Not had a poll for a while so let's have one!

I've not got kids, (for now thank fuck) but if I did there'd be no lying about this shit, or anything else.
Or isn't it that simple?

It's never that simple.

But my kids are bright, and as soon as they could speak, they'd challenge such nonsense, Nobody can get down the chimney, silly! I didn't lie to them.

When I said Father Christmas wouldn't come if they didn't behave, they'd say there was no such person, and I'd agree, and change the threat to giving them a knuckle butty instead.

My parents did lie to me. I think I was about 6 when I worked it out. I overheard someone saying that Santa doesn't exist, and I just thought instantly, "of course he doesn't. What an idiot I am". I can sort of see both sides of it. On the one hand, it is ridiculous to willfully mislead your children, on the other hand it does probably contribute to it being a really special time. And once you get to a certain age, nothing is ever that special again. There's a joke in The Simpsons:
Which is probably almost true. So maybe it's good that kids have some really happy memories to look back on.

I think NORAD pretending to track Santa is going too far, though.

I think this is a biggy, actually.

It is precisely how things like 'Christmas' perpetuate and become 'traditions', regardless of a family's religious background.

Yes, it's fun and exciting and everyone gets to see eachother...BUT, what are you actually celebrating and encouraging your children to partake in? Few people actually stop to even considerate it, unfortunately.

To my mind though, if you're not even thinking about 'it', then you're not actually celebrating 'it', if that makes sense.

I'll admit to doing the xmas thing when i first had kids I did tell em santa would leave them stuff. Thing is i used to tell them outrageous lies pretty much constantly so they didnt swallow any of it

I was lied to.... but I wouldn't have been arsed if I was just told it was just a silly myth as long as I got presents - which was all that mattered at the time.
I wanted new Lego, and a Millenium Falcon.
In fact, I remember getting the Falcon, and I think that xmas I had my first taste of booze & ended up puking up all over it.

knobmeup wrote: This

I'm in two minds with it all.

1: A bit of stimulus to the imagination is a good thing.

2: Being entirely upfront and honest when a kid figures out the truth is also critical.

Xmas is a busy time of year for most folks and there's lots of extra tasks to get done.
How are you supposed to get all that squared away if you can't blackmail a few rugrats into getting off their 'on holiday from school' arses?

They come here with no paperwork and straight away expect to be waited on hand and foot, free houses, 24hr room service, healthcare, clothing, laundry done for them, child benefit an 'entitlement' and what do they give back? Nuffin but demands, that's what. bikes, xboxes, iPhones .....

Blackmail their skiving little arses or send them back to wherever they came from.

I remember my eldest when she was 3 saying when I asked her what she wanted from santa saying, " I'd like the little clown I've seen in the chemist." Baffled was I. So, off we trotted to the chemist and she pointed out one of those little porcelain poirot clowns. A real cutey 6" tall costing all of £1.50 (20 years ago). S I said to her I'm sure santa would give her that, but wouldn't she like something bigger? "no" came the reply, "I'll get a big present off you and dad, I just want to make sure Santa can give his bigger presents to kids who don't get much". So santas letter had to be written with clear instructions as to where he could get the tiny clown doll!
I always had a policy that Santa never brought the main present like the bike etc.

Santa worked for me. Kids realised that when they sleep, night time passes dead quickly. So it was the one night of the year I never had any problems getting them off to bed a little earlier.

Then the girls brother had come along. The girls called me into their bedroom on the lead up to Christmas (I was a single mum again by now). They said that they knew there wasn't a father christmas, but didn't want to spoil it for me because they knew how much I enjoyed playing 'mummy christmas'. So they had come up with an idea that because my eldest had just gone to secondary school, I could tell their brother that Santa didn't come to big kids. And seeing as the main present always came from me my youngest daughter said her brother wouldn't notice that she only got something silly like a chocolate orange! I was so proud and touched by my girls I was in floods. That set the girls off because they thought they had spoilt my fun at playing 'mummy christmas'!

Nothing to do with Santa, but when my girls were 4 & 3 they had been promised bikes as their christmas presents. The month before Christmas we found ourselves living back with my mum in Anglesey (from Aberdeen). I was reading them their bedtime story, and they interupted me by saying that I didn't have to worry about getting them their bikes for christmas because they knew I had no money coming in because we had just 'escaped' from Scotland......they would have them for their birthdays the following year once I'd got a job! Did that ever make me more determined that they got their bikes??!! You betcha!

I don't think santa is right or wrong, it's how you set out to handle it with your kids that counts.

Escaped from Scotland...




Tsk




sni



phut



sni



snigger

He battered me stupid when he was pissed and threw my youngest against the bedroom wall...she was 2, while he was going to rape me and show the girls "where babies came from". Luckily I had a couple of rocks in the girls bedroom, I clobbered him over the head with one, and we escaped out of the girls bedroom window in 2ft of snow in nothing more than our jammies........so escape.....YES!

Sorry Jane, I didn't know that . I didn't mean any offence to your good self, just found the concept of escaping from Scotland in general amusing.
Obviously, your circumstances, aren't.

angelchemuel wrote:
Did I grow up in the same house as you?!

No, it's not ok to lie to your children, it breaks any bond of trust, perhaps you could have some sort of role play where the children know what is going on and have the choice to willingly play along with the parents delusions if they wish.

I get what you're saying rep but pls bear with me...

I had the logic that kids will be told lies. I therefore told them lots of made up stuff. Being kids and astute, they quickly learned to 'scan for lies'.
It worked as far as I'm concerned. i think if you asked them now they'd say the bond of trust was enhanced by it.

Yes, it's kind of the way you say things to them - they know when you're 'playing' with them or talking tongue in cheek. Contrary to popular belief of folk who don't have much contact with kids, they're not (all) stupid.

knobmeup wrote:
Might be interesting to ask them....

Your children sound very sweet and kind-hearted, Angel, which is to your credit.

Gilly wrote:
Young children look for patterns, they try to remove contradictions, they are innately logical, anything but stupid.
Culture and schooling is designed to destroy this as our society is built on making exceptions to rules and is completely irrational.
I get what you're saying though, you can be playing games without it being verbalised, it's just not what I generally see with regards to Santa etc.

Reptired wrote: Not for me. I don't need to.