Originally posted by Desiderata
At what age are we talking about?
I guess that's up to the parents. I'd think most intelligent children would figure it out before their parents had to tell them.
Bierheld
I don't think you're really teaching them literalism, that's just something they come with out of the box. They will believe anything you tell them which is why it's so fun to lie to them.
People tend to overestimate the impact of these things, in reality most every experience that isn't particularly traumatizing is usually effectively forgotten within 10 years.
Trance-MB
quote:
Originally posted by prolikewhoa
i was recently having a discussion about not wanting to raise my kids believing in santa claus. i would tell them the truth but ask them not to tell their friends about santa not being real.
i was asked why that would matter, and why i would condone other parents lying to their children.
my take is that if someone wants their kids to be raised with santa claus as a part of their christmas tradition, it's not fair for me to ruin that for them.
i know at least some of you have kids, so i would be interested to know: santa claus or no santa claus? why or why not?
Over here children believe in Sinterklaas over Santa Claus.
Sinterklaas is 5 and 6 december and even is on national television when he arrive with his ship(s). They make a story every year starting a week before. Mostly some things go wrong. The ship breaks down or his horse is gone etc. My little ones watch every day.
It's special for the children and even nice for the once who don't believe any more. For children they will believe as long as they get presents.
This will give an impression who big it is over here. This was in Roermond this year (close to the German border): check e.g. around 20 and 43 minutes (at ship and on his white horse).
It's also fun as my 3 year old son sings versions of Sinterklaas song Sinterklaas better not hears :)
My dad took the phone and said he would call Sinterklaas. My son first was terrified, but after a couple of times he even brought me the phone and said I should call him....duh.
I guess I don't need to say, yes Santa Claus, if Sinterklaas isn't available :)
Dj Nacht
quote:
Originally posted by Nrg2Nfinit
I think it's a very fair analogy to compare children believing in the literalism of Santa, to Adults believing in the literalism of religion.
So the question goes back to, should you be teaching your children to believe in nonsensical things from an early age? Or is it best to teach them the symbolism of Santa instead. Analogous to how the sane people in today's world take the symbolism instead of literalism in religion. What type of ethical thinking should we be ingraining in our children?
/back to topic
edit: this has nothing to do with atheism.
This is the best answer in the thread so far.
I'm 26 years old and I still enjoy Christmas and it has nothing to do with believing in Santa Claus. Some people here need to snap out of their delusional thinking. Just because you tell your kid that Santa isn't real, that doesn't automatically ruin Christmas. People are just too lazy to explain stuff to their kids, because it's always easier to do what the majority of people are doing, without ever properly questioning anything.
srussell0018
quote:
Originally posted by Dj Nacht
This is the best answer in the thread so far.
I'm 26 years old and I still enjoy Christmas and it has nothing to do with believing in Santa Claus. Some people here need to snap out of their delusional thinking. Just because you tell your kid that Santa isn't real, that doesn't automatically ruin Christmas. People are just too lazy to explain stuff to their kids, because it's always easier to do what the majority of people are doing, without ever properly questioning anything.
If your kid isn't stupid, they should be able to figure out that Santa isn't real on their own.
Kylle
quote:
Originally posted by Dj Nacht
Just because you tell your kid that Santa isn't real, that doesn't automatically ruin Christmas.
I agree but it's still fun for kids to believe in santa. They love it and there is no harm in letting them believe it
srussell0018
quote:
Originally posted by Kylle
I agree but it's still fun for kids to believe in santa. They love it and there is no harm in letting them believe it
This.
But Kylle is still a fag. :gsmile:
Dj Nacht
quote:
Originally posted by srussell0018
If your kid isn't stupid, they should be able to figure out that Santa isn't real on their own.
I'll let my kids decide on their own, but without feeding them any lies. Whenever they ask me if it's real, my answer will be simple: what do you think?
Dj Nacht
quote:
Originally posted by Kylle
They love it and there is no harm in letting them believe it
What makes you an expert in psychology? There are plenty of stories on the internet where kids were disturbed because of Santa Claus.
srussell0018
HE'S STILL REAL TO ME DAMNIT!
Kylle
quote:
Originally posted by Dj Nacht
What makes you an expert in psychology?
I'm not. You'll have to consult Eddie
quote:
There are plenty of stories on the internet where kids were disturbed because of Santa Claus.
In what way disturbed?
Halcyon+On+On
This sort of mythology is really delicate, though. Your child is probably not going to ask 'is Santa Clause real?' unless they've already given it some thought, in which case they probably suspect that it's not. They either outright accept it, or are mistrusting and skeptical of the notion (which they will be at some point anyway).
So as a parent, you either have to be all in and explain how Santa works when certain logistics come to mind, and be ready to field questions like how much of his gut he has to suck in to even fit through the damned chimney. You can't half-ass the lie, and it really doesn't serve anyone at all to just outright say that Santa is just a cultural meme embodying the personification of solstice-centered anthropological phenomena as well as an archetypal authoritative figure that prepares children for a social adjustment into the panopticon of civilian constituency with elementary reward conditioning and reinforcement. Now eat your organic kale or no cottage cheese for dessert!
