Who here hates the stupid Elf on the Shelf fakery these young parents use?!
I say, if you cannot make your kids behave with threats of naughty lists and no oresents and coal in stocking you should just give your kids away!
I find it (Elf on the Shelf) off putting as well. Don’t even know why, but I rolled my eyes from the first time I heard of it. Perhaps it’s the manipulation?
Neither my husband or I grew up believing that Santa was real, so we never encouraged our kids to believe it either. I want them to know that they can always trust us to be truthful. We know Jesus is real; Santa and the tooth fairy are just fun games.
Our second oldest recently told about a study he read that even fun lies, such as Santa, can damage the parent-child relationship.
It could be that I’m just a stick in the mud, but I’m grateful that every parent has the freedom to do what they think is best for their children. My kids (ages 4-18) love Christmas, the older ones have all been excited to buy gifts for their siblings as soon as they were old enough to earn their own money. Not believing in Santa hasn’t detracted from their joy.
I remember one year when we had no oresents. It was 'orrible!