[MrsAprilMay]

So how does your beliefs in Santa carry over to belief in other pretend things? Like fairies for example? You know, making fairy houses in the backyard? Do you think this is an appropriate pretend play for children?

ETA: I didn't mean to single out fairies. The same idea could go if a child had a pretend playmate, or a pet unicorn like I did.

If you don't do Santa, is it just the "You better watch out" part that you're against? Or is it that you feel you should be 100% honest with your kids all the time?

 

[grniys]

Sure. I'm all for pretend play. I think childhood should be full of all the magical wonders and what ifs and fairies and such. It seems so sweet and innocent. What childhood should be, imo.

 

[1littlebit]

i am all for all kinds of pretend... santa, fairies, dust bunnies and all!! i am not going to sit there and try and convince them all of them are real or not.. thats the great thing about pretend!!

 

[angelamariebee]

I don't see the harm in letting them believe as little ones. It's fun to pretend!

 

[hipumpkins]

I keep telling the kids that Santa is real but the dust bunnies are not

And a cute fairy story...
We got a bit snow the other. just enough to cover the grass and when Dd looked out the window she called me, "MOMMY!! Look!!"
I looked out the window and saw deer tracks in the snow.
DD said, "the fairies were making snow angels"

:

 

[RGsMom]

I chose "other" - we aren't doing Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairies, etc - but not eliminating movies, books. I mean our kids can still read "the night b4 christmas" and stuff, but it's just like any other book like "Winnie the Pooh" books and "Barney." Christmas to us is about Christ and I don't want to take away from that or lie to my child about "Santa" and other pretend things. But I will tell them the truth and also ask that they not spout out the truth to other kids unless asked directly.

But I couldn't check the 1st option cuz not doing ANY pretending would eliminate playing w/ toys and having imagination, reading books, or watching movies.

 

[2xy]

I voted "Santa and other pretending," even though my kids have outgrown all that stuff.

I also wanted to add that I know some Pagan families that believe fairies are real.

 

[Jojo F.]

DS (5.5) asks me if these things are real, I don't say yes but, I don't say no either. It's fun to pretend and he has an awsome imagination. Some people choose to believe and some people choose not to. I will always give him a gift from Santa, just like my mother does for me

:

He's asked me about aliens and I tell him some people believe they are real and some don't. He said he decided to believe in them

Just a quick anecdote- my aunt and uncle decided to not do any Santa, etc. When my cousin got a little older and heard the other kids at school talk about Santa she decided he was real and would argue about it with her parents. She is older now and can remember this but, she still likes to believe

There are many things that I believe in that others don't and visa versa, kwim?

 

[OkiMom]

Weve decided to tell her that Santa is in all of us, its the spirit of giving and love that comes with the season. We still are going to put out cookies and milk (Mom and Dad need food when wraping gifts after all) and having "Santa" call (FIL loves calling kids and acting like Santa). My family did the same with me even though I never believed in a jolly ole guy at the north pole thing.
Im all for pretend play. Faries, gnomes, hobbits whatever she can come up with.

 

[Mama2Bug]

We don't do Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy or any other parent-invented character. I wouldn't tell DD that they are real because I know (for sure and for certain, based on fact, etc) that they are absolutely not real. We do read Santa stories, watch holiday specials and enjoy Santa-themed holiday trappings. We enjoy him as a special fictional character who is unique to the season.

Fairies, on the other hand, DD wholeheartedly believes in. We have books about them etc. I have never told her that they are real. I have told her that I, personally, have never seen one. I have told her that I am not sure if they are real. But because I don't have any evidence that they don't exist, I wouldn't tell her that they absolutely don't. She insists that they are real and that she knows that for sure.

The difference is that I don't tell my child things are true that I know to be make-believe. I let gray areas remain gray. She'll make up her mind about those things on her own, in her own time.

 

[soposdedi]

I was NEVER allowed to do the innocent, child like pretending, about anything

. It was pretty horrible. Dd is and has always been aware that santa and the like are not 'real'. But sometimes she will ask me if it's ok to believe in him anyway. And I always tell her, baby, you can believe in whatever you want... it is just an enjoyable thing to do, and it's good for their little souls, I think. For us, the tooth fairy and stuff is just fun. I think it is possible to overthink this stuff

.

 

[Llyra]

We don't do the "better watch out" part of Santa-- I think that's horrible. But we certainly have Santa here, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy (when the time comes-- mine are still too little), Jack Frost, fairies and gnomes, dragons, unicorns, and a few others that are less common. We're Pagan (well, Pagan UUs), though, and that changes the landscape a bit for us. "Christmas" for us is the winter solstice, which is the birthday of the sun.

 

[Mama Poot]

Alright well, I voted "No Santa" but allow other pretending. The fairy thing isn't a pretend idea for me, its a part of my spiritual beliefs. I do believe in fairies, angels, other elemental beings. I've never physically seen any of those, but I've had enough experience through magical gardening and other miscellaneous experiences to have my beliefs solidified. So this is a tough one I guess. If my kids want to believe in unicorns, have an imaginary friend, or anything like that I am fine with it. But the big fat guy in a red suit coming down the chimney? I think its ridiculous and all the things that go along with it are ridiculous as well.

 

[Joyster]

I'm all about the pretend play. Heck, I still believe in fairies and little 'uns. Must be the Irish in me.

 

[marie1080]

We don't do Santa. We don't present anything to DD as 'real' that is not. However, she still pretends. She pretends to be a kitten. She pretends to nurse her babies, etc.

 

[AbbieB]

My family's lives are full of pretend things right now. How could it not be, DD is 5.

All of the pretend stuff is almost totally driven by DD. I can't say Santa is totally driven by her since I guess we started the game.

I will answer her questions about Santa honestly when she asks. She just hasn't asked any questions that have required me to say "Santa is pretend". I answer most of her questions with "what do you think" and then answer from there. I guess I handle Santa facts like sex facts.

I don't feel like I am lying to her about sex when I don't spell out the graphic details and I don't feel like I am lying to her about Santa when I don't point out that he is pretend.

I think this is going to be DD's last year of believing in Santa. Her questions are getting pretty detailed so I expect the "right" question to come up at any time. I don't think this will be the end of pretending about Santa though.

 

[SandraS]

I hope my daughter's husbands have to tell them Santa doesn't really exist in human form.

I wished the same for my sons, but alas they found out. Saddest day.

We do it all here - the magic of the tooth fairy, Easter bunny, Santa, everything. What a glorious gift I'm giving my children with imaginations and fantasy and fun!

 

[dawncayden]

I'm in neither camp of 'doing Santa' or 'not doing Santa'.
I'm all for pretend, I don't want to stop that at all (I'm an actor myself, so I love to pretend)
I want ds to believe in what he wants to believe. I don't want to tell him something is real when its not, and I don't want to tell him something is fake unless he specifically asks.
Things like Santa and the Easter bunny, I don't push them on ds. THey are there in stories and songs, but I don't go on about them myself. We do Easter, but ds knows that dh and I hide the eggs for him to find. We do presents at Christmas but all of them are marked from family not SC.

I don't want to tell him what to pretend and also what not to pretend, I want to leave it up to him.

 

[Teenytoona]

I'm all about pretending, but I'm not into Santa. I know lots of people love it, but I see it as more of an excuse for kids to get everything they could possibly ask for and I'm not about such consumerism (at least that's how he seems to manifest IRL). Plus, wouldn't that makes Santa a complete jerk since there are poor kids who get nothing?

 

[sunnmama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrsAprilMay If you don't do Santa, is it just the "You better watch out" part that you're against? Or is it that you feel you should be 100% honest with your kids all the time?

I'm an "other" We do Santa, imaginary friends, fairies, unicorns--the whole shebang. BUT, we are pretending and dd knows it. My dd has had a firm grasp on fantasy and reality from a young age (3-4, I guess), and understands when we are pretending and when we are talking about reality. So we've been able to be completely honest and indulge.

Dd has a really amazing imagination (like most kids, I would guess). She has had an extremely well-developed imaginary dragon for almost 5 years. So I don't believe that my honesty has hindered her imagination, or imaginative joy, one bit.