OT: Xmas Dilemma

[jever4321]

HA, he was so little ...

If you were champ you woulda bought him a push broom and made sure to tell him santa's fake.... Dad of the year... Reminds me of the breakfast club... Smoke up Johnnie! Lol...

 

[tinselwolverine]

Come on tinsel. That was 3-4 years ago. We know. ;-)

Not.

3-4 years ago I would have been too big for a little kid's costume.

 

[Sbee]

technology really makes parenting easier, i'd sit my kids down for lunch and they'd watch educational youtube videos for 30 minutes. they learned to count, abc's, shapes, colors, etc without us really having to do much. hell, my son who's not quite two looked at a stop sign and said "daddy, kind of like an octagon."

pretty amazing

 

[deathroh]

Fuck that. There's no way you can steal that time from you kids. It's so cute to see the wonder in their eye. Let 'em be kids... Champ's kid will wind up being a unibomber if he grows up with no Santa....

Fuck what? I can't help that it felt weird. There's no way I wouldn't play along.

 

[Michchamp]

Fuck what? I can't help that it felt weird. There's no way I wouldn't play along.

yeah, i agree. I am wondering how I am going to get this story across with a straight face.

plus, I plan to encourage my kid to be inquisitive and ask questions... and receive honest answers to them, so i've got to have a pretty ironclad story, yet one I can dismiss with a laugh when he figures it out. Don't want him to carry a grudge over that one. I guess I'll say "Yeah, Santa Claus was BS, but I only told you that because I didn't want you to ruin all the other kids' christmases and have their stupid parents - like Jever - calling me to complain & call me an evil man. But everything else is legit. So when I say don't do XYZ, listen to me now, I'm being serious."

And regardless of what people claim, I do not think "believing in Santa Claus" is a prerequisite of a happy childhood... but hey, if all the other parents are doing it... might as well be a good member of the tribe/herd.

 

[thewolverines24]

yeah, i agree. I am wondering how I am going to get this story across with a straight face.

plus, I plan to encourage my kid to be inquisitive and ask questions... and receive honest answers to them, so i've got to have a pretty ironclad story.

And regardless of what people claim, I do not think "believing in Santa Claus" is a prerequisite of a happy childhood... but hey, if all the other parents are doing it... might as well be a good member of the tribe/herd.

Did you believe in Santa Claus as a kid?

 

[Michchamp]

Did you believe in Santa Claus as a kid?

yes, but I had a lot of questions my parents dismissed with "Because Santa is magic."

I didn't press the issue at the time because, well, I was getting free toys.

I must've still been around age 7 or 8 when I still believed, because I could write, and I remember writing a letter to him.

I do remember feeling pretty stupid when I figured it out, but didn't really harbor a grudge against my parents for that one, I guess because it seemed like everyone's parents did it.

 

[thewolverines24]

yes, but I had a lot of questions my parents dismissed with "Because Santa is magic."

I didn't press the issue at the time because, well, I was getting free toys.

I must've still been around age 7 or 8 when I still believed, because I could write, and I remember writing a letter to him.

I do remember feeling pretty stupid when I figured it out, but didn't really harbor a grudge against my parents for that one, I guess because it seemed like everyone's parents did it.

I think all kids have questions about Santa. Especially once they get older. We all eventually find out he's not real, but it doesn't really affect us in a dramatic way. Kids get over it really fast from what I've seen and experienced. Let little Champ enjoy the Santa fun and he'll figure it out once he's old enough.

 

[Michchamp]

... Let little Champ enjoy the Santa fun and he'll figure it out once he's old enough.

yeah, that is the plan.

We will work to undo the mental & behavioral issues caused by teaching a kid that magic not only exists but can bring you gifts and happiness without effort later on down the road...

 

[jever4321]

Wait, santa's not real?....haven't you seen polar express?

 

[Gulo Blue]

yeah, that is the plan.

We will work to undo the mental & behavioral issues caused by teaching a kid that magic not only exists but can bring you gifts and happiness without effort later on down the road...

You just replace it with the belief that government can bring you gifts and happiness without effort later on down the road...

 

[jever4321]

yeah, that is the plan.

We will work to undo the mental & behavioral issues caused by teaching a kid that magic not only exists but can bring you gifts and happiness without effort later on down the road...

Just indoctrinate him/her early into the Liberal mentality.

 

[Gulo Blue]

What about the tooth fairy? Will Young MC be visited by the tooth fairy?

 

[Michchamp]

You just replace it with the belief that government can bring you gifts and happiness without effort later on down the road...

I knew someone would go there.

But maybe you're right... believing in a social contract, that a government should provide some basic level of security to all its citizens, and to the extent some are disadvantaged by circumstances beyond their control, like extreme poverty, mental illness, or belong to a racial minority subject to discrimination, etc., the government should provide more... that's like believing in Santa Claus. or Jesus.

 

[thewolverines24]

yeah, that is the plan.

We will work to undo the mental & behavioral issues caused by teaching a kid that magic not only exists but can bring you gifts and happiness without effort later on down the road...

It's called imagination. It's a good thing for kids to have. It doesn't do irreparable damage.

 

[Michchamp]

What about the tooth fairy? Will Young MC be visited by the tooth fairy?

we'll see what his mother does, but probably not.

I've already chosen the parental battles I'm willing to fight, and silly rituals like baptism, santa claus, the tooth fairy, etc. aren't worth fighting over.

things that actually cost real $$$, or affect the kid's long term interest (like choice of schools) are.

 

[Michchamp]

It's called imagination. It's a good thing for kids to have. It doesn't do irreparable damage.

I agree, but this isn't the same thing, since the parent is the one making the story up and feeding it into the kid's brain.

 

[Gulo Blue]

I knew someone would go there.

But maybe you're right... believing in a social contract, that a government should provide some basic level of security to all its citizens, and to the extent some are disadvantaged by circumstances beyond their control, like extreme poverty, mental illness, or belong to a racial minority subject to discrimination, etc., the government should provide more... that's like believing in Santa Claus. or Jesus.

Right. You said "gifts and happiness without effort" Clearly you were talking about the expected effort that should be required for "gifts" like not being discriminated against or disadvantaged. You're extrapolating off the deep end.

 

[thewolverines24]

I agree, but this isn't the same thing, since the parent is the one making the story up and feeding it into the kid's brain.

Not totally. Santa Claus comes from more than just parents. Friends, movies, music, etc.

 

[Michchamp]

... You're extrapolating off the deep end.

Ho! Ho! Ho! no I'm not.