What *IS* the point of teaching a child about Santa Claus?

[AreaCode707]

Given the teacher-Santa Claus thread-
Why is the myth of Santa Claus so important to people in our culture? Some people in that thread assume that it could be psychological damaging for young children to find out there is no Santa Claus. Parents get extremely upset if something threatens to enlighten their children. Most children are taught the idea as a truth and some I know didn't discover it until age ten or so. I'm one of those kids who never did believe, through no fault of my parents, so maybe I just don't see the mystic joy of believing in Santa. Why can't we promote the giving of Christmas in a more straightforward manner, which might even foster a less materialistic sense in kids, since they'd see the source of gifts and not just toys appearing. Could also up the altruistic tendencies of children themselves, and encourage them to be giving in return, since they'd percieve their parents as giving and as role models to follow.

 

[conjur]

It's magical.

Seriously...just the thought of something magic in the air that night. I always enjoyed it as a child and I enjoy seeing the faces on my girls on Christmas morning. My oldest is 15 and has been out of believing for some time and this will be the last year, I'm sure, for my 8 year-old. I think it represents a bit of innocence, too.

 

[gopunk]

i think most people just like to indulge their children's fantasies every once in a while... it's some thing that is fun and makes everybody feel good.

 

[boyRacer]

It's an excuse not to buy your kids presents... because if they don't get any you can tell them they've been bad. Quite traumatizing.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: conjur
It's magical.

Seriously...just the thought of something magic in the air that night. I always enjoyed it as a child and I enjoy seeing the faces on my girls on Christmas morning. My oldest is 15 and has been out of believing for some time and this will be the last year, I'm sure, for my 8 year-old. I think it represents a bit of innocence, too.

I can see it promoting excitement, so that might be a function. But as for innocence, that almost seems like a cultural typing of the idea. We connect believe in Santa Claus with innocence because only children believe in Santa Claus, and they only do that because they are taught to, and they trust their teachers. I'd say there is no intrinsic connection between innocence and belief in Santa, more of a connection between trust and that belief. Which then brings up the question, why would you mislead a child who trusts you to tell the truth, even in a completely nonharmful way?

 

[Hammer]

cause its fun and its tradition

 

[brxndxn]

I seriously think it sets kids back to teach them fairy tell crap like the Easter Bunny, the tooth fairy, santa claus, etc. I mean, it makes them think stuff like ghosts exist and magic is possible.

Some of the stuff you learn as a kid takes MUCH longer to learn away when you are an adult.

 

[HappyPuppy]

Children will learn what real life is about soon enough. Santa Claus is just a bit of fantasy to extend their years of innocence.

 

[Dragnov]

Originally posted by: Hammer
cause its fun and its tradition

Yup. I was going to say the same thing here.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: gopunk
i think most people just like to indulge their children's fantasies every once in a while... it's some thing that is fun and makes everybody feel good.

But the fantasies are not an inherent part of childhood; these ones are created by adults and *then* indulged by them. More of a nostalgia thing that keeps it going, almost.

 

[SoylentGreen]

Kids, my wallet is your Santa Claus.

 

[notfred]

It gets them to go to bed on time and behave.

"Santa wont come until your asleep, and if you've been bad, you'll only get coal."

Seriously.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Children will learn what real life is about soon enough. Santa Claus is just a bit of fantasy to extend their years of innocence.

Again, I think this innocence-belief connection is mislabled. It's more aptly an ignorance-belief connection (and I don't mean ignorance in any way negative.) We attach innocence to the belief because children are innocent and children believe. You wouldn't call a thirty year old who believes in Santa innocent, so the connection isn't belief, it's childhood.

 

[gopunk]

Originally posted by: HotChic

Originally posted by: gopunk
i think most people just like to indulge their children's fantasies every once in a while... it's some thing that is fun and makes everybody feel good.

But the fantasies are not an inherent part of childhood; these ones are created by adults and *then* indulged by them. More of a nostalgia thing that keeps it going, almost.

i dunno, i think most people (not even just kids) have a fantasy of getting free stuff

 

[Grasshopper27]

Santa is a way to explain God to Children too young to really understand God.

If you're bad, Santa will bring you coal...
If you're bad, God won't welcome you into his kingdom...

Which makes more sense to a 5 year old?

HotChic, you're a smart woman, I believe you'll "get it" when you have children of your own. It isn't a fault now to not understand, just know that your entire perspective on this will change when you have kids.

Grasshopper

 

[gopunk]

Originally posted by: grasshopper26
Santa is a way to explain God to Children too young to really understand God.

If you're bad, Santa will bring you coal...
If you're bad, God won't welcome you into his kingdom...

Which makes more sense to a 5 year old?

HotChic, you're a smart woman, I believe you'll "get it" when you have children of your own. It isn't a fault now to not understand, just know that your entire perspective on this will change when you have kids.

Grasshopper

eh.... so what happens when they find out santa isn't real? wouldn't that sort of ruin the whole god thing...

 

[Grasshopper27]

Originally posted by: gopunk
eh.... so what happens when they find out santa isn't real? wouldn't that sort of ruin the whole god thing...

No, then they are told that Santa is just a substitute for God, but they are grownup enough now to know the truth. This is why it is the parent's place to do this, not a teacher's. Only the parent knows when the child is old enough to make that transition...

Grasshopper

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: grasshopper26
Santa is a way to explain God to Children too young to really understand God.

If you're bad, Santa will bring you coal...
If you're bad, God won't welcome you into his kingdom...

Which makes more sense to a 5 year old?

HotChic, you're a smart woman, I believe you'll "get it" when you have children of your own. It isn't a fault now to not understand, just know that your entire perspective on this will change when you have kids.

Grasshopper

I have two little sisters, 7 years old now, and I've been around for their raising, had quite a hand in it actually. So I do understand, perhaps more than you'd assumed. But you know what I've found is that children are really capable of understanding some very advanced concepts, if you take the time to explain it thoroughly. We taught them about God without the theory of Santa Claus - and they had the option of believing SC like their friends if they wanted to. One chose to and the other didn't, and it didn't matter what was said to them.

[edit] Oh, and I should add that I see a lot more non-Christians promoting the idea of Santa Claus than I do Christians. The Christians are much more inclined to emphasize the "true story of Christmas".

 

[Grasshopper27]

Originally posted by: HotChic
I have two little sisters, 7 years old now, and I've been around for their raising, had quite a hand in it actually. So I do understand, perhaps more than you'd assumed. But you know what I've found is that children are really capable of understanding some very advanced concepts, if you take the time to explain it thoroughly. We taught them about God without the theory of Santa Claus - and they had the option of believing SC like their friends if they wanted to. One chose to and the other didn't, and it didn't matter what was said to them.

Fair enough... Just understand that it isn't anyone else's place to deal with this subject other than the child's parent. That is the key point.

If any teacher ever did this to our children, Thumper would probably knock her block off...

Grasshopper

 

[WinkOsmosis]

Santa doesn't preserve a child's "innocence" in any way. It shows their "innocence" which is something I suppose parents like.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: grasshopper26

Fair enough... Just understand that it isn't anyone else's place to deal with this subject other than the child's parent. That is the key point.

If any teacher ever did this to our children, Thumper would probably knock her block off...

Grasshopper

Right, that's the discussion in the other thread. Here the question is, why would you want to teach your children that there is a SC? You put forth a theory, but I don't find that one particularly likely since, as I said in the edit to my last post, I see more Christians downplaying the idea of Santa and more nonChristians encouraging it.

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: grasshopper26
Santa is a way to explain God to Children too young to really understand God.

If you're bad, Santa will bring you coal...
If you're bad, God won't welcome you into his kingdom...

That's the biggest load of crap in this whole thread.

I see a LOT of christian families that don't tell thier kids the santa claus stories because they beleive thier kids should learn about the "true" meaning of chrismas.

Almost all nonreligious families I know of do the whole santa clause thing.

"If you're bad, God won't welcome you into his kingdom..."

That doesn't even fit in with christianity... are you a mormon or something?

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: Jellomancer
Santa doesn't preserve a child's "innocence" in any way. It shows their "innocence" which is something I suppose parents like.

What exactly do you mean by "innocence" in quotes?

 

[WinkOsmosis]

Originally posted by: HotChic

Originally posted by: Jellomancer
Santa doesn't preserve a child's "innocence" in any way. It shows their "innocence" which is something I suppose parents like.

What exactly do you mean by "innocence" in quotes?

I mean that innocence is a cultural creation. It doesn't mean they haven't committed crimes. It means ignorance of the truth or naivite or whatever.

 

[Grasshopper27]

Originally posted by: HotChic
Right, that's the discussion in the other thread. Here the question is, why would you want to teach your children that there is a SC? You put forth a theory, but I don't find that one particularly likely since, as I said in the edit to my last post, I see more Christians downplaying the idea of Santa and more nonChristians encouraging it.

Why do we teach them about the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny?

Because children are not little adults and shouldn't be treated as adults. They are kids and live in a fantasy world. Everything is larger than life to them, the troubles of the world need not bother them.

Children also don't need to understand the economics of how those presents get there, how they are paid for, where the money comes from, how it helps the economy, etc... From the child's point of view, this magical thing happens once a year where someone who cares about them brings them all these cool things because they were good and ate their peas at supper. It builds positive reinforcement, and by the time the kids are old enough to know the truth, it doesn't matter because the positive reenforcement is already there and usually stays.

Another reason? Tradition, and because life SHOULD be magical to children, they already grow up too fast as it is...

Grasshopper