 and asked me about Santa and Christmas. I told him the basic crap that everyone spews and I hate myself for it! Wh does he need to believe in Santa just to have it crushed later in life? Why set them up for disappointment later in life. Am I a bad mom because I don't want to perpetuate this myth?

    Thoughts please.


    It's not about "Santa." It's about believing in the magic of the season. Tell him whatever you want, but remember that if you tell him Santa's not real he'll likely tell all his friends. Then you'll have to deal with their parents. Read "The Autobiography of Santa Claus" as told to Jeff Guinn. It's amazing, and set up to be read a chapter a day from December 1 to December 24....
  • ImSoOTired
    ImSoOTired Posts: 186 Member
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    I was probably 5 years old when I decided it was impossible for Santa to be real and it didn't bother me at all. I thought it was fun to play along and I didn't want to hurt my parent's feelings by letting them know that I knew better. It's even fun to pretend to believe. I liked the thought that my parents cared enough to buy my gifts and sneak downstairs in the middle of the night to put them under the tree for my brother and I. I eventually let on that I knew it was nonsense (probably around the age of 8) and my parents were relieved that they could just put the gifts out before they went to bed.
    To each their own. If you don't want to do the Santa thing that's fine, it's your child I see no harm in letting kids know the truth
    (bust maybe tell them it's a secret so they don't ruin it for other peoples kids).

    I think that we're going to have Santa for a few years and then phase him out . Start putting from Mom and Dad on the gifts. I hope the kids will just get the point then and most likely won't be too upset. Heck they're still getting the gifts!
  • Atarahh
    Atarahh Posts: 485 Member
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    Simple:
    SANTA
    SATAN

    same letters, just switched around

    #carryon #thatisall

    The Word has no mention of this being so why is he a symbol for something that is supposed to commemorate the birth of the Messiah?
    The Messiah was not even born during this time. It's Pagan traditions that point to some very evil means of celebration. Look it up.

    The Word says merchants wax rich off of traditions of men.
    People pay to take photos with Santa, buy Groupons to get packages/letters from Santa. Not to mention some people go into debt, depression, and willing to rob and steal in order to afford those Christmas "gifts".

    It's all about one thing: money.

    SATAN, I mean SANTA all you want.
    As for me and my house, we will serve Yahueh...
  • FindingMyPerfection
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    I want to be clear I don't see any problem with other families who enjoy the tradition and "magic", I just don't know if I want Santa part of my family tradition.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    He has an active imagination and I believe it is not something that is hinged on me perpetuating a lie. Tell me how did inventions come about before tv taught us how to be creative? Sarcasm font*

    Kids were allowed to believe in things like Snata Claus without being told every second that if you can't see it, it isn't real.

    :flowerforyou:
  • JustAnotherGirlSuzanne
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    My parents told us right from the beginning that there was no such thing as a Santa who came down chimneys and doled out gifts. I never suffered for it. In fact, I can honestly say that I liked knowing the truth.

    Honestly, the only people it created trouble for were the parents of other kids who found out we didn't believe in Santa Claus. :tongue:

    I don't think there's a right or wrong answer to this. Go with your gut and make sure you talk to the kids' other parent if there is one in the picture.

    Oh, and if you do tell them the truth, make sure they don't tell their friends. :smile: