Anonymous
Post 11/13/2014 08:54     Subject: Someone called me out in front of my kid
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I grew up Muslim, and therefore not believing in Santa. Sorry to be such a debbie downer, but I'm with OP. I have nothing against Christmas (in the religious or secular sense), but in public, you can't expect everyone else to cater to your beliefs or lies you tell your kid. But then again I find the whole Santa myth really kind of weird and messed up.

You don't have to be a jerk though and blurt out in front of a bunch of kids in a mall with Santa that Santa isn't real. Come on. That just makes OP an asshole.


Agree. One needn't go on a podium and proclaim there's no Santa, but one shouldn't have to make sure the coast is clear before speaking honestly. And you can also teach your kids not to be jerks, but telling DC they must have done something really bad, since they didn't receive presents from Santa.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2014 08:50     Subject: Someone called me out in front of my kid
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.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2014 08:48     Subject: Someone called me out in front of my kid
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I grew up Muslim, and therefore not believing in Santa. Sorry to be such a debbie downer, but I'm with OP. I have nothing against Christmas (in the religious or secular sense), but in public, you can't expect everyone else to cater to your beliefs or lies you tell your kid. But then again I find the whole Santa myth really kind of weird and messed up.

You don't have to be a jerk though and blurt out in front of a bunch of kids in a mall with Santa that Santa isn't real. Come on. That just makes OP an asshole.


OP said that OP was out in public, and there was a man in a Santa suit. OP did not say that OP was at the mall with a bunch of kids who were there to see Santa.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2014 08:46     Subject: Someone called me out in front of my kid
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.


I don't know about OP, but when my kid asks if there's a Santa and I tell him no (we are Jewish), I'm not attempting to prove I'm intellectually superior or pragmatic. I would give him the same answer if he asked if we believe Jesus is the son of G-d, or if we worship Allah, etc. No, we do not do any of those things because they are not in our belief system. If he asked me this on the sidewalk, I wouldn't scream it, but I would say it in a normal conversational tone. Now if we were in the mall passing a line of kids waiting for Santa, I'd probably tell him we'd discuss it in five minutes when we're not passing that line. Just like I'd probably wait five minutes to discuss abortion if we were passing a clinic where people were protesting. But in a normal situation, I am not going to self-censor when he asks a normal question, just because some fragile person or their fragile children *might* be around and *might* hear us and *might* be upset. I hear things that upset me all the time. It's called life. Deal with it.


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.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2014 08:46     Subject: Someone called me out in front of my kid
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.


I assume that you didn't mean to imply that parents who don't do Santa are depriving their children of an integral part of childhood.

As for me, my parents didn't pretend to me that Santa was real, because my parents didn't celebrate Christmas, and I didn't pretend that Santa was real to my kids, because I don't celebrate Christmas. That doesn't mean that I should run around collaring random children and telling them that Santa isn't real. But it also doesn't mean that when I'm out in public, I must pretend that Santa is real, just in case I'm overheard by the child of somebody who pretends that Santa is real.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2014 08:44     Subject: Someone called me out in front of my kid
Anonymous wrote:I grew up Muslim, and therefore not believing in Santa. Sorry to be such a debbie downer, but I'm with OP. I have nothing against Christmas (in the religious or secular sense), but in public, you can't expect everyone else to cater to your beliefs or lies you tell your kid. But then again I find the whole Santa myth really kind of weird and messed up.

You don't have to be a jerk though and blurt out in front of a bunch of kids in a mall with Santa that Santa isn't real. Come on. That just makes OP an asshole.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2014 08:42     Subject: Someone called me out in front of my kid
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:As an adult who grew up believing in Santa and who raised her children the same way, I guess you could say my response here is going to be very prejudiced just because.

I am going to say that it is always best to err on the side of caution and always keep your mouth shut when it comes to Santa. Treat it as a very delicate subject because for some children it is.

Let children believe in the magic of Santa for as long as they possibly can. Let their childhood be a magical place to store special memories that they look back on with fondness. What can it hurt??

I don't know any adults who have trust issues and needed therapy as adults because they felt deceived and betrayed because their parents "lied" to them about Santa. Or the Tooth Fairy. Or the Easter Bunny.



It can hurt you from becoming a fully realized human being. What is this obsession with recreating your childhood experience with your children? What could hurt from telling a child Santa doesn't exist but his family sitting RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM does and wants to spend time with him, show him love...instead of spending time thinking of all the ways they can fill their time by by decorating with giant snowman..,


You are being absolutely absurd.


More absorb than telling my child an elaborate story about a fat man flying with reindeer and landing on the roof to deliver gifts from the North Pole that for some reason have Made in China stamped on their packaging? Really? I am absurd. Sure.


You are being absurd because it's not about you. Who cares what you tell your kid? I think you suck because you want to impose that decision on other peoples' kids. Can't you be decent and save it for the car ride home?
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2014 08:38     Subject: Re:Someone called me out in front of my kid
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I hope all of you people asking everyone to be respectful and check around before talking about Santa are also respectful and wish people Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. Seems like the respect should travel two ways.


Yep, I do.


Of course and I also make sure my coworker can get out of the office and home by sunset on Fridays and wish him "Shabbat Shalom".
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2014 08:30     Subject: Re:Someone called me out in front of my kid
Anonymous wrote:I hope all of you people asking everyone to be respectful and check around before talking about Santa are also respectful and wish people Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. Seems like the respect should travel two ways.


Yep, I do.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2014 08:25     Subject: Someone called me out in front of my kid
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.


I have magic in my life all of the time. Maybe let go if the idea that magic only exists in fairy tales and you will see the magic in life right in front if you and in you.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2014 08:22     Subject: Someone called me out in front of my kid
I grew up Muslim, and therefore not believing in Santa. Sorry to be such a debbie downer, but I'm with OP. I have nothing against Christmas (in the religious or secular sense), but in public, you can't expect everyone else to cater to your beliefs or lies you tell your kid. But then again I find the whole Santa myth really kind of weird and messed up.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2014 08:20     Subject: Someone called me out in front of my kid
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.


I don't know about OP, but when my kid asks if there's a Santa and I tell him no (we are Jewish), I'm not attempting to prove I'm intellectually superior or pragmatic. I would give him the same answer if he asked if we believe Jesus is the son of G-d, or if we worship Allah, etc. No, we do not do any of those things because they are not in our belief system. If he asked me this on the sidewalk, I wouldn't scream it, but I would say it in a normal conversational tone. Now if we were in the mall passing a line of kids waiting for Santa, I'd probably tell him we'd discuss it in five minutes when we're not passing that line. Just like I'd probably wait five minutes to discuss abortion if we were passing a clinic where people were protesting. But in a normal situation, I am not going to self-censor when he asks a normal question, just because some fragile person or their fragile children *might* be around and *might* hear us and *might* be upset. I hear things that upset me all the time. It's called life. Deal with it.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2014 08:17     Subject: Someone called me out in front of my kid
Eh, this is so not a big deal. If my kid heard you and asked me, I'd just explain that some people don't believe in Santa, but that if they still believe in him, he'll still come. The whole magic of it is the mystery.

What do you tell your kids when the Muslim and Jewish kids say Santa isn't real? Honestly, if the legend can't hold up to some random stranger's comments, you're doing it wrong.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2014 07:55     Subject: Someone called me out in front of my kid
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:As an adult who grew up believing in Santa and who raised her children the same way, I guess you could say my response here is going to be very prejudiced just because.

I am going to say that it is always best to err on the side of caution and always keep your mouth shut when it comes to Santa. Treat it as a very delicate subject because for some children it is.

Let children believe in the magic of Santa for as long as they possibly can. Let their childhood be a magical place to store special memories that they look back on with fondness. What can it hurt??

I don't know any adults who have trust issues and needed therapy as adults because they felt deceived and betrayed because their parents "lied" to them about Santa. Or the Tooth Fairy. Or the Easter Bunny.



It can hurt you from becoming a fully realized human being. What is this obsession with recreating your childhood experience with your children? What could hurt from telling a child Santa doesn't exist but his family sitting RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM does and wants to spend time with him, show him love...instead of spending time thinking of all the ways they can fill their time by by decorating with giant snowman..,


You are being absolutely absurd.


More absorb than telling my child an elaborate story about a fat man flying with reindeer and landing on the roof to deliver gifts from the North Pole that for some reason have Made in China stamped on their packaging? Really? I am absurd. Sure.
Anonymous
Post 11/13/2014 07:41     Subject: Someone called me out in front of my kid
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.