Now that I’m a mother, one of my favorite Christmas activities is taking my kids to see Santa and taking their pictures. I’m not one of those parents standing in line for hours for this event, but I’ll take advantage of a Santa with no wait time.
It’s not because I enjoy a Rockwell-style holiday photo, quite to the contrary. Some of my favorite photos are those of my kids freaking out on Santa’s lap.
I can’t explain it, I guess I find joy in the little things in life.
Crying while on Santa’s lap is a right of passage, and believing that Santa exists and keeps a roster of good and bad children is essential. Unfortunately, however, the generation of parents who precede me think that the best option is to shield their children from this magical aspect of the Christmas season.
#WIONFineprint | #SantaIsntReal has been trending with millions of views on TikTok. Many parents suggest that they don't want their kids to believe a lie. Some believe that the magic of Christmas shouldn’t be built up on Santa.@MollyGambhir brings you more details pic.twitter.com/MPwcFbWKhJ
— WION (@WIONews) December 5, 2022
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#SantaIsntReal
I don’t have TikTok, and I probably never will since from what I can tell, nothing good ever comes from the Chinese-owned social media site. The latest moronic trend seems to be #SantaIsntReal.
Thanks to a Gen Z mother’s video that has gone viral stating that she won’t allow her children to believe in Santa as a form of “gentle parenting,” more and more of the worst generation ever to walk the Earth are jumping on this latest depressing bandwagon. Or perhaps I should call it a sleigh.
According to this mother, “Telling kids that Santa is real is a lie. And I don’t believe in building my kids up on a lie.”
Oh please, then I would assume this mother doesn’t tell their child any lies. I’ll be interested to know how she handles the life and death questions or if a shot will hurt.
Father Christmas is a myth. No more real than Peppa Pig. We should respect children enough to always be honest with them. #SantaIsntReal
— Luke ♱ (@lukeappleton) December 2, 2022
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Gentle Parenting
This latest trend on TikTok is due in large part to perhaps one of the worst ideas ever to come out of Generation Z – Gentle Parenting. This concept is based on a premise that you don’t provide any punishment or rewards for bad or good behavior.
You parent your children using kindness and respect versus demands and threats. And this is why there are so many terrible little shits running around lately because they have parents that don’t understand the concept of boundaries.
Children want boundaries; that’s why they push them. They need to know how far they can go, and having reasonable boundaries makes them feel safe.
It also helps them grow up to become law-abiding citizens and responsible adults.
“I don’t want to scare my children into thinking that they have to behave a certain way or that they were more ‘naughty or nice’ than another child based on Christmas gifts,” another Gen Z mama bear said.
This is precisely part of the bedrock of how you build the idea of consequences related to behavior. Granted, it should be happening year-round, not just in December. Still, small children don’t understand the concept of intrinsic motivation, you over-educated dimwit.
Saw a comment that said “gentle parenting only works on gentle kids” and damn if that ain’t true 🤣
— Lilian (@llvrgs) December 9, 2022
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Trauma
So-called childcare expert Sarah Ockwell-Smith argues that teaching your children to believe in Santa is akin to cruel and unusual punishment.
“The idea of an all-seeing, judgmental mythical being spying on children is quite trauma inducing,” says Rockwell-Smith. “There’s no surprise that so many kids cry when they meet Santa.”
Kids cry when they meet Santa because they have to walk away from their parents and sit with strangers in an unknown environment. They also wig out when they see the Easter Bunny. However, I think that is somewhat justified as traumatic, as some Easter Bunnies are downright terrifying.
In our house, we perpetuate the lie that Santa has year-round surveillance of our kids through a Scentsy wax warmer we got as a housewarming gift in the shape of a snowman. So we keep that bad boy out year-round in the dining room as a constant reminder that Santa is always watching and is always taking notes.
Do you want to know why we do this? Part of it is because it’s mildly amusing, but another reason is because parenting is hard.
Raising responsible citizens who put out good and worth into the world when they grow up is a massive undertaking. I have no shame in using Santa as one of many tools in my parenting toolbox.
https://twitter.com/LauraKronen/status/1598509508741009408?t=B5908-y2S0vS22YpNWtjJA&s=19
The Point
One parent tried to claim that Santa shouldn’t be a vital component of the holiday anyway, “The magic of Christmas shouldn’t be built up on Santa. It’s about the gift of giving to one another.”
My mother once told me I didn’t have any magic in my life because I refused to believe in the concept of time travel. I have at least an ounce more magic in my soul than this Gen Z hot mess.
Christmas and Santa go hand in hand, and Santa is the key to the magic of the holiday. Taking Santa away from your little ones is snuffing out the magic in their lives.
Believing in things like Santa isn’t just about magic; it’s about faith and hope. It’s about believing in things that are universally good and things that defy the world we currently live in.
These are important for youth; it’s how they grow their imaginations and the inherent goodness that lives within their souls. It is the stuff that the future is made of, and to put it simply, it’s fun, and it’s nice.
As one millennial parent put it, “The world f**king sucks, everything sucks right now. I want my kids to hold on to the magic of Christmas and Santa for as long as possible.”
Good for you, fellow millennial mama. A little magic and whimsy never hurt anybody, and your kids need magic and stories to help them make sense of the world around them and the world they will grow into.
Besides, Santa is real. He lives in the hearts of girls and boys worldwide and still lives in this millennial’s heart.
What's Brian Stelter doing for work now… playing a mall Santa?
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) December 10, 2022
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