Someone called me out in front of my kid

[Anonymous]

Oh, please. First of all, Christmas is a secular holiday in the United States.

Second, why on earth would you cater to someone else's child, who believe in a made up story. 8-10 years old and still believing in Santa is one of the saddest things I've ever heard in my life.

[Anonymous]

You need to be discrete to be polite. Just like I've taught my kids to be polite when we discuss how it's weird that people need to believe in a god.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people are nuts. Not OP, but no way am I going to pretend about Santa. Anywhere.

I don't believe in God (neither do my kids) but we don't talk it in front of people that do. It's called respect for others. You don't have to pretend, just keep your mouth shut until you're in private.

This! We don't talk loudly about how Christmas is a sham holiday celebrating something that didn't happen and was stolen from pagan traditions by a bunch of looney cult members. We save that talk for home. Santa though Santa I believe in. If my kid is going to believe in some made up white guy at Christmas I'd prefer him to be Santa. So keep it to yourself OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, please. First of all, Christmas is a secular holiday in the United States.

Second, why on earth would you cater to someone else's child, who believe in a made up story. 8-10 years old and still believing in Santa is one of the saddest things I've ever heard in my life.

This is one of the saddest things you've heard in your life? Really? What a wonderful magical lovely life you must lead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, please. First of all, Christmas is a secular holiday in the United States.

Second, why on earth would you cater to someone else's child, who believe in a made up story. 8-10 years old and still believing in Santa is one of the saddest things I've ever heard in my life.

This is one of the saddest things you've heard in your life? Really? What a wonderful magical lovely life you must lead.

Seriously. Adults believe in God, which is pretty much the same concept. How are they not sad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's sad that some people feel a personal insult to "having" to pretend Santa is real. Think about the last time you had real, true magic in your life. Or even breathless anticipation and excitement. Think about the next time you'll have it. For most of us as adults, we almost never experience these things anymore. But for a brief time, kids still get to and Christmas/Santa is one of those times. Why take it away from them just to prove you are intellectually superior and too pragmatic to continue an illusion? Why not just let them have it while they're little and still can? They have a lifetime of bills and worry and job stress and taxes and reality ahead of them. Why not just let them have the fun and magic that little kids should have? It doesn't hurt you one bit to just keep your mouth shut and let them believe.

OP here and I want to say one thing - life as it is takes my breath away very often. I'm truly sorry you're so buried in worries that you can't see it.
I don't have to lie to my kids to make their life interesting and worth living. We stop to stare at the stars, I answer their questions about the sun and the moon (today the whole 40 min drive to school was a discussion on how come the sun and the moon were up in the sky at the same time). We don't lack imagination and wonder and it's all about real life.

We stop the car too look at rainbows, we stop our walk to the bus stop to watch bugs and watching my children learning about their surroundings warms my heart every day. I'm so sorry you can't feel it. It's amazing! You should try.

That said, we like to give credit to those who work hard to give them presents and the feelings behind it.

I want my children to be sensitive to others beliefs but I don't want them to be shamed and criticized by telling the truth.

[Anonymous]

OP here and I want to say one thing - life as it is takes my breath away very often. I'm truly sorry you're so buried in worries that you can't see it.
I don't have to lie to my kids to make their life interesting and worth living. We stop to stare at the stars, I answer their questions about the sun and the moon (today the whole 40 min drive to school was a discussion on how come the sun and the moon were up in the sky at the same time). We don't lack imagination and wonder and it's all about real life.

We stop the car too look at rainbows, we stop our walk to the bus stop to watch bugs and watching my children learning about their surroundings warms my heart every day. I'm so sorry you can't feel it. It's amazing! You should try.

That said, we like to give credit to those who work hard to give them presents and the feelings behind it.

I want my children to be sensitive to others beliefs but I don't want them to be shamed and criticized by telling the truth.

OP. Since we get to voice our opinions and beliefs without being shamed and criticized by others.....You are an insufferable, righteous, self-indulgent, self-absorbed, holier than thou, PIA.

[Anonymous]

Are you people out of your freaking minds? No, I'm not going to self-censor in public just because you're still riding the Santa Train with your kids. I'm not going to go on about it at daycare, or in line to see Santa at the mall, but just generally, in public, out in the street? Absolutely not. I'm not going to devote the mental bandwidth to being a bit player in your children's Christmas Story. You guys have some messed-up entitlement issues.

[Anonymous]

This thread is fucking insane. Seriously. Some people have really lost their minds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you people out of your freaking minds? No, I'm not going to self-censor in public just because you're still riding the Santa Train with your kids. I'm not going to go on about it at daycare, or in line to see Santa at the mall, but just generally, in public, out in the street? Absolutely not. I'm not going to devote the mental bandwidth to being a bit player in your children's Christmas Story. You guys have some messed-up entitlement issues.

PP here. Thank you. ITA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Oh how nice. So do you regularly discuss other "real life" things in front of other peoples' little kids? Like cancer, kids dying, genocide? Because really your attitude that no one should think about the feelings of the children around them makes you sound pretty awful.

There is a distinction between talking to your child in public, and talking to your child in front of other people's little kids. If everybody limited their public conversation to topics that would be ok if little kids were listening, public conversation would be very, very different.

I'm 22:06 from page 2. That's exactly what we try to do. Public conversations are public conversations. If I wouldn't want it printed in the newspaper or announced in front of my kid's entire elementary school, I try to avoid saying it in public unless we are reasonably sure nobody not in our party is within overhearing distance. Why would I want to have a conversation where it could inconvenience or upset another family when there's little drawback to waiting to have the conversation privately?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That other person was completely out of line.

Guess what? My Christian child has Jewish friends who tell her that Santa is not real. I tell her if you believe in Santa then he is real to you.

People need to get over themselves, if their children are that fragile that they can't hear a contrary opinion and you as a parent can't talk to your child, then a stocking full of coal for you!

General kindness trumps your righteousness in this situation.

[Anonymous]

So, as someone who grew up without Santa (despite being Christian, but I'm from Germany where, I think, less kids are made believe in what we call "der Weihnachtsmann"), I have a question: If kids here believe in Santa, do they also believe that the Santa they see at the mall and in various other places is real? I've always wondered if the belief is limited to the Santa coming in through the chimney (where I can kind of get the idea of "magic"), or if it includes all those Santas that pop up in commercial places all over town, at Christmas parties, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, please. First of all, Christmas is a secular holiday in the United States.

Second, why on earth would you cater to someone else's child, who believe in a made up story. 8-10 years old and still believing in Santa is one of the saddest things I've ever heard in my life.

ONE THE SADDEST THINGS YOU'VE EVER HEARD IN YOUR LIFE!!!!

VERY credible, PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's sad that some people feel a personal insult to "having" to pretend Santa is real. Think about the last time you had real, true magic in your life. Or even breathless anticipation and excitement. Think about the next time you'll have it. For most of us as adults, we almost never experience these things anymore. But for a brief time, kids still get to and Christmas/Santa is one of those times. Why take it away from them just to prove you are intellectually superior and too pragmatic to continue an illusion? Why not just let them have it while they're little and still can? They have a lifetime of bills and worry and job stress and taxes and reality ahead of them. Why not just let them have the fun and magic that little kids should have? It doesn't hurt you one bit to just keep your mouth shut and let them believe.

OP here and I want to say one thing - life as it is takes my breath away very often. I'm truly sorry you're so buried in worries that you can't see it.
I don't have to lie to my kids to make their life interesting and worth living. We stop to stare at the stars, I answer their questions about the sun and the moon (today the whole 40 min drive to school was a discussion on how come the sun and the moon were up in the sky at the same time). We don't lack imagination and wonder and it's all about real life.

We stop the car too look at rainbows, we stop our walk to the bus stop to watch bugs and watching my children learning about their surroundings warms my heart every day. I'm so sorry you can't feel it. It's amazing! You should try.

That said, we like to give credit to those who work hard to give them presents and the feelings behind it.

I want my children to be sensitive to others beliefs but I don't want them to be shamed and criticized by telling the truth.

And having found so much beauty and wonder in nature, you still can't find some kindness in your heart to not take something important away from someone else?