My 7 year old believes in Santa Claus and I was wondering is bad for kids to believe in Santa Claus. I always remind her that the gifts are blessings from God. I thought about telling her the truth but I don't want to break her heart.
Is it bad for a child to believe in Santa Claus?
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When kids are young, they are excited for things like Santa. When I was teaching a 6 year old the true meaning of Christmas, I told her how Christmas is about Jesus' birth. Then she asked the question. Is Santa still real then, if it's not about him? I then said, well, do you believe that Santa is real? And she said yes. So I then continued, then he is real in your heart. And she took it well. So, I didn't say that Santa wasn't real, but I did tell her the true meaning of Christmas at the same time.
I hope that helps!
I hope that helps!
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Sketcher
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Before I caught on that Santa wasn't real, I'd tell my parents that I was asking him for the big-ticket items they couldn't afford, year after year. I don't know how that made them feel, but if I ever have kids, I'm leaning towards telling them the truth myself.
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I think its bad to feed into the mysticism that western society created and commercialized under Santa Claus. The backstory isn't a bad one, comes from a background of Saint Nicholas giving toys to kids. But to run with the story that there's a guy in the North Pole with reindeer, going through the roof and stuff, and the elves, just because its a cooler story that makes them happy, it dumbs down the value of celebrating the holiday.
So tell her the truth, that backstory of how it came about, what western society done with it, and explain the focus of why you instead celebrate Christmas by honoring Jesus' birth. Let it be an educational opportunity.
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MyGivenNameIsKeith
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Children who believe that the gifts they receive Christmas morning are from a magical man with unending resources are less likely to appreciate what they have been given, and the sacrifices their parents make in providing them. Greed and materialism can overshadow the holiday season, which is meant to be about giving, loving, and worshiping God. Children whose parents are on a tight budget may feel that they have been overlooked by Santa, or even worse, deemed one of the "bad" boys or girls.
An even more troubling aspect of telling our children that Santa comes down the chimney each year to leave their gifts is that it is, obviously, a lie. We live in a society that believes that lying for the "right" reason is acceptable. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone, it is not a problem. This is contrary to what the Bible tells us. "For the Scriptures say, 'If you want to live a happy life and good days, keep your tongue from speaking evil, and keep your lips from telling lies'" (1 Peter 3:10, NLT). Of course, telling our children that Santa is real is not a malicious deception, but it is, nevertheless, a lie.
Although it is probably not typical, some children honestly feel deceived and betrayed by their parents when they find out that Santa is not real. Children trust their parents to tell them the truth, and it is our responsibility not to break this trust. If we do, they will not believe more important things we tell them, such as the truth about Christ, whom they also cannot physically see.
An even more troubling aspect of telling our children that Santa comes down the chimney each year to leave their gifts is that it is, obviously, a lie. We live in a society that believes that lying for the "right" reason is acceptable. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone, it is not a problem. This is contrary to what the Bible tells us. "For the Scriptures say, 'If you want to live a happy life and good days, keep your tongue from speaking evil, and keep your lips from telling lies'" (1 Peter 3:10, NLT). Of course, telling our children that Santa is real is not a malicious deception, but it is, nevertheless, a lie.
Although it is probably not typical, some children honestly feel deceived and betrayed by their parents when they find out that Santa is not real. Children trust their parents to tell them the truth, and it is our responsibility not to break this trust. If we do, they will not believe more important things we tell them, such as the truth about Christ, whom they also cannot physically see.
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ValleyGal
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Imo, Santa Clause is a harmless childhood make-believe character. As children grow, they learn the difference between what is real and what is make-believe. And it's okay for this to happen. As children come to know what is real, it is okay to talk about why you allowed them to believe (maybe it's to not be "different" from other kids, or maybe you have a great bedtime story about the real St. Nick, etc).
My son believed in Santa, and when he came to know the truth, we talked about how he, too, can be a Santa representative by becoming a giving man, by helping those less fortunate, and by caring about others. Imo, Santa stories can teach our children many good things such as giving, joy, miracles, selflessness, hard work all year for one night of giving, giving for what the recipient needs rather than what we think we want them to have, and many other values.
My son believed in Santa, and when he came to know the truth, we talked about how he, too, can be a Santa representative by becoming a giving man, by helping those less fortunate, and by caring about others. Imo, Santa stories can teach our children many good things such as giving, joy, miracles, selflessness, hard work all year for one night of giving, giving for what the recipient needs rather than what we think we want them to have, and many other values.
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Dan Brooks
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Yes, it is. Think about this. You tell your child about God and Jesus. You tell your child about Santa Claus. She finds out later that Santa Claus isn't real. What is she going to think about God and Jesus?
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Dan Brooks
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Kit Sigmon
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I see this going on a lot, parents/adults do the Santa stuff and they get children to believe in him...then the parents don't want to tell the child there's no Santa to believe in/don't want to break the child's heart, disappointment etc...stop the merry-go-round with this stuff and teach your child to believe God's Word and to accept Christ as Lord and Savior... in other words, teach them about Christ the Lord/ believe in Christ/ so they to will seek Him for salvation.
Children's make believe stories have a time and place...they shouldn't be placed above the Bible and no make believe character should be idolized and passed off as being real.
When I was little, we were raised in church and had biblical instruction/teachings.
Mom didn't do the Santa is watching you/be good or you'll get no presents, there was no Santa is real, lets go to the store and get your picture taken with him etc.
Santa was contained in the beloved tales of: T'was Night Before Christmas, Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer...we were also read: How The Grinch Stole Christmas, The Elves and the Shoemaker, Frosty The Snowman etc.
None of those characters in those make believe stories were ever presented to
me or my brothers as being real and we should believe in them.
Christmas was always looked forward to and many biblical accounts relating to
Christ's birth, life, teachings etc were taught and or read to us.
Gifts were from our parents,family members and friends...we didn't know what was inside the wrapped boxes that were brought in and placed beneath the tree and or on the lowboy...some times we had a tree and other times we didn't.
We were poor and there were times when there wasn't any presents other than
food items. When things were good, presents were usually things we needed like clothing items, shoes and a toy or board game.
Moms' cooking was the best and all our family and friends knew it, they all came
to our place for Thanksgiving and Christmas...whether we had a tree or presents,
there would be food and lots of it.
If Christmas fell on Sunday, it was all the more special and there'd be a beautiful
church service and the older church ladies would bring treats and little gifts for us children and they'd sing the Christmas hymns.
We lived close enough to walk to church, there was usually a bit of snow and mom
and us would sing Christmas hymns to and from church.
Such good memories! Sorry for going on so.
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GandalfTheWise
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FWIW, we didn't do Santa with our kids. We just told them up front that he (and Rudolph and Frosty and the tooth fairy and easter bunny etc.) were all make believe. As I recall, we'd joke around about "Santa" at times and do some of the stuff, but they knew it was us. As it turned out, our girls ended up taking over stocking stuffing duties because they enjoyed it so much.
This topic came up when we got together a bit ago. They said they were glad we hadn't done that stuff. I joked that we had planned on them being the ones to ruin it for all the other kids.
This topic came up when we got together a bit ago. They said they were glad we hadn't done that stuff. I joked that we had planned on them being the ones to ruin it for all the other kids.
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Jonathan Leo
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Sorry now, but telling your kids that santa exists is bad enough, telling her the santas gifts are from God is I can't describe what word I have for it.
When your child grows up and finds out that you were lying about santa all along, she will also doubt God because she will know the presents were from you.
Look at all the greed, misery, drunkenness, gluttony, envy, etc etc this fictitious character creates. Yes for some it's joyful, but for others it's a burden.
Although it's meant to be the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, it's pagan and most definitely satanic. Even the very words of santa make Satan. Jesus by the way was not born on Christmas Day, it was between late summer and early fall because the Shepards attended their flocks at this time of year, not in December when it was cold. And not once does the bible ever mention a Christmas celebration or when Jesus was born exactly. It is clear we are not to celebrate the birth of Jesus rather his way of life, his death for our penalty and His resurrection.
There's a good YouTube video about why Christians shouldn't celebrate Christmas. Look up Micheal chriswell on the same title. Got hates it and so should we, not pretend or the proper word, lie, to our kids about such idols.
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Honestly, when I was a little girl and was told about Santa, I was thrilled. I was in constant wonder in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The movies..the stories that my parents would tell me about Santa seemed 'magical' for my innocent mind to grasp. You can't imagine how excited and hopeful I was every Christmas. There was an innocent expectation that if I was good, I'd get something nice from Santa.
But when I heard noises coming from the living room and witnessed my parents placing gift-wrapped presents I haven't seen before under the tree.. That's when it all clicked and I became bitter, resentful, and distrustful of my parents. Every single mystical character they'd tell me that was supposedly real (tooth fairy, Easter bunny, etc) was a lie. To a little girl, that was a big deal for me. To know my parents, who I trusted and looked up to and expected to know more than me, lie to my face..was heartbreaking. From that moment on, I felt indifferent to the holiday. Of course, they weren't saved at the time so they didn't tell me about about our wonderful Savior. I only came to like the holiday again as I grew older and learned to appreciate the sacrifice and hard work of my parents getting something for me.
But when I heard noises coming from the living room and witnessed my parents placing gift-wrapped presents I haven't seen before under the tree.. That's when it all clicked and I became bitter, resentful, and distrustful of my parents. Every single mystical character they'd tell me that was supposedly real (tooth fairy, Easter bunny, etc) was a lie. To a little girl, that was a big deal for me. To know my parents, who I trusted and looked up to and expected to know more than me, lie to my face..was heartbreaking. From that moment on, I felt indifferent to the holiday. Of course, they weren't saved at the time so they didn't tell me about about our wonderful Savior. I only came to like the holiday again as I grew older and learned to appreciate the sacrifice and hard work of my parents getting something for me.
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My wife and I never denied the existence of Santa, but spoke of the historical St. Nicholas, but we also never affirmed his existence, especially all of the fanciful stories. There were always a few presents from Santa under the tree, but we always deflected questions about him. I never want to lie to my kids, but Santa does embody some of the spirit of Christmas.
Santa can be used to help show kids the way to the real meaning of Christmas, but should never overshadow the Christ Who is the focus.
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Even before I was a believer, I would not teach my child about Santa Claus. I respected her intelligence and did not want to teach a lie to her. Now, I did carefully instruct her not to tell the other children there was no Santa Clause, but to let their parents take care of that. She was careful about that.
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It is almost sad/funny. Here are parents going all out to buy these presents for their beloved children and then Santa gets the credit! On top of that of course, he totally distracts from the Savior and the true meaning of Christmas. Frankly,, he is a pagan god. He flies through the air, knows if you have been bad or good and rewards the good.
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We are told not to lie, in the Bible. This is an easy one. We don't need Santa "to show us the true meaning of Christmas" because he doesn't do that at all! The Savior doesn't need His help!
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It is almost sad/funny. Here are parents going all out to buy these presents for their beloved children and then Santa gets the credit! On top of that of course, he totally distracts from the Savior and the true meaning of Christmas. Frankly,, he is a pagan god. He flies through the air, knows if you have been bad or good and rewards the good.
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We are told not to lie, in the Bible. This is an easy one. We don't need Santa "to show us the true meaning of Christmas" because he doesn't do that at all! The Savior doesn't need His help!
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aiki
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If knowing that Santa Claus is a fiction will break your daughter's heart, you ought to be concerned. I don't see how becoming so attached to a falsehood, to an illusion, as your daughter apparently is, can ever be a good thing. What's wrong with telling her the truth? It's the truth! Is a lie - however sweet - better than the truth? Not in God's economy.
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Children's hearts don't always know what's real and what's not real. And no matter how much their hearts say something is real, it can be totally false. As parents it is good to teach them to tell what is real from what is not. It is our duty, as parents, to do what the Bible says and be models, by keeping our lips from telling lies.
It's no big deal to tell your kids the truth! As I mentioned above I told my child the truth and neither of us has regretted it a bit. The Bible says to be more concerned about the Heavenly Father's opinion than men's opinions. I think some parents go on with the Santa tales because they don't want to seem "out of it" in our culture. Or, they are reliving nostalgic moments from their childhood. Make new nostalgic moments with truth about the Savior!
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ValleyGal
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When I was a child, all the children "believed" in Santa. We all eventually found out the truth and not one of us was traumatized by the discovery that it was all make-believe. I treasure all those years of excitement and wonder - and yes, even the year or two spent thinking about the impossibility of it all. I do not consider it "lying to your children." I consider it participating in make-believe, something all children need as a regular part of child development. And yes, I played make-believe in other ways with my son, such as having a picnic in the living room and making believe we were at a park, or building a fort and making believe we were in a forest. In fact, I've never in my life heard of anyone against the idea of Santa until I went onto the internet. Wow, talk about depriving children of a beloved childhood experience.
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If you were not traumatized, then that is your story. I'm glad you were not hurt. But there are others who report feeling deeply hurt and betrayed by the lie of Santa. When you read a child Dr. Seuss books you teach it ias a fantasy, not a reality. Santa is not only taught as a reality but is a lie that distracts from the truths about our Savior. If parents care to make it be so, their children can have just as many beautiful and nostalgic memories focusing on something that is true and will help them all their lives.
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