I am strongly against my kids believing in santa, mainly because I don't want to answer why he never comes to our house. Krampus, on the other hand, is something every child should be made to believe in.
I doubt any children from my home town believe in santa past kindergarten. There are enough Jews to make sure that there's at least one kid in each class who has no idea what santa is, which kind of kills the whole thing.
Children need structure while growing up, lying to children seems to undermine your authority to establish that structure. The only time, I would see it would be okay to lie to your child is if you are blatantly trying to teach them critical thinking skills.
Meh, not really. It's more about how you handle the lie, and the revelation of the truth. 90% of the stuff you tell your five year old is going to be forgotten by the time they're adults, anyway. I mean, yes, they need structure, but lying about Santa doesn't interfere with that. Unless you really go too far with it.
For the people who think that Santa Claus is a necessary part of a child's growth process: Do you think that non-Christians deprive their children of imagination because they don't celebrate Christmas?
Many or most non-Christians also celebrate Christmas. It's a fairly secularized holiday.
Going to the movies and ordering Chinese food because those are the only places open doesn't count as "celebration."
I kind of dispute that going to the movies doesn't constitute celebration, given that there's at least one semi-prominent christmas release every year now
I'm sort of surprised no one has figured out how to do christmas chinese yet
maybe that'll be my project this year for the christmas dinner potluck
Eat it You Nasty Pig. on
it was the smallest on the list but
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
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KetarCome on upstairswe're having a partyRegistered Userregular
For the people who think that Santa Claus is a necessary part of a child's growth process: Do you think that non-Christians deprive their children of imagination because they don't celebrate Christmas?
Many or most non-Christians also celebrate Christmas. It's a fairly secularized holiday.
Indeed. My wife is Hindu and honestly despises Christianity - it's a bit disturbing to someone raised Catholic, even if I haven't practiced, or even considered the Church, in over a decade. That said, she loves her some Christmas. So does her sister, it comes with growing up in the US.
Their parents weren't much into it initially, but have become increasingly more so with each year because of the joy they get out of the happiness of their daughters at Christmastime. Huh, what does that remind me of in this thread...
I love Christmas too, and I haven't held even a passing belief in Jesus for years. It's a blast to decorate the house, buy gifts for people, sit in the living room and watch movies with the lights turned off and only the glow of the tree for ambient illumination...
And Christmas is when Starbucks gets all the best drinks.
ElJeffe on
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
I love Christmas too, and I haven't held even a passing belief in Jesus for years. It's a blast to decorate the house, buy gifts for people, sit in the living room and watch movies with the lights turned off and only the glow of the tree for ambient illumination...
And Christmas is when Starbucks gets all the best drinks.
Ugh, this is the one part of Christmas that I absolutely despise. It is, in all honesty, a waste of time that really only frustrates/annoys all involved. Hell, I have seen more Christmas-decorating related arguments and fights than I have over any other issue (excepting perhaps monetary) in my family. A pox on Christmas decorations, I say!
:x
Prospero on
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RentI'm always rightFuckin' deal with itRegistered Userregular
There is absolutely nothing wrong with allowing children to believe in magic and fairy tales.
I dunno, I think it's pretty important that your kid be able to tell reality from fantasy. Explain to them that it's all just 'make-believe', I think they would still be able to enjoy the holiday and the billion christmas specials,parades,etc.
I love how half of the people in this thread think kids are gullible morons whose entire worldview will be destroyed when learning that Santa Claus isn't real
Seriously, kids are waaaaaay fucking smarter than you know, learning that Santa Claus isn't real is usually a byproduct of either 1) large suspicion of facts that don't add up 2) a revelation that makes sense in retrospect
I sincerely doubt that learning Santa Claus isn't real causes irreparable harm to kids, and if anything lets them be fucking kids. Which is, you know, how it should be. I don't know about you, but learning about Santa Claus wasn't traumatic, but it did suck to know magic doesn't actually exist in the world
So almost everyone in this thread is going to end up being Calvin's dad.
Cool.
"Sorry, son. There used to be a Santa Claus but he drowned when the arctic ice cap melted. The North Pole is gone."
emnmnme on
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AlectharAlan ShoreWe're not territorial about that sort of thing, are we?Registered Userregular
edited December 2009
Well, I talked to my 5 year old cousin today. She asked me if I believed in Santa Claus, to which I replied, "of course," because I'd rather not be the guy to spoil a little one's Christmas.
Naturally she immediately told me that I was dumb and Santa Claus wasn't real.
Well played, Kennedy. Well played.
This thread reinforces my belief that there needs to be a thread for all the adorable stories Jeffe has about his little girl. Between her highly advanced blueprints for the circumvention of baby-gates, and her commendable vigilance against the looming threat of the undead, I'm beginning to think I might just give my future children to Jeffe to raise.
Well, I talked to my 5 year old cousin today. She asked me if I believed in Santa Claus, to which I replied, "of course," because I'd rather not be the guy to spoil a little one's Christmas.
Naturally she immediately told me that I was dumb and Santa Claus wasn't real.
Well played, Kennedy. Well played.
This thread reinforces my belief that there needs to be a thread for all the adorable stories Jeffe has about his little girl. Between her highly advanced blueprints for the circumvention of baby-gates, and her commendable vigilance against the looming threat of the undead, I'm beginning to think I might just give my future children to Jeffe to raise.
My parents were even more devious than most, since I was raised to believe that when you were little, Santa brought all your presents but when you got older he was too busy to bring all your presents and so you'd only get one present direct from the man in the red suit, and he'd bring all the others round early for your parents to wrap up and give out.
So if I found the presents in the house, there was already an explanation
Oh, and I, like almost all nice children pretended to believe for longer than I really did because it was fun to leave out mince pies and sherry for santa. Children are always being told lies, everything they will learn till the age of say 15 is a lie. Hell, most adults know nothing but lies designed to make their lives more simple. So why not bring a bit more wonder into your kids lives. Christmas is a wonderful holiday, challenged in quality only by thanksgiving.
Incedentally, why does Father Christmas get the shaft in the USA? Cookies and Milk? Santa is a thousand year old meta magical elf. He doesn't want a glass of milk! The man in red wants a mince pie and a sherry, with a carrot for rudolf.
Does each country have a certain thing they leave out for Santa I wonder?
Incedentally, why does Father Christmas get the shaft in the USA? Cookies and Milk? Santa is a thousand year old meta magical elf. He doesn't want a glass of milk! The man in red wants a mince pie and a sherry, with a carrot for rudolf.
Does each country have a certain thing they leave out for Santa I wonder?
Maybe America's cookies are just that much better than other countries' baked goods. Mmmm, Peppridge Farm.
Incedentally, why does Father Christmas get the shaft in the USA? Cookies and Milk? Santa is a thousand year old meta magical elf. He doesn't want a glass of milk! The man in red wants a mince pie and a sherry, with a carrot for rudolf.
Does each country have a certain thing they leave out for Santa I wonder?
Maybe America's cookies are just that much better than other countries' baked goods. Mmmm, Peppridge Farm.
How do you think he gets so round and rosy-cheeked?
Isn't the filling in Oreos basically sugar-flavored Crisco?
My parents were even more devious than most, since I was raised to believe that when you were little, Santa brought all your presents but when you got older he was too busy to bring all your presents and so you'd only get one present direct from the man in the red suit, and he'd bring all the others round early for your parents to wrap up and give out.
So if I found the presents in the house, there was already an explanation
Oh, and I, like almost all nice children pretended to believe for longer than I really did because it was fun to leave out mince pies and sherry for santa. Children are always being told lies, everything they will learn till the age of say 15 is a lie. Hell, most adults know nothing but lies designed to make their lives more simple. So why not bring a bit more wonder into your kids lives. Christmas is a wonderful holiday, challenged in quality only by thanksgiving.
Incedentally, why does Father Christmas get the shaft in the USA? Cookies and Milk? Santa is a thousand year old meta magical elf. He doesn't want a glass of milk! The man in red wants a mince pie and a sherry, with a carrot for rudolf.
Does each country have a certain thing they leave out for Santa I wonder?
In Sweden one does not leave food out for Santa. If you really want to (and most people don't) you leave a bowl of milk outside the door for the gnome santa things that live in your yard (this applies mostly to farms).
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HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
edited December 2009
And D&D has officially engaged in the War on Christmas. Bill O'Reilly was right all along.
My youngest son (6) still believes, but my older two (11 and 12) don't believe at all. They don't believe in the tooth fairy really either but they still want their cash if a tooth is stuck under their pillow.
I think its fun to still "get into the season" and have all the traditions and still talk about Santa to kids, even if you know they know better. Because if you don't at least have that spirit it gets too commercial and about things and amounts.
Staxeon on
Invisible nap is the best nap of all time!
No man should have that kind of power.(Twitter)
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MrMisterJesus dying on the cross in pain? Morally better than us. One has to go "all in".Registered Userregular
edited December 2009
My parents were always clear that Santa wasn't a real thing, but we still went through the motions with presents "From Santa" and etc. It did not turn our hearts to coal.
Edit: wow, forgetting that negation totally changed the meaning of my post. Funny how that works.
Kinda late to the party but I'd like to add that if parent's didn't lie to their kids about Santa then they'd probably be ambivalent about the whole thing. That's from my experience anyways.
There was one awkward point where my older brother wanted to pretend that he still believed in Santa. He wrote a letter to him for who knows why and the fucker put my name on the signature. It got posted in the local newspaper and everyone saw it. So to get back at him I ate the cookies and milk he left out but I got busted and it turned into a whole debacle.
Anyways, kids are obsessive and imaginative without us force-feeding them marketing bullshit. I was way more excited about dinosaurs than I ever was about Santa. Then again I'm not a fan of Christmas. I don't mind getting together and exchanging gifts if real thought is put into it but being surrounded by the gaudy decorations, music, shopping mania, and strained holiday cheer makes me want to drive my car through a shopping mall.
Incedentally, why does Father Christmas get the shaft in the USA? Cookies and Milk? Santa is a thousand year old meta magical elf. He doesn't want a glass of milk! The man in red wants a mince pie and a sherry, with a carrot for rudolf.
Does each country have a certain thing they leave out for Santa I wonder?
Maybe America's cookies are just that much better than other countries' baked goods. Mmmm, Peppridge Farm.
You are trying to beat out the baked goods of the entire world and you quote Pepperidge Farm? I think you sir need to broaden your snack treat horizons. Pepperidge are OK, but they rate no higher than a 'Good' on the scale.
I think if I ever see one of those anti-abortion or anti-gay-marriage protests where the protesters are using their kids as a prop, I'm just going to walk up to them and start telling them there's no Santa Claus.
Incedentally, why does Father Christmas get the shaft in the USA? Cookies and Milk? Santa is a thousand year old meta magical elf. He doesn't want a glass of milk! The man in red wants a mince pie and a sherry, with a carrot for rudolf.
Does each country have a certain thing they leave out for Santa I wonder?
Maybe America's cookies are just that much better than other countries' baked goods. Mmmm, Peppridge Farm.
You are trying to beat out the baked goods of the entire world and you quote Pepperidge Farm? I think you sir need to broaden your snack treat horizons. Pepperidge are OK, but they rate no higher than a 'Good' on the scale.
American's have a terrible palate... And leaving things out for Santa? It's the same as leaving an offering for the gods. It's really all part of the pagan festivities that Christmas used to symbolise.
I think if I ever see one of those anti-abortion or anti-gay-marriage protests where the protesters are using their kids as a prop, I'm just going to walk up to them and start telling them there's no Santa Claus.
For some odd reason I really like this idea. How cold we have become.
Americans who eat at McDonalds* have a terrible palate... And leaving things out for Santa? It's the same as leaving an offering for the gods. It's really all part of the pagan festivities that Christmas used to symbolise.
I think if I ever see one of those anti-abortion or anti-gay-marriage protests where the protesters are using their kids as a prop, I'm just going to walk up to them and start telling them there's no Santa Claus.
For some odd reason I really like this idea. How cold we have become.
If they see no reason not to use their children as political props, I see no reason not to reveal how little their parents actually follow the Bible.
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KalTorakOne way or another, they all end up inthe Undercity.Registered Userregular
I think if I ever see one of those anti-abortion or anti-gay-marriage protests where the protesters are using their kids as a prop, I'm just going to walk up to them and start telling them there's no Santa Claus.
For some odd reason I really like this idea. How cold we have become.
If they see no reason not to use their children as political props, I see no reason not to reveal how little their parents actually follow the Bible.
Better than telling them, just make a big protest-style sign that says "Santa Claus is FAKE." That way you get all the kids before the parents can stop you.
I think if I ever see one of those anti-abortion or anti-gay-marriage protests where the protesters are using their kids as a prop, I'm just going to walk up to them and start telling them there's no Santa Claus.
For some odd reason I really like this idea. How cold we have become.
If they see no reason not to use their children as political props, I see no reason not to reveal how little their parents actually follow the Bible.
Better than telling them, just make a big protest-style sign that says "Santa Claus is FAKE." That way you get all the kids before the parents can stop you.
Not trying to be an ass hole or holier than thou or anything but... I wonder how many of the people in this thread swearing on a Bible/Book of Rationality that they won't go along with Santa because they could never lie to their children have spent much time around young children. I'm not a parent but I have a lot of younger cousins that I'm close with and I have an amateur grasp on cognitive development of children (my fiancee is a pediatric RN and has to developmental assessments a lot because kids who spend a lot of early time in the hospital tend to be delayed)
I mean being honest is difficult enough among peers. Its not like you can sit down a 2 year old and structure a rational and compelling argument about why they can not eat frosting for dinner in terms they will understand without twisting things a bit.
And thinking that Santa Claus is going to make your child non-rational or theist or whatever is also a misunderstanding of the nature of children. They are not mini adults awaiting an ideological framework. One year olds will repeatedly throw something on the ground as cause and effect dawns on them (when you pick it up). The stage of cognitive development during which the Santa idea is going to be strongly believed (say up to 7, 8 maybe 9) is actually characterized by "magical thinking." Expecting real rationality out of a kid that young is unreasonable.
And "lying" to them about Santa Claus isn't inherently wrong any more than when they tell you that their imaginary friend is having a tea party with them. Its in the name of childhood joy. Get over it
I got to page 3 and had to chime in because the link somehow that kids are being children for a shorter amount of time than ever before is fucking god damn ridiculous.
Lets rewind history a few hundred years and go back to when kids worked hard and full hours at the age of 6 or younger, or were married off at 12 or so. Those kids had a shorter childhood than now. Not to mention the implied logic behind that cockamamy argument: poor kids will lack imagination because their childhood will be stunted.
I can't even roll my eyes hard enough. I'm trying to roll them around and outside of my cerebral cortex, but I just can't seem to do it.
I'm also completely and utterly fuckin' flabbergasted that people think being honest to children will somehow stifle their imagination. Being honest is completely separate from imagination. These myths are as abhorrent as the god damn myth of Santa Claus.
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HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
American's have a terrible palate... And leaving things out for Santa? It's the same as leaving an offering for the gods. It's really all part of the pagan festivities that Christmas used to symbolise.
It's a harmless tradition.
Edit - We should cancel Halloween too, because promoting the consumption of sugar in massive amounts which is known to damage teeth is dumb, and the dressing up in costumes is just sewing the seeds of people not being themselves.
Seriously, do we really need to analyze every goddamn thing?
American's have a terrible palate... And leaving things out for Santa? It's the same as leaving an offering for the gods. It's really all part of the pagan festivities that Christmas used to symbolise.
It's a harmless tradition.
Edit - We should cancel Halloween too, because promoting the consumption of sugar in massive amounts which is known to damage teeth is dumb, and the dressing up in costumes is just sewing the seeds of people not being themselves.
Seriously, do we really need to analyze every goddamn thing?
This is D&D. Do I really need to answer that question?
yalborap on
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HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
American's have a terrible palate... And leaving things out for Santa? It's the same as leaving an offering for the gods. It's really all part of the pagan festivities that Christmas used to symbolise.
It's a harmless tradition.
Edit - We should cancel Halloween too, because promoting the consumption of sugar in massive amounts which is known to damage teeth is dumb, and the dressing up in costumes is just sewing the seeds of people not being themselves.
Seriously, do we really need to analyze every goddamn thing?
This is D&D. Do I really need to answer that question?
I guess not. But I find it so damn perplexing that people take issue - and sometimes very serious issue - with things that I've always thought to be inane or harmless. Who gives a fuck if a kid believed in Santa Claus? They eventually won't and it isn't going to scar them for life. I stopped believing in Santa Claus after a while when I was a kid, and it didn't make me resent my parents or hate life or anything. It was just a thing. It made Christmas exciting, it made it worrisome when I was aware of my being bad for the year. WHAT. EVER.
American's have a terrible palate... And leaving things out for Santa? It's the same as leaving an offering for the gods. It's really all part of the pagan festivities that Christmas used to symbolise.
It's a harmless tradition.
Edit - We should cancel Halloween too, because promoting the consumption of sugar in massive amounts which is known to damage teeth is dumb, and the dressing up in costumes is just sewing the seeds of people not being themselves.
Seriously, do we really need to analyze every goddamn thing?
This is D&D. Do I really need to answer that question?
I guess not. But I find it so damn perplexing that people take issue - and sometimes very serious issue - with things that I've always thought to be inane or harmless. Who gives a fuck if a kid believed in Santa Claus? They eventually won't and it isn't going to scar them for life. I stopped believing in Santa Claus after a while when I was a kid, and it didn't make me resent my parents or hate life or anything. It was just a thing. It made Christmas exciting, it made it worrisome when I was aware of my being bad for the year. WHAT. EVER.
If it's just a thing, what makes it worth constructing a community level Fawlty Towers plot? Jews get along fine with gambling, fried food, and a historical story of uncertain veracity.
Not trying to be an ass hole or holier than thou or anything but... I wonder how many of the people in this thread swearing on a Bible/Book of Rationality that they won't go along with Santa because they could never lie to their children have spent much time around young children. I'm not a parent but I have a lot of younger cousins that I'm close with and I have an amateur grasp on cognitive development of children (my fiancee is a pediatric RN and has to developmental assessments a lot because kids who spend a lot of early time in the hospital tend to be delayed)
I mean being honest is difficult enough among peers. Its not like you can sit down a 2 year old and structure a rational and compelling argument about why they can not eat frosting for dinner in terms they will understand without twisting things a bit.
And thinking that Santa Claus is going to make your child non-rational or theist or whatever is also a misunderstanding of the nature of children. They are not mini adults awaiting an ideological framework. One year olds will repeatedly throw something on the ground as cause and effect dawns on them (when you pick it up). The stage of cognitive development during which the Santa idea is going to be strongly believed (say up to 7, 8 maybe 9) is actually characterized by "magical thinking." Expecting real rationality out of a kid that young is unreasonable.
And "lying" to them about Santa Claus isn't inherently wrong any more than when they tell you that their imaginary friend is having a tea party with them. Its in the name of childhood joy. Get over it
<< This, this right here
Holy shit, either some people in this thread were fucking pussies as kids if learning Santa Claus wasn't real affected them significantly, or they had the best childhood ever if learning Santa Claus wasn't real affected them significantly
Lying is ingrained in our culture. In every culture. This borders on a white lie. It's harmless and when your kid is unable to partake in the festivities because you had to fuck it all up for him, pat yourself on the back. Real. Hard.
The other kids are going to do just fine ruining Santa and Christmas for your little Sarah or Tommy. When they ask you, make something up about keeping in the spirit of Christmas.
Or unceremoniously stop giving them extra presents after you know they know.
I'm still bitter because my Dad had to fuck up Disneyland and the Boy Scouts and baseball and soccer for me. I was 5.
You're using their sense of wonderment as a means to control them (Be good, or Santa won't bring you presents)
That's why I don't go to church. Because they took that lie and stretched it way too fucking thin.
If you want kids to give you results (good grades, hard work, etc.), you essentially are going to have to bribe them.
Go ahead, explain to your 8-year-old son why he should finish his book-reports early and do his math as soon as he gets home because a good education will be its own reward when you're in your mid-twenties. Considering that most kids probably think the next year is an eternity by itself, the idea of 20 eternities is very graspable, you twit.
Knowing how to move from that to encouraging them to do the work for its own sake is probably the secret of good parenting.
Materialism is encouraged at every goddamn age. Have you ever seen that goddamn commercial for Life Alert? How is that not taking advantage of our natural fear of death, moreso, in fact, because it's marketed to people who are much much more likely to die real soon?
I am just going to be measured in the kind of crap my kids will be exposed to. I'll try to put it (it being the rampant materialism inherent in our society and the army of psychologists who are devising even more ways to convince us to purchase worthless crap*) in proper perspective.
* = I'm still bitter about the quick jump from DVD to Blu-ray
Posts
I doubt any children from my home town believe in santa past kindergarten. There are enough Jews to make sure that there's at least one kid in each class who has no idea what santa is, which kind of kills the whole thing.
Going to the movies and ordering Chinese food because those are the only places open doesn't count as "celebration."
I'm sort of surprised no one has figured out how to do christmas chinese yet
maybe that'll be my project this year for the christmas dinner potluck
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
Indeed. My wife is Hindu and honestly despises Christianity - it's a bit disturbing to someone raised Catholic, even if I haven't practiced, or even considered the Church, in over a decade. That said, she loves her some Christmas. So does her sister, it comes with growing up in the US.
Their parents weren't much into it initially, but have become increasingly more so with each year because of the joy they get out of the happiness of their daughters at Christmastime. Huh, what does that remind me of in this thread...
And Christmas is when Starbucks gets all the best drinks.
Ugh, this is the one part of Christmas that I absolutely despise. It is, in all honesty, a waste of time that really only frustrates/annoys all involved. Hell, I have seen more Christmas-decorating related arguments and fights than I have over any other issue (excepting perhaps monetary) in my family. A pox on Christmas decorations, I say!
:x
I love how half of the people in this thread think kids are gullible morons whose entire worldview will be destroyed when learning that Santa Claus isn't real
Seriously, kids are waaaaaay fucking smarter than you know, learning that Santa Claus isn't real is usually a byproduct of either 1) large suspicion of facts that don't add up 2) a revelation that makes sense in retrospect
I sincerely doubt that learning Santa Claus isn't real causes irreparable harm to kids, and if anything lets them be fucking kids. Which is, you know, how it should be. I don't know about you, but learning about Santa Claus wasn't traumatic, but it did suck to know magic doesn't actually exist in the world
"Sorry, son. There used to be a Santa Claus but he drowned when the arctic ice cap melted. The North Pole is gone."
Naturally she immediately told me that I was dumb and Santa Claus wasn't real.
Well played, Kennedy. Well played.
This thread reinforces my belief that there needs to be a thread for all the adorable stories Jeffe has about his little girl. Between her highly advanced blueprints for the circumvention of baby-gates, and her commendable vigilance against the looming threat of the undead, I'm beginning to think I might just give my future children to Jeffe to raise.
Battle.net
Just what he needs... A plethora of children.
Explain this?
Historically children were just an incompetent but nimble source of labor.
So if I found the presents in the house, there was already an explanation
Oh, and I, like almost all nice children pretended to believe for longer than I really did because it was fun to leave out mince pies and sherry for santa. Children are always being told lies, everything they will learn till the age of say 15 is a lie. Hell, most adults know nothing but lies designed to make their lives more simple. So why not bring a bit more wonder into your kids lives. Christmas is a wonderful holiday, challenged in quality only by thanksgiving.
Incedentally, why does Father Christmas get the shaft in the USA? Cookies and Milk? Santa is a thousand year old meta magical elf. He doesn't want a glass of milk! The man in red wants a mince pie and a sherry, with a carrot for rudolf.
Does each country have a certain thing they leave out for Santa I wonder?
Maybe America's cookies are just that much better than other countries' baked goods. Mmmm, Peppridge Farm.
How do you think he gets so round and rosy-cheeked?
Isn't the filling in Oreos basically sugar-flavored Crisco?
they should all be like huck finn, obviously
you know, vagabonds who steal to survive
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
In Sweden one does not leave food out for Santa. If you really want to (and most people don't) you leave a bowl of milk outside the door for the gnome santa things that live in your yard (this applies mostly to farms).
I think its fun to still "get into the season" and have all the traditions and still talk about Santa to kids, even if you know they know better. Because if you don't at least have that spirit it gets too commercial and about things and amounts.
No man should have that kind of power.(Twitter)
Edit: wow, forgetting that negation totally changed the meaning of my post. Funny how that works.
There was one awkward point where my older brother wanted to pretend that he still believed in Santa. He wrote a letter to him for who knows why and the fucker put my name on the signature. It got posted in the local newspaper and everyone saw it. So to get back at him I ate the cookies and milk he left out but I got busted and it turned into a whole debacle.
Anyways, kids are obsessive and imaginative without us force-feeding them marketing bullshit. I was way more excited about dinosaurs than I ever was about Santa. Then again I'm not a fan of Christmas. I don't mind getting together and exchanging gifts if real thought is put into it but being surrounded by the gaudy decorations, music, shopping mania, and strained holiday cheer makes me want to drive my car through a shopping mall.
You are trying to beat out the baked goods of the entire world and you quote Pepperidge Farm? I think you sir need to broaden your snack treat horizons. Pepperidge are OK, but they rate no higher than a 'Good' on the scale.
American's have a terrible palate... And leaving things out for Santa? It's the same as leaving an offering for the gods. It's really all part of the pagan festivities that Christmas used to symbolise.
For some odd reason I really like this idea. How cold we have become.
PSN : Bolthorn
Oh, this definitely deserves a :winky:
Fix'd.
Better than telling them, just make a big protest-style sign that says "Santa Claus is FAKE." That way you get all the kids before the parents can stop you.
Dress up as Krampus.
OH GOD NO!
Don't make me stick you in my sack of horrors!
I mean being honest is difficult enough among peers. Its not like you can sit down a 2 year old and structure a rational and compelling argument about why they can not eat frosting for dinner in terms they will understand without twisting things a bit.
And thinking that Santa Claus is going to make your child non-rational or theist or whatever is also a misunderstanding of the nature of children. They are not mini adults awaiting an ideological framework. One year olds will repeatedly throw something on the ground as cause and effect dawns on them (when you pick it up). The stage of cognitive development during which the Santa idea is going to be strongly believed (say up to 7, 8 maybe 9) is actually characterized by "magical thinking." Expecting real rationality out of a kid that young is unreasonable.
And "lying" to them about Santa Claus isn't inherently wrong any more than when they tell you that their imaginary friend is having a tea party with them. Its in the name of childhood joy. Get over it
QEDMF xbl: PantsB G+
Lets rewind history a few hundred years and go back to when kids worked hard and full hours at the age of 6 or younger, or were married off at 12 or so. Those kids had a shorter childhood than now. Not to mention the implied logic behind that cockamamy argument: poor kids will lack imagination because their childhood will be stunted.
I can't even roll my eyes hard enough. I'm trying to roll them around and outside of my cerebral cortex, but I just can't seem to do it.
I'm also completely and utterly fuckin' flabbergasted that people think being honest to children will somehow stifle their imagination. Being honest is completely separate from imagination. These myths are as abhorrent as the god damn myth of Santa Claus.
It's a harmless tradition.
Edit - We should cancel Halloween too, because promoting the consumption of sugar in massive amounts which is known to damage teeth is dumb, and the dressing up in costumes is just sewing the seeds of people not being themselves.
Seriously, do we really need to analyze every goddamn thing?
This is D&D. Do I really need to answer that question?
I guess not. But I find it so damn perplexing that people take issue - and sometimes very serious issue - with things that I've always thought to be inane or harmless. Who gives a fuck if a kid believed in Santa Claus? They eventually won't and it isn't going to scar them for life. I stopped believing in Santa Claus after a while when I was a kid, and it didn't make me resent my parents or hate life or anything. It was just a thing. It made Christmas exciting, it made it worrisome when I was aware of my being bad for the year. WHAT. EVER.
If it's just a thing, what makes it worth constructing a community level Fawlty Towers plot? Jews get along fine with gambling, fried food, and a historical story of uncertain veracity.
<< This, this right here
Holy shit, either some people in this thread were fucking pussies as kids if learning Santa Claus wasn't real affected them significantly, or they had the best childhood ever if learning Santa Claus wasn't real affected them significantly
Lying is ingrained in our culture. In every culture. This borders on a white lie. It's harmless and when your kid is unable to partake in the festivities because you had to fuck it all up for him, pat yourself on the back. Real. Hard.
The other kids are going to do just fine ruining Santa and Christmas for your little Sarah or Tommy. When they ask you, make something up about keeping in the spirit of Christmas.
Or unceremoniously stop giving them extra presents after you know they know.
I'm still bitter because my Dad had to fuck up Disneyland and the Boy Scouts and baseball and soccer for me. I was 5.
That's why I don't go to church. Because they took that lie and stretched it way too fucking thin.
If you want kids to give you results (good grades, hard work, etc.), you essentially are going to have to bribe them.
Go ahead, explain to your 8-year-old son why he should finish his book-reports early and do his math as soon as he gets home because a good education will be its own reward when you're in your mid-twenties. Considering that most kids probably think the next year is an eternity by itself, the idea of 20 eternities is very graspable, you twit.
Knowing how to move from that to encouraging them to do the work for its own sake is probably the secret of good parenting.
Materialism is encouraged at every goddamn age. Have you ever seen that goddamn commercial for Life Alert? How is that not taking advantage of our natural fear of death, moreso, in fact, because it's marketed to people who are much much more likely to die real soon?
I am just going to be measured in the kind of crap my kids will be exposed to. I'll try to put it (it being the rampant materialism inherent in our society and the army of psychologists who are devising even more ways to convince us to purchase worthless crap*) in proper perspective.
* = I'm still bitter about the quick jump from DVD to Blu-ray