Teacher tells kids Santa is 'make-believe' (1st graders)

AP ^ | Thursday, December 4, 2003

[presidio9]

Sandra Jolly said her 6-year-old son's Christmas was spoiled when his teacher told the first-grade class Monday that "Santa Claus is make-believe."

"He had this sad, lost puppy dog look on his face. This unhappy, empty look," Jolly said. "He said his teacher informed the entire class that Santa is make-believe."

[Terabitten]

Why7 couldn't Santa bring her the Barbie; aren't you Santa? you sound very LIBERAL

In some alternate universe, this post makes sense.

And no, I'm not Santa. I'm Tragically Single.

If I may, allow me to (badly) misquote Luke 11:11. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead tell him a jolly fat man in a red velvet suit will come down the chimney and give it to him?

[jwalsh07]

DO you want me to leave you alone now?

[Howlin]

You just keep it up, buddy. Don't let those ugly things like "thinking" and "ideas" get in your way.

I'm THINKING I've got an IDEA that you're a jerk in real life.

And I am most assuredly NOT your buddy, nor do I want anybody I know to know anybody like you.

[Ladytotheright]

when you participate in Holy Communion are you drinking the blood and body of Christ---or just bread and wine?????

[TomB]

If your kid doesn't know the difference, you better teach them. The earlier the better. Have you seen the programs on TV? Otherwise, your kid is vulnerable of copying the antics on TV not knowing that what they are seeing is NOT REAL.

Teach a four year old the difference between makebelieve and reality? Sorry, but my kids have plenty of time to experience the cold, cruel world.

[jwalsh07]

I take it you're offended by Jesus' liberal use of parables? After all, it was all "make believe"!

[Howlin]

Let's not forget that Jesus hung around with 12 guys and wore a "dress." I sure that sets them off, too.

[Merdoug]

Let's see,...teacher tells kids about an imaginary man who watches over them and will reward them or punish them according to their behavior. He's old and wise; has a long beard, and can do magical things,...
Hmmm. Are we talking about Santa Claus or God? They sound about the same to me. :)

[Terabitten]

I take it you're offended by Jesus' liberal use of parables? After all, it was all "make believe"!

Erm... no. I'm a devout Christian,and it seems to me that the Son of Man can use any device He chooses to get his point across. :D

I don't have any problem with make-believe, especially for young children like mine. They grow out of it, and it's not a problem. Heck, I play make-believe with my daughter all the time.

I do have a problem with telling my daughter something false when she asks me a direct question. I'll freepmail you and tell you why.

Oh, and lest I forget.. Merry Christmas!

[FLAMING DEATH]

"No, My older kids are quite well grounded. No dicipline problems, no imaginary friends."

Good for you. It appears that your kids, however, realized that these friends they created for themselves weren't real and forgot the whole thing. It is not so easy to drop a belief when it has been told to you as fact by adults in the first few years of their lives.

"You see, as they GET OLDER, they grow out of those things."

They grow out of having imaginary friends. They don't always grow out of looking to place the blame on others.

Regardless, the analogy doesn't always apply to the Santa Claus myth. Allowing a child to develop his imagination on his own is quite a bit different than being deceived by an adult he trusts and being told to believe a myth as fact.

[vikzilla]

I'm 42 years old and I believe in Santa.

The fun and loving memories for me and my children make not believing impossible.

I feel for those that find the moral high road more important to them than a childs smile.

[luckystarmom]

Geez. I got over the fact that Santa wasn't real. I thought I figured it out when I was 5. I found a box for my bike. By 8, I knew there wasn't a Santa. Didn't ask my parents. Didn't need to ask my parents.

No trauma, (but I do hope I get stocking stuffers from Santa this year!!!!!!!!)

[FLAMING DEATH]

"Santa Claus is myth, tradition, and heritage all rolled into one."

Great, but he's not a fact.

"Kids will be kids until they grow older"

True. But adults should know better.

"... is a rite of passage, on their way to adulthood."

No, it isn't. You can put lipstick and earrings on a pig, but it is still a pig.

[Howlin]

They don't always grow out of looking to place the blame on others.

*Snort*

Liberal.

[TomB]

No, you simply stated that it is OK to pretend with your kids.

NO. Since a four year old doesn't have the capacity to tell what is real and what is make believe, if I sit down with her dolls and makebelieve friends, and encourage her to play with them, by your definition of lying, I am lying to her.

You know, the more I think about it, the sicker I get. I remember the first time my daughter said "Santa", we were driving in a car and went past a front yard display, she picked her little head up and pointed with more excitement I'd ever seen in her, and yelled "TA-TA", or something like that. To think that some people around here would have taken her aside after that and told her Santa wasn't real, is REALLY REALLY sad.

[beezdotcom]

I'm amazed at the large number of party-poopers posting to this thread.

Don't get me wrong, I support those parents who are strong enough to fly in the face of the Santa mythos, and not play along. I do believe that it often serves to diminsh the TRUE meaning of Christmas.

That being said, WAY too much is being made of the "horribly disingenuous deception being perpetrated on the poor, mentally abused tots". Based on the reactions I've seen, I'm waiting to hear some liberal lawyer present "The Santa Claus Defense" for some mass-murderer client of his, who blames his behavior all on "the big Santa lie". The way some of you are going on and on about it, you would probably offer to pay the legal bill.

The Santa myth is somewhat less than an evil lie, and somewhat more than innocent make-believe. "Innocently-motivated prank" comes closer to the heart of it, but even that description contains more malice in the motive than intended. However, the analogy *does* have one useful parallel in this case; nothing spoils a good prank like someone on the outside (this teacher) meddling in it where they're not wanted.

[Howlin]

I'm waiting to hear some liberal lawyer present "The Santa Claus Defense"

I'm thinking that his client could very well be somebody posting on this thread. :-)

[FLAMING DEATH]

"I'm THINKING I've got an IDEA that you're a jerk in real life."

Well, I'm sorry if you're upset, but I guess if you'd stuck to dealing with what I wrote instead of all this other stuff, this probably wouldn't have happened. You were the one who made it personal with the juvenile comments. That's what you get when emotion overrides logic.

"And I am most assuredly NOT your buddy, nor do I want anybody I know to know anybody like you."

A shame, since I'm quite a nice guy! ;)

[FLAMING DEATH]

Well, that's good for you.

Some others have a problem with it, and rightly so.

It is sometimes hard for a kid to understand that telling a falsehood is wrong, and then think his parents were right for doing it.

[TomB]

Regardless, the analogy doesn't always apply to the Santa Claus myth. Allowing a child to develop his imagination on his own is quite a bit different than being deceived by an adult he trusts and being told to believe a myth as fact.

Adults help children develop an imagination. It's called parenting. And allowing a child to believe in a ubiquitous myth is NOT deception any more than allowing her to believe her dolls are her friends.

You know, if the dangers of believing in Santa are as pervasive as you say, there should be some studies out there showing how much better adjusted kids who grew up not belvieving are than kids who did. But I've never seen any.