Would you consider it cold or harsh if a parent (and not because of any conflicting religious reasoning) didn't play the 'Santa Clause' game with their young children?

To me it's a harmless piece of secular childhood tradition. Yeah, it felt awkward to lie to my daughter but she never resented us for the deception. If the parent's are going to support the commercialization of the holiday to begin with, then it would seem a little Grinchy to me not to let the kid participate in the fraud that will occur once a year for about 6 or 7 years.

I don't know of one single person who's been traumatized by finding out that there is no Santa. Learning it myself was a disappointment but I never stopped loving the tradition ~ in fact, I STILL believe in Santa (what he stands for and the joy he brings children)! I think "politically correct" parents who thinks it's best to deny them this tradition are friggin' stupid.

Yeah I can't figure people who say having your kids believe in Santa Claus is bad parenting because sabes que 'it's lying to the kids'....excuse me? 'Eat your vegetables and you'll be big and strong', 'you can be anything you want to be', 'if you swallow gum it stays in your stomach for 7 years', does any of this ring a bell, people? Of course parents lie to their kids, they have to, kids need something to believe in, and what's the harm in believing in Santa Claus, since they'll figure it out in a few years anyway?

Chris wrote:

Would you consider it cold or harsh if a parent (and not because of any conflicting religious reasoning) didn't play the 'Santa Clause' game with their young children?

Not at all. It's a parenting issue & the decision should be left up to the parent(s). The child's psyche is not going to be harmed. Same goes for the easter bunny & the tooth fairy.

my sister told her kids that santa only gave them one gift each... everything else was from the parents. She didnt want some strange man getting all the credit for her hard work LOL

It doesn't seem harsh, but it doesn't seem like fun, either. In general, I don't like it when people consider themselves too "grown" or full of common sense to entertain a child. Just because YOU'RE jaded doesn't mean the kids have to be the same way! Is it so bad to give them something to believe in or look forward to?

My stepmom has the habit of not wrapping Christmas gifts. Her defense is, she was a single parent and too tired to play Santa or act like a Santa exists. Over the years she's broken down my dad to have him thinking it's an acceptable practice to throw every gift for one person in a big ass sack, even though when him and my mom were still together, every gift was wrapped and presentable, and every once in a while one was from "Santa." Nowadays it's not uncommon for someone to get the wrong gift, since they can't remember who it was bought for and nobody labeled it, and most of the time it just ends up under the tree. It's actually a bit of a bummer when I show up at his house on Christmas and have to stare at unwrapped gifts with no anticipation, wondering which one I would rather have LOL.

I don't see the harm letting your kids believe in Santa, but whatever....it's up to the parent.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN, "SANTA'S NOT REAL" ?????

OMG---Guys. . . . what's going on here?? You mean to tell me. . . . .


"Bwhaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!"
**runs away sobbing**

FireIce918 wrote:

It doesn't seem harsh, but it doesn't seem like fun, either. In general, I don't like it when people consider themselves too "grown" or full of common sense to entertain a child. Just because YOU'RE jaded doesn't mean the kids have to be the same way! Is it so bad to give them something to believe in or look forward to?

My stepmom has the habit of not wrapping Christmas gifts. Her defense is, she was a single parent and too tired to play Santa or act like a Santa exists. Over the years she's broken down my dad to have him thinking it's an acceptable practice to throw every gift for one person in a big ass sack, even though when him and my mom were still together, every gift was wrapped and presentable, and every once in a while one was from "Santa." Nowadays it's not uncommon for someone to get the wrong gift, since they can't remember who it was bought for and nobody labeled it, and most of the time it just ends up under the tree. It's actually a bit of a bummer when I show up at his house on Christmas and have to stare at unwrapped gifts with no anticipation, wondering which one I would rather have LOL.

Didn't these people ever see Miracle on 34th Street?

Not really, my parents didn't play santa claus with us and we are not damaged because of it.

It does seem a little jaded and chilly to not allow your small child to have that childhood fantasy. It does make the holiday season more magical feeling. By the time a kid is around 7, they start having doubts and probably by the age of 10 they know better. So why not let your 3 year old have the Santa fantasy?

Supernova wrote:

Didn't these people ever see Miracle on 34th Street?

I ain't gonna lie...my mom watches it every Christmas and I STILL haven't watched it in full!