Teacher tells 7 year-olds Santa's Fake.

reply to post by cognoscente


Great point! However, planting the seed in the child and then telling them later still cast all that into effect.

Originally posted by Lee_K
Personally I would be upset at this! Christmas is a magical time for kids believing in santa! Especially when you see all the bad things on the news everyday! Its nice to have something nice going on elsewhere. Even if it is just imagination. And it doesnt do much for the bond between kid and parent when they turn round and say 'my teacher said santa isnt real.' What do you say to that!? 'Ah yes I lied to you... Sorry!' They'll never believe a thing you say again!

[edit on 11-12-2008 by Lee_K]

How does that change any other way? If the teacher says it, you say it, the bus driver sas it, your pastor says it... It's still going to tear at the imagination you helped to build.

Originally posted by CX
I'd have been hacked off if this was my kids.

Who has the right to tell kids that age, or of any age what they can and can't believe in, or try to persuade them otherwise?

I have a real issue with this kind of thing

Ummm... Well, if you tell them to believe in it, aren't you doing the same thing you are hating others for doing?

reply to post by Jkd Up



That`s the problem with this world, no imagination. Were not suppose to have one, not when we have others doing our thinking for us. Let`s all just shut our minds down and get it over with.

Originally posted by grimreaper797
reply to post by FiatLux

 

you are too stuipid to realize the basics of how children function.

People like you are exactly why I look at christmas negatively.

[edit on 11-12-2008 by grimreaper797]

I think somebody has forgotten the basics of how adults function because calling other people stupid really is more childlike....behaviorally speaking.
Is that why you have such an in depth knowledge of how children function?

Originally posted by badgerprints
I've got a great grasp of one thing. I know that behavioralists and psychologists spend a lot of time putting their problems on others.

right, forget the years of progress, you know best. It is you who is the authority on the matter of psychology, not the people who have been studying and working in the field for decades.

My daughter knew right from wrong at a very young age.
She knew that Santa wasn't real at a very young age.
I never had to force her to be kind or giving. She is a very sweet girl who is kind to people because she wants to be.
She understood right and wrong very early in life.

Right, because thats what you observed? You observed her knowing? She may have followed the rules well, but that doesnt necessarily mean she understood why they were rules. Chances are she merely imitated what the adults were doing. In which case, you are a great parent and I commend you.

She may have been a very intelligent young child, but that still doesn't mean she understood right from wrong, just that she knew X was right and Y was wrong, and acted accordingly. Psychology is not in your favor, and I will take psychology over "my child was this or that" anyday. Why, because to be frank, you are bias in the matter. It is your child. You want her to be able to understand right from wrong at the earliest age possible.

I don't blame you, if your child was my child, I would be saying the exact same things. "My child knew" but in reality, years of research says otherwise. That children don't have the capacity to know right from wrong at 2-6 years old. At 7 they are starting to get it, but thats right around the time santa starts to go out the window, nullifying the point of telling them santa exist.

As for your other statements, don't blame me for decades of studies and research. For a majority of human history, kids were treated as subjects pretty much. Nobody really cared about whether or not they understood right from wrong, just that they followed it, and they did. Was it right? I am not one to say what is or isn't right. Did it work? Yes, because young children are not capable of the abstract thought process necessary to understand right and wrong concepts. Wish they were, but they aren't.

reply to post by badgerprints



I am just being honest. You are either A. ignoring the psychology of children or B. ignorant. Sorry if Im too blunt for your tastes, but that is what it comes down to. Im not going to shy away from years of research because it hurts your feelings and contradicts your belief about your child.


[edit on 12-12-2008 by Springer]

Originally posted by FiatLux
reply to post by Jkd Up

 

That`s the problem with this world, no imagination. Were not suppose to have one, not when we have others doing our thinking for us. Let`s all just shut our minds down and get it over with.

I am in no way saying that imagination is bad. Believe me, we'd have a lot less Star Trek & Star Wars fans... Just that, why not explain to the kid who Chrisopher Kringle was or Saint Nick? Lying isn't nesissarily the answer either.

Originally posted by jackinthebox115
If this happened to my children I don't think I would be outraged. But I would be disappointed. I like that my 9 and 6 year olds still believe in Santa. In a world where kids see and do a lot more then they should..a little Christmas magic is an ok thing.

Completely agree! There is nothing wrong with the Holiday cheer and magic that goes along with it.

But I also think that maybe the teacher shouldnt have gone so far as to blatiantly state there is no Santa. That is devistating to a child's heart at that age. The teacher should have thought a bit about that before saying anything at all.



Cheers!!!!

Reaper, would you please knock the name calling off? It`s not wanted or needed here.

I can't believe I'm reading this on ATS of all places. Most of you believe in magical reptilians, secret underground bases, the illuminati, space aliens, secret societies and planet x, and yet you all still place shame on the parents for letting their kids believe in santa claus? Give me a freakin break. Most of what you believe on this site is nothing more than "MAGIC."

By the way, I'm real.

Did no one here believe in Santa? Did no one hear from their parents or the cold cruel world that Santa was not real at some point in your lives? Do you still trust your parents?

All this talk about little kids hating their parents because they lied to them about santa seems a little off to me.

I believed in santa. I used to go outside with my dad and listen for sleigh bells and try to find rudolph's red nose in the night sky...I'd leave cookies out for Santa and celery for the reindeer. It was my favorite part of Christmas. Not because Santa brought me presents, but because it seemed so magical. It really set off the Christmas spirit for me. But did I hate my parents when I found out santa was fake? Nope. Because I still held that christmas spirit with me.

Point being, I think it's ridiculous to say that you should not tell your kids about santa because they'll think you're a worthless liar when they find out he's fake. I know no people who hate their parents because they found out santa didn't exist.

reply to post by grimreaper797



I rest my case reaper. I believe you have lost what little heart you ever had. Calling others stupid just because you don`t agree with them paints a good picture of you.

response to grimreaper797

Hats off to your professional opinion.
I guess you win. You've got the degree and years of research.
All I've got is my own biased opinion about my own child. Clearly, I must be wrong.

She had me fooled - the little imp - she didn't really have any feelings beyond her own selfish behavioral programming.
I guess I was wasting my time.


Once again.
Merry Christmas




[edit on 11-12-2008 by badgerprints]

reply to post by FiatLux


I am not "name calling", I'm putting the lack of intelligence displayed in blunt terms they can understand. You want it in other terms, fine. The person who believes that their limited personal experience supercedes the study and research of thousands of psychologists lacks a basic understanding of the world and has been cursed with an intelligence level far below the expected level of said person.

I felt stupid was a pretty effective summary of that statement, but apparently summerizing is too offensive for some people in this day and age. It is a word, it is used to define something, get over it. If a person says things that are stupid, thats what I call it.

Saying that decades of studies and research is wrong simply because YOU think that you understand YOUR child better than all these studies could understand people, well thats stupid and I will call it such.

reply to post by Heatburger


I feel that way myself. I never hated my parents, I loved them even more for wanting me to feel the magic and love that goes along with it.

reply to post by FiatLux


Then you are resting on a very sad case. Some one with no psychology degree saying their understanding of their child outweighs decades of research and studies is stupid, there is no way around it. I'm not going to shy away from the word stupid, simply because people perceive it negatively.

Stupid- lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity.

Thats what the held belief is. It is not intellectually sound, not even remotely. Are you expecting me to not use a certain word because you don't like it, even though it aptly characterizes the claim made?

reply to post by grimreaper797



OT:

Believe me, i`m sure there are a lot of names that a few of us would like to call you, but, at least we have enough common sense not to. Why should we get in trouble because of someone like yourself. HO HO HO MERRY CHRISTMAS.


Back on topic, Jkd Up, I understand what your saying. It`s imagination that makes Christmas so much fun.

reply to post by FiatLux



Exactly. And that's why, when I have kids, I'll let them believe in santa. Because as a kid, santa is so much more than just a fat guy who brings presents. He's something fun and magical, and in my case, he was an exciting family togetherness experience. And I'll take my kids out to find rudolph and listen to sleigh bells, and we'll bake fresh cookies for santa. And they'll be sad when they find out he's not real, but they're definitely not going to distrust me. I hope they retain the magic and chose to pass it on to their kids years down the road.

reply to post by FiatLux


So wait, you have enough common sense to not define something with a word that you feel aptly characterizes something? What kind of common sense is that? Oh, you mean that little "right and wrong" bit? Well my right and wrong is different. And somebody elses right and wrong is different from both mine and yours. So the whole right and wrong concept is a bit more abstract than intially thought.

No wonder kids have such an issue with right and wrong, some peoples right and wrong don't make any sense.