Kids and Christmas

[kılıç_mehmet]

The guys you posted in the pictures look pretty sinister! they would certainly make them behave..

He is not a person who punishes or rewards kids. He is a storyteller, a famous bard of the old. We used to place much value on bards and storytellers. Now instead of our illustrious epics, our kids see the fat santa in movies and coca cola advertisements, while the real Santa, Saint Nicholas was said to have come from Turkey, and he certainly didn't look like the fat guy, and he wasn't from the north pole, and he had not any reindeers with him, but he did give out presents at christmas....They had a statue of him in the place he supposedly resided, but now the old statue of a man of the cloth was raised, and a phat, red santa statue was put in it's place by the gov. as it supposedly looked more sympathetic.

The old one is to the right, the new, to the left.

Here in Slovakia we technically have St.Nicolas but we call him...Jesus.
Literally.

Really? I didn't know that.

[Norfolk And Chance]

We went down the road that family and friends buy presents and give them to Santa to deliver on christmas day.

Went down that route too - was amazed that neither of my kids turned round and said "Why bother getting santa to deliver presents that you bought? - but they never did.

I think they knew but wanted to keep on believing, against the mounting evidence.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

My clever (and very devious) mother told us that mummy an daddy had to PAY father Christmas for the toys he brought us. Being good little baby capitalists, we though this was extremely fair and reasonable.

[Hunter9035]

I am Christian and I will not lie to my children. That would make the truth I tell them questionable.

[NoMoreFaith]

As long as you remember to teach your children not to accept truth blindly, and to consider truth for themselves.

Truth is often subjective, and a parents job is to arm your children with the ability to discern and filter out bullshit.

[Chuff]

I am Christian and I will not lie to my children.

The sentence itself reads as an oxymoron to me, but I assume you are talking about Santa? What do you tell them?

I guess it was marginally more believable when people actually had chimneys

[thesummerqueen]

Including the parents' bullshit, NMF.

In fact, I think I became as skeptical as I am about most things because my own father would joking lie about stuff - mostly to tease us - but I learned pretty early on not to trust anything an adult said.

[Chuff]

Including the parents' bullshit, NMF.

In fact, I think I became as skeptical as I am about most things because my own father would joking lie about stuff - mostly to tease us - but I learned pretty early on not to trust anything an adult said.

A technique I employ on my own kids, much to their annoyance (and my amusement)

[thesummerqueen]

Yeah, I don't think it was my dad's intention to teach me skepticism that way - he mostly just thought he was funnier than he actually is. He says I learned that angry, "fuck you, don't bullshit me" over-the-glasses glare before I even had glasses. He still tells a story about how he took my friends and I to the museums in DC when we were 7 years old and on the way back on the metro scared the crap out of my friends by saying he didn't remember our stop...and I gave him "that look" and made the husband and wife behind him burst out laughing. He said I was no fun because I never believed anything he said.

Now it mostly pisses him off because when he gives me advice I always get 4th and 5th opinions.

[Doubting Thomas]

I am Christian and I will not lie to my children. That would make the truth I tell them questionable.

My irony meter: