Nowadays we are not supposed to spank our children. We are supposed to raise our kids in a way that let�s them know that they are being heard and that their opinions matter. Kids are even being sexualized more and more and doing �grown up� things, like dating and dressing/behaving seductively, younger and younger. But even though kids are being allowed these �advancements�, thousands, maybe millions of parents indulge their children with fantasies of an imaginary man named Santa Claus every year.
What do the people of the CDFF forums think about Santa Claus, and parents who create the fantasy of Santa Claus for their children? Is he an idol? Is it right to mislead children this way? Or is it cute, innocent fun?
Have you noticed that there is no movie this Christmas about Santa Claus? First time in a long time. Eventually, Santa will be "phased" out and all fables will be "Outlawed" and all children will be told only "THE TRUTH".
Of course the truth will be subject to approval of a "select" few.
Awe and wonder will be also "Out Lawed" and so will "Bar-B-Qued" Chicken because of it's "tendency" to lead some to "Satan!
Infinitesimal minds do "Fear and Loathing" very well...they are suited for it...it does not take a whole lot of thinking to fear.
You can tell who they are...they're the ones not smiling.
No; doubt any of that will happen-------- till Jesus comes.
I smile all the time:glow: if that was a diss it's o.k.---- I still like you. We just disagree------- You think it's alright to lie to children--- I don't.
Because strait is the gate: and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and 'few' there be that find it.
Imagination doesn�t seem like it would have a lot to do with Santa Claus if children are led to believe that there is factually a Santa Claus. They go beyond pretending to actually believing. It is the parent that is pretending, but to give it to a child as fact is dishonest. It sounds like Arch is taking the side of the writer of �Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus� by taking the route that �Santa Claus� is a state of mind or a spirit that people have. He also does what he does best by insulting everybody who disagrees with him.
I don�t think we are robbing children of ANYTHING if we choose not to tell them that there is a real man that comes into the house at night to give them presents. I grew up with the understanding that there wasn�t a real man that did that, but instead my parents lovingly provided Christmas for us. It gave me that much more love and appreciation for them. Honestly, from parents who do the Santa Claus bit with their kids, the most common reason (well, actually the only reason) I have heard is that they do it because they, the parent, enjoy it and think it�s �cute�. But what about knowing the excited looks of your kids on Christmas morning is for you, and that the �Wow, thanks Mom/Dad!� is directed to you instead of some made-up, not real man they think did all this for them. Santa must love them much more than you do since he gave them all these gifts and all you did for Christmas was put up the tree. :goofball:
To me, Christmas is about Christ�s birth and, in the traditional sense, about how we are to treat each other how we would like to be treated in the form of giving gifts to each other and enjoying each other. I had a perfectly wonderful Christmas experience growing up without Santa Claus, and I don�t feel like anything was taken from me by growing up knowing the truth. If anything, it preserved my childhood! My Santa-believing friends said they lost that �magic� around Christmas as soon as they learned Santa Claus wasn�t real, usually around the age of seven. I felt the �magic� of Christmas until I was 18, when my brother and sister were no longer around for Christmas morning. Because there was nothing else dramatic changed about Christmas before that, I was able to savor the childish mystery for far longer.
I don�t think reading your children �The Night Before Christmas� is bad itself, or that Santa Claus is necessarily bad. What I do think is wrong is to tell children about Santa Claus as if he is a real man that really does these things he does not do. Teaching children that he is based on a great man, and that other children believe him to be real and should hear it from their parents that he is not, and telling them stories about Santa Claus in a fairy-tale status seems fine to me. I do NOT think it is fine to tell children that he is real and manipulate them to believe. I am so tired of the Santa movies about how children need to �believe� in him.
We need to give kids more credit. They are perfectly capable of enjoying holidays without ridiculous, made-up embellishments. Sparrow�s comparison of Jesus and Santa Claus is pretty on-the-spot: these holidays exist for already excellent reasons that no made-up fat man can compare to.
A three year old has no concept of immortality or eternity or God. What he does have is the incredible ability to Imagine. When you read Dr. Seuss to a child�are you �Lying� to that child? Do you preface the story with
�this isn�t true, but��
for FEAR of what? If you really believe that I prefer teaching children about Santa over Jesus�you are mistaken. I just believe that there is no harm in allowing a three year old to �believe� that reindeers fly and that there was a �Tinker Bell� and that Peter Pan was a real boy.
Is there a danger in taking this too far? Yes there is�just as there is a danger in most everything we do.
As for my �insulting� any of you. If you are referring to the �small minds��I meant that. If you have a small mind and you feel insulted�well�that�s how small minds think.
Is your �faith� that threatened that you need to �eliminate� Santa Claus? Do you really believe that Jesus disapproves of a �mythical� man that brings joy and happiness to children and that Jesus considers him EVIL?
I take it that you�ve never read C. S. Lewis or Tolkien? All of their characters were mythical. Would you read those stories to a three year old but preface it with �this is a lie� and they are not to consider it real?
Kids usually (around 5 years of age) start to make the distinction between Fantasy and Reality. Their naivety changes to a more practical outlook on life. You are correct when you say that kids are pretty smart and can make up their own minds�let them decide�not you.
You stifle their Creativity when you force them to keep their eyes on �solid ground� and not �up in the air�. You cramp their Imagination when you do not allow them to Dream.
Just as you feel that you have not been harmed by having been told �the truth��there are many more that feel the same way about being told �the lie� about Santa Claus.
I agree that there is not enough Emphasis placed on Christmas being Christ�s Birthday Celebration, but I do not �Fear� Santa Claus�after all Santa is a �make believe person��Jesus is REAL.
Oh�yeah�almost forgot�I want to apologize to anyone I just insulted.
Yes, I would definitely tell them it's not real. I was told it was fake when I was a kid, and I'm still fascinated with those stories. I just don't put more stock in them than they deserve. Why would you want to fill a child's mind with this supposed "reality" of these fantastical things, when they're just going to be crushed later? It just seems like it would fill their REAL world with disappointment and dissatisfaction. Anyway, I never believed in myths/fables, but it didn't make them less impressive, and I took the life lessons/experiences shown in those stories/myths to heart instead of becoming disillusioned with them later.
And I've seen too many children terrified to sleep in their own house because they read/heard that ghosts and trolls exist. Seems like needless suffering to me.
