My husband and I have conflicting views on the issue. I was never taught to believe in Santa and as a result grew up thinking it was a silly. (Guess you could say I was that girl on Miracle on 34th Street) Anyway..my husband did grow up thinking he was real and now we are having trouble deciding whether to teach our son to believe in him or not. I don't want to. I don't want to teach him something and have him find out it's not true and hurt his feelings. I don't know.. what do you all think? I just think it's wrong to lie to your kids..about anything. I guess I'd feel differently if I'd grown up believing in Santa, the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny. Maybe you guess can help me see a different side of the whole thing?
2006-12-19 07:43:38 · 56 answers · asked by ... 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Holidays ➔ Other - Holidays
If your son saw several armed police officers enter a building and you knew that a woman had been badly mutilated and murdered, would you tell him. Of course you would not. By telling him that there is no Santa Clause, you are robbing him, as you yourself was robbed, of one of the most precious memories I have of when I was a child. Over 60 years ago I might add. As I said before, I can also remember praying that all my teeth would fall out so that I could get a handful of sixpences from the Tooth Fairy. I loved all the horror stories such as Jack and the Bean stalk and many, many more. I grew up with no problem - I worked in a very good job for forty years and now in retirement I am still very happy with life. Only last Sunday, I sat down with my two grandsons and we wrote letters to Santa Clause. No problem whatsoever. Think of it this way, they will be old soon enough and the more memories of the good times they have had will help to counterbalance those sad and troubled times that will surely come in their lives. Keep them young as long as you can........................ (p.s. I am sure God does not count such 'lies' as sins - you see behind the beard, He is in fact Santa).
2006-12-19 07:54:32 · answer #1 · answered by thomasrobinsonantonio 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Okay, here goes. My son was 5 when I told him there was no Santa Claus. He went to school telling everyone! Then my ex husband was very upset that I told him. I basically thought that I won't lie to my son ever! He should know the truth because, why lie! So he knows about the tooth fairy and the easter bunny being fake!
I am sorry I ruined his childhood! Because now he is almost 8 and he wishes I didn't tell him because all his friends believe in Santa Claus. He says that it would of been fun to think he was real, but now he knows and he isn't into the Christmas spirit as much as he was when he was little. Oh well. A mistake I'll live to regret!
2006-12-19 07:48:37 · answer #2 · answered by DrPepper 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The best part about being a kid is imagination. How could you really take that away from him. If teach him that Santa is not real it's like you are taking away part of his childhood. Think about all the other children that he will influence in school. If you teach him that Santa isn't real think of all the other children that he will disappoint. And all the other parents that you will have to deal with because your son took the spark of Christmas and imagination away from their children. Santa isn't just an imaginary man that lives in an imaginary place....he's a child's imagination. He's that little voice inside them that makes them excited about Christmas. He loves the fantasy of knowing that every year some guy comes down his chimney and brings him presents. Imagination sparks a child's creativity. Why would you want to deprive your child of all these things? It's part of growing up. It's part of childhood. Maybe you and your husband don't have to teach him anything. Let his brain do the work. If he grows up and believes....let him believe! Creativity and imagination are wonderful things for a child!
2006-12-19 07:50:43 · answer #3 · answered by Champagne115 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus
Editorial Page, New York Sun, 1897
We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O'Hanlon
Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus?Thank God he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!
2006-12-19 07:46:11 · answer #4 · answered by Sir J 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Teach him to believe in a Santa. Your child is only a kid once. It would be hard on your son if he knew that there is no Santa Claus and everyone else believed in him. Not only, he would tell the other kids that they were wrong and that there is no Santa Claus. Therefore, he would spoil the imagination for the other children. If you son knows that you are really Santa Claus, when it comes to celebrating christmas it wouldn't be as fun. He wouldn't be excited to write Santa a note leaving out milk, cookies, and carrots for the reindeer. Your son wouldn't get excited about trying so hard to wait up just to catch a glimpse of Santa but ending up falling asleep.
The things that are remembered are the memories had around Christmas time. When he gets older he'll look back on those times and smile of what fun he had while believing, he won't look back angry thinking how he hated being lied too. With age comes knowledge. So when he's older let him discover on his own the truth about Santa Claus, and then he'll ask you. That's when you tell him about a little 8 year old girl named Virginia(Dear Virginia, There is a Santa Claus...) But let him enjoy what is truly apart of a child's imagination; a guy coming down a chimney. It lets children's imaginations soar. Wondering how can a man so big get down my chimney?What if I don't have a chimney?How can he deliever all those presents? I look back on my childhood memeories when Santa Claus was still there, and I smile for the fun that I had when I believed.
I recommend the movie "The Polar Express". This story truly touches your heart. It is about believing in Santa Claus and even though you are older to still believe in the magic of him, even though he isn't there. I enjoy this movie it makes me remember the happiness Santa Claus brings around the time of Christmas.
I hope you decide to let your child enjoy the magic of Santa, but whatever you choose, I wish you a Merry Christmas this holiday season!
2006-12-19 08:10:39 · answer #5 · answered by Christina 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No. Think of Santa more as a symbol for giving and sharing. It is probably difficult for you to relate to since you grew up not enjoying the fantasy of a visit from Santa, but most people (I would guess) will tell you that no harm came from learning later in life that Santa was not real. If you ask around I think you'll find that many families still do the "santa thing" on Christmas morning even when the kids know it is more symbolic than real.
My short answer is this: Don't tell because you could single-handedly eliminate the future enjoyment of your child.
I have a younger sister who was starting to figure things out and asked my mother if Santa was real. I was lucky enough to hear it. Her answer was, "Santa comes to those who believe in him".
2006-12-19 07:49:54 · answer #6 · answered by jamesv000 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I understand your side of it. But believeing in Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny is not just about having mommy and daddy lie to you. It is about the abief in what you can't see, feel, touch. You know its there even though you have never actually seen it and as you get older that dies and you can't believe anymore. You don't need your parents to tell you cause you already know or at least you think you do. They just tell you what you all ready thought you know. I hope I am explaining this right. This helps them to have imagine and believe. Please don't take that away.
Good luck and Happy holidays.
2006-12-19 07:53:18 · answer #7 · answered by tasha 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i agree with you....it's wrong to lie to children.
i can also see why people disagree...
why not compromise with your husband. neither tell you son lies about santa, nor tell him it's not real. chances are he'll decide for himself from the influences around him what he thinks all by himself no matter how young he is...
then you can agree with your partner not to lie to your son, that if he should ask you whether or not santa is real (and he probably will at some point) you'll tell him the truth... that's it's just make believe and everyone likes to pretend....even grown ups! (tell him the story of st. nick) but until then he can enjoy the fantasy.
2006-12-19 08:02:43 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I felt that believing in Santa made xmas so much more exciting. I wasnt disapointed when I found out he was real. I felt grown up and that my parents had let me in on a secret. It was still fun because I had a younger brother who still believed in santa so we still played along. After I found out it kind of took some excitement out of xmas but now I have 2 children aged 5 & 2 and its so much fun again now because they believe in Santa. My daughter puts out food for the reindeer and santa and it is wonderful to see how excited they get. I think its good to have some magic at christmas time. Its never hurt anyone, kids get over it.
2006-12-19 08:01:28 · answer #9 · answered by Kylie P 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I thought there was a Santa, and I was glad my parents made it fun for me as a kid. I wouldn't look at it as lying, I would look at it as letting a child find joy, and happiness while he can. Why take that away. That's what makes being an adult suck so bad. Sometimes things like this are an acception. You can do all kinds of fun things with your son, and he will have lots of happy memories doing them. He will thank you some day. Ask how many people are upset when they found out there was no santa, and were upset with their parents for it. Probably few.
2006-12-19 07:54:00 · answer #10 · answered by idontknow 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋