reply to post by Jnewell33
This is a question I have asked myself in the recent past, as well.
The reason I started questioning how harmful it might be, is because some families I know with young children are really struggling right now, and
Christmas is going to be really rough.
I remember going to school after Christmas when I was young and really dreading the inevitable "what did you get for Christmas?"questions. At that
time I knew about Santa, but what about children still young enough to believe?
How do children feel about themselves when they go to school and hear about the fabulous list of gifts some children receive from "Santa", if they
didn't receive comparable gifts?
Fortunately, my youngest child is now almost thirteen and doesn't believe in Santa any more, so I don't have to make that decision for myself.
Looking back, though, I wish I would have realized at the time that it could be very confusing and hurtful for a child when they do find out, (my
parents lied to me, what else are they telling me that isn't true) and sends a conflicting message to the child about some lies being "OK". I
mean, lets be honest, for 6 or 7 years or so, we LIE to our children, while hopefully teaching them it's wrong to lie!
I don't have any grandchildren yet, and I have told all my adult children, that if I had to do it all over, I don't think I would teach my children
the "Santa Lie", and I have suggested to them pretty strongly, don't do it to your children!
In this day and age, it may be easier (and a whole lot cheaper, lol!) to just skip the "Santa Lie". The more people who do it, the easier it will
become.
Blessings,
sezsue
