What are your thoughts on what we should tell children about Santa Claus?
Movies and TV (and the 1897 New York Sun) seem to be unanimous in praising “believers” and condemning “non-believers”.
Is this a trivial issue or is it part of a bigger picture?
Thank you.
Go ahead and tell them. They’ll figure it out when the time is right. It’s not a trick, and it’s not dishonest. Pretending that a mythical man makes it around the world, dispensing presents, is a nice fantasy. When kids find out, they find out, but belief in Santa is all part of the fun of the season. Finally “getting it” about Santa’s existence is sort of a rite of passage, I think.
A woman I work for was telling me the other day about how her kids write letters to the tooth fairy, since they’re at that age. They’re very excited. In fact, kids everywhere get excited, because there’s a mystical being associated with children’s teeth in nearly every culture in the world. Why? It’s part of the mystique connected with that rite of passage.
While I was losing my baby teeth, I don’t recall ever believing that the tooth fairy actually existed, but I do remember the fun of finding the dollar underneath my pillow each time.
What it boils down to is this: every kid I’ve ever known who believed in the Tooth Fairy, Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny or what have you really had a good time believing it. Further, every kid and former kid I’ve ever known who’d once believed in such things managed to get past the discovery that those beings aren’t real without sustaining any scars. When your kids ask, tell them the truth, but don’t stick them with such a literal-minded world. There’ll be enough of that when they become adults. Let them have some fun, and let them see a world that isn’t always real, yet stands for something very real at the same time.
Got that, Virginia?
Wow, Chance said everything I was going to say, only better than I would have. BTW, welcome cognoscente to the board, and if I may, what did you mean by
You may wish to peruse this thread from last week to see some opinions.
Thanks Chance for the detailed opinion, and Genie for the link.
Rhum, thanks for the welcome. I hope to participate in other threads. I’ve been impressed with the overall quality of this message board.
As for my comment about “the bigger picture”, I’ll defer on that for now. I didn’t realize that this topic had already been dealt with in a previous thread.