Not 'doing' Santa

neneromanova

notanewuser wrote: »

We won't be telling her he isn't real. We intend to tell her that some people believe that santa brings presents in the same way that some people believe in this god or that god and let her make up her own mind!

I think a lot of people who are having a go are thinking ( and I was too I won't lie) that you were going to sit your child down and say "Listen here child. Santa is not real! Neither is the tooth fairy or the eater bunny (never understood that one myself) So get over it and grow up"

*walks away sheepishly*

OrkneyStar

neneromanova wrote: »

Your font just hurt my eyes

Your font just brightened up my day .
Shame I am typing blind now though .

fluffybunny_2

We are atheists but I was brought up with Santa and my three children have been brought up with Santa too.

I think its sad for any child to be told at an early age that there's no Santa.

It doesn't have to be materialistic. They can ask for one or two special things and to see their eyes light up in awe and wonder in the morning when "Santa" has been is magical in itself.

A friend of mine is vegetarian and she decided that she wasn't going to give any meat products to her children as she can't stand handling any form of meat or poultry. Now....years on she has realised that each child is their own person and, at some point, her children have tasted meat and they like it. So, she is now the only vegetarian in the family and she cooks meat for her children.
What I am getting at is I don't agree with anyone making the decision "not to do Santa". The child should be able to choose but you can't really offer them a choice as you'd have to tell that there's no Santa in offering them a choice.

IMO, if you ask a person who was brought up with Santa would they like to have been brought up without him, they'd say no.
If you ask a person who had been brought up without Santa have they missed out? They'll also say no as they don't know what they missed.

sweetcheekz

I hold my hands up I am a "liar" and a "threatener".... guess I'll not be on FC's good list this year then!

Gloomendoom

neneromanova wrote: »

Santa is not real! Neither is the tooth fairy or the eater bunny

The what? :eek:

Person_one

I think comparing belief in Father Christmas to religion is a bit odd, while there's a tenuous connection, they aren't remotely similar in the way they affect children or the role they play in their lives.

Religions 'hook' children young and want to hold onto them until the very end of their life, they want influence and control over every aspect of their life, they dictate morality and they provide punishment even beyond death if their rules aren't followed.

Father Christmas brings presents once a year and is pathologically nice. Children naturally leave him behind before they go to secondary school with no ill effects and no psychological hangovers (99.9% anyway).

Treating them the same way makes no sense to me.

notanewuser

fluffybunny wrote: »

We are atheists but I was brought up with Santa and my three children have been brought up with Santa too.

I think its sad for any child to be told at an early age that there's no Santa.

It doesn't have to be materialistic. They can ask for one or two special things and to see their eyes light up in awe and wonder in the morning when "Santa" has been is magical in itself.

A friend of mine is vegetarian and she decided that she wasn't going to give any meat products to her children as she can't stand handling any form of meat or poultry. Now....years on she has realised that each child is their own person and, at some point, her children have tasted meat and they like it. So, she is now the only vegetarian in the family and she cooks meat for her children.
What I am getting at is I don't agree with anyone making the decision "not to do Santa". The child should be able to choose but you can't really offer them a choice as you'd have to tell that there's no Santa in offering them a choice.

IMO, if you ask a person who was brought up with Santa would they like to have been brought up without him, they'd say no.
If you ask a person who had been brought up without Santa have they missed out? They'll also say no as they don't know what they missed.

I'm also vegetarian having decided myself to give up earing meat at age 11. DH and DD are meat eaters, and I cook their meals. We felt it was important to give DD the opportunity to try everything and make her own mind up. When she tries to feed me a bit of chicken or meat sausage I don't give her a lecture, I just say "no thank you darling, mummy doesn't eat that." No big deal. When she's old enough to ask me why I shall tell her.

Exactly the same as Santa/any religion.

We won't be telling her Santa doesn't exist, but we also won't be saying he does. Is it really that hard to understand this?!

balletshoes

so will you be doing a stocking ie something from Santa/St Nicholas, if she believes?

warehouse

Is it too difficult for you to understand the lifelong memories that Christmas gives to children? Why start a thread when you don't like what's coming back at you?

notanewuser

warehouse wrote: »

Is it too difficult for you to understand the lifelong memories that Christmas gives to children? Why start a thread when you don't like what's coming back at you?

Not one of my "lifelong memories of Christmas" involves Santa at all.

How was I meant to know what responses I'd get? Have you read those that actually (and very eloquently) agree with my point?