Journal nizo's Journal: Easter bunnies and leprechauns and Santa, oh my! 9
Ok, so the kiddo got an easter basket today, with some candy and toys, that she believes was dropped off by the easter bunny. She got candy coins at school, supposedly left by a leprechaun, and of course she gets the usual mountain of gifts from Santa every xmas. Is it damaging for her to believe in this freakish array of pretend things??? She turns five in a few months, if that matters.
p.s. I so don't want to be the one who breaks the news to her that none of them are real.....
yeah (Score:3, Interesting)
We have to tell all our kids each year to be careful at school because they have classmates that believe in Santa and we don't want them to make those other kids upset. We have funny discussions where they come home and say things like, "So and so in my class believes in Santa."
We do decorate eggs for easter and do a hunt, but they've always known that we hide the eggs and never did buy into the easter bunny thing. And we are at church on Good Friday and Easter so they know the reason behind the holiday, etc. So Santa was the only big holiday myth that got busted.
I don't think it hurts the kids to have those fantasy things in their life. They make up all kinds of other stuff on their own. And they grow out of it naturally. So I don't think people have to tell their kids they don't exist, but in my case I'm glad I did. I think my kids still have plenty of fun on the holidays even without that component.
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It's interesting because while I don't have all the answers by any stretch, and I have to say "I don't know" to a lot of religious questions, this is the holiday that pretty much is the crux of my whole world view. I think Jesus Christ, a real person who claimed to be God, did rise from the dead. If not, I wouldn't be a Christian.
Since I believe it is real, I tell my kids so. Someday it will be up to them to decide if they want to make it their own or not.
Ways NOT to break the news ... (Score:3, Insightful)
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Further irony - capcha code to reply while signing in: "sacred"
Belief (Score:3, Interesting)
If you've never read (or watched) Pratchett's Hogfather, I recommend it. There's a conversation at the end between Death and his granddaughter, Susan:
See, I actually think that parents do a great disservice to their kids in just how their kids learn about Santa Claus. I don't have kids yet... but when I do, I think I may do just this: First, of course, they'll learn about "Santa Claus". Then, they'll learn about the historic Saint Nicholaus, the patron saint of anonymous giving, and especially how he is part of certain East European and Eastern Orthodox traditions. The final task is, I think, to teach them to be Santa Claus. To be the anonymous giver.
See, I'm just a bit too old now to believe in a man in a red suit who flies around the world. And yet, I've still never really given up on Santa Claus. And, y'know, I think he's going to have some stockings for my parents this year, now that my siblings and I are all grown up. (Of course, they know it yet.)
Don't ask me yet how I'm gonna handle the Bunny, though. I figure if I can handle Santa, the Bunny should be a breeze.
Nice (Score:2, Funny)
Well, I'm going against the grain (Score:2)
H
waiting for the day (Score:2)
Probably next Christmas will be the time to take him aside and let him help be Santa Claus. He's old enough to learn how to give, and not