My 9-year old asked “Mom, is Santa Claus real, or have you been lying to me all this time?” That was all I needed to hear to learn my lesson. To a child, (and probably to God, too) there is only truth or untruth (a.k.a. “lie”).
I was taught that all these characters existed and also passed on the “tradition” to my children, but I never emphasized Christ’s role in the holidays. I cannot remember one Christmas/Easter as a child that I actually gave much thought to Jesus…it was all about the toys & candy. But hey, maybe that’s just me.
I tried to imagine what the Blessed Mother would want me to do.
I fessed up and told ALL my children the complete truth…and boy, did I feel the freedom! No more sneaking around, concocting one lie after another, staying up late wrapping presents, slipping coins under pillows, etc.
Our new family slogan: “Keep Christ in Christmas…Give Santa the Boot!” The kids and I wink and giggle when we talk about these imaginary characters now.
My littlest one told me later that she was a little sad that there really was no Santa, but someday if we ever had another baby, we could teach that baby the right way from the start. Those were her exact words.
In my opinion, it’s just a subtle ploy to remove God from our lives…maybe it began innocently…maybe. But it’s probably the MOST insidious tactic ever created because it is “cheerfully” passed from one generation to another.
Children need to learn, hear, and speak truth from birth. Be honest…what possible **harm ** could come to a child that is told the truth about Santa and the others? Conversely, what possible **good ** could come from being honest with them?
As far as Harry Potter, if the Church warns us about something, we should listen.
I’m not sure if ALL fantasy is good for children…
Definition of Fantasy: (1) imagination unrestricted by reality; (2) something many people believe that is false.
:ehh:
Pretending to be super-heroes, mommies, teachers, doctors…that kind of fantasy sounds ok to me.