Does telling kids about Santa, Tooth Fairy, and Easter Bunny affect belief in God?

[Guest]

Quote

 

When I was younger I was told by my parents about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, along with Jesus and God. As time went on I found out that Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy weren't real, but made up fictious characters to please people. Thankfully when I found out I never questioned the existence of God, but isn't it harmful or dangerous to teach children of false characters and then they grow up and find out the truth they can be hurt and non trusting of other things like God or Jesus? I was young when I found out there's no Santa, and it really shook me for awhile. Do you think some atheists were created by being lied to by their parents about some magical figures that were supposed to be real, and then develop a doubt in God as well?

[Vort]

Depends on the person. But yes, I think there is a real danger. We say "Santa loves you, he watches your actions, and he gives you gifts," then later we say, "Just kidding!" Then we tell them "God loves you, he watches your actions, and he gives you gifts." Um...I see a problem here.

[Guest MormonGator]

5 minutes ago, Vort said:

But yes, I think there is a real danger. 

Not really. Most believers in God have believed in Santa too at one point or another. No harm whatsoever. 

[Guest LiterateParakeet]

I don't see a problem.  As my children have grown and learned about Santa it hasn't derailed their testimonies.  So far the two that are old enough have gone on missions, married in the temple . . .  My parents taught me about Santa, but not about God....I managed to sort it all out.  Everyone else I know has done the same.   Do you know anyone, Zarahemla, who chose not to believe in God because of Santa?  I don't.  I know many people who have left the church and I know atheists as well, but none of them have anything to do with Santa. 

I think the difference is that we talk about Santa a little around the holidays (I never make a big deal out of it), and the Easter Bunny some what less.  My poor kids probably think the Tooth Fairy is lame because she is always late, ha ha.  BUT in contrast to the little attention we give them, we attend church every week without fail.  If we aren't sick we are at church.  We even go to church on vacation.  We pray regularly, we read scriptures, we talk about gospel priniciples...the gospel, and the Godhead are a part of our daily lives.

When children are old enough to understand the truth about Santa Claus, they are also old enough to discern the difference between "childhood magic" and the reality of the gospel.  

[Anddenex]

The creation of imaginary constructs, and having children believe in them could possibly have harmful spiritual affects depending on how deeply the child believes and the parents. In my youth, the belief of Santa Clause and other imaginary creatures did not have any effect on my testimony; however, personally, I have a hard time with parents that allow children to believe in a falsehood when the children outright ask, "Is Santa Claus real." I experienced a moment of disappointment in my youth when I discovered Santa was not real, but that Mom and Dad were Mr. & Mrs. Claus. In this light, Mr. and Mrs. Kringle were real as they were my parents, but the jolly old man with a jelly belly and that had a sleigh and reindeer was not real.

Some children, like my third born, are able to discover early on who Santa Claus and Mr. Claus really are (as well as other imaginary creatures). My son talked with mom saying, "Mom, I know the tooth fairy and Santa Claus are not real, and that you and Dad are really them." As Ms. Anddenex pried further my son shared, "I have known for a long time, but was afraid to say anything thinking I wouldn't get any money under my pillow" (Hahahah). He discovered by recognizing the wrapping paper one year from Mom and Dad (we were lazy that year), and from Santa were the same. He deduced that if they were different, then they would have used different wrapping paper.

The harm I feel is when parents keep up the allure of Santa (fictional character) after a child has asked an honest question if they are real and we keep pretending they are. This then can be transitioned to God. This is not any excuse though for anyone to reject God.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, LiterateParakeet said:

I don't see a problem.  As my children have grown and learned about Santa it hasn't derailed their testimonies.  So far the two that are old enough have gone on missions, married in the temple . . .  My parents taught me about Santa, but not about God....I managed to sort it all out.  Everyone else I know has done the same.   Do you know anyone, Zarahemla, who chose not to believe in God because of Santa?  I don't.  I know many people who have left the church and I know atheists as well, but none of them have anything to do with Santa. 

I think the difference is that we talk about Santa a little around the holidays (I never make a big deal out of it), and the Easter Bunny some what less.  My poor kids probably think the Tooth Fairy is lame because she is always late, ha ha.  BUT in contrast to the little attention we give them, we attend church every week without fail.  If we aren't sick we are at church.  We even go to church on vacation.  We pray regularly, we read scriptures, we talk about gospel priniciples...the gospel, and the Godhead are a part of our daily lives.

When children are old enough to understand the truth about Santa Claus, they are also old enough to discern the difference between "childhood magic" and the reality of the gospel.  

yes mormons go to church every Sunday but I grew up where religious people only went to church on Christmas and Easter, the same times Santa and the Easter Bunny are in focus.

[Guest MormonGator]

1 hour ago, LiterateParakeet said:

.I managed to sort it all out.  Everyone else I know has done the same.   Do you know anyone, Zarahemla, who chose not to believe in God because of Santa?  I don't.  I know many people who have left the church and I know atheists as well, but none of them have anything to do with Santa. 

Exactly Lit. 99% of people have this amazing ability to figure it out and :: gasp :: live happy, productive lives as believers in God. Imagine that. 

[Guest LiterateParakeet]

4 minutes ago, Zarahemla said:

yes mormons go to church every Sunday but I grew up where religious people only went to church on Christmas and Easter, the same times Santa and the Easter Bunny are in focus.

That's a good point, but remember my parents didn't take me to church at all, not even for Christmas and Easter.  I still figured it out.  

[Vort]

4 minutes ago, MormonGator said:

Exactly Lit. 99% of people have this amazing ability to figure it out and :: gasp :: live happy, productive lives as believers in God. Imagine that. 

Yet I have an intimate LDS acquaintance who was so devastated to find out there was no Santa Claus that she lost her faith for a time, and when she recovered it to some degree, it took a strange form. That the Santa deception is harmless for some, or even for most, doesn't mean it's universally harmless.

I wonder what deep, Godly truths people imagine they're teaching their children with Santa that they could not teach more effectively by telling the truth?

[Guest MormonGator]

1 minute ago, Vort said:

Yet I have an intimate LDS acquaintance who was so devastated to find out there was no Santa Claus that she lost her faith for a time, and when she recovered it to some degree, it took a strange form. That the Santa deception is harmless for some, or even for most, doesn't mean it's universally harmless.

I wonder what deep, Godly truths people imagine they're teaching their children with Santa that they could not teach more effectively by telling the truth?

Okay one. You might even know another. Maybe three. Doesn't mean what Lit or I said was wrong. 99% (maybe 95%. I'm going to say nine out of ten, maybe eight out of ten) of people really do handle it just fine. 

If I say "Most Chargers fans dislike Ryan Leaf." And you say "Not so! My best friend loves the Chargers and loves Ryan Leaf like a brother." it doesn't mean my point is invalid. Same thing. 

[Vort]

59 minutes ago, MormonGator said:

Okay one. You might even know another. Maybe three. Doesn't mean what Lit or I said was wrong. 99% (maybe 95%. I'm going to say nine out of ten, maybe eight out of ten) of people really do handle it just fine. 

If I say "Most Chargers fans dislike Ryan Leaf." And you say "Not so! My best friend loves the Chargers and loves Ryan Leaf like a brother." it doesn't mean my point is invalid. Same thing. 

Gator, look at the title of the thread. That's what I'm responding to. The answer is "yes".

I would still like to know what deep, Godly truths people imagine they're teaching their children with Santa that they could not teach more effectively by telling the truth.

[Guest LiterateParakeet]

I'm with you, MormonGator.  I've never known anyone to have a problem with it, so it's just not something I worry about...or plan to worry about at all.  Santa and all that other stuff is just one of those fun things of childhood.  

[Guest MormonGator]

2 hours ago, LiterateParakeet said:

I'm with you, MormonGator.  I've never known anyone to have a problem with it, so it's just not something I worry about...or plan to worry about at all.  Santa and all that other stuff is just one of those fun things of childhood.  

 Exactly. It's a fun thing to do with kids and in reality it has absolutely nothing to do with belief in God further in adulthood. It's a false correlation for sure. 

Edited December 30, 2016 by MormonGator

[Guest]

I have been struggling with this question a lot.  I initially wanted to tell my daughter the truth about Santa from the start, but my wife feels differently, so we have let my daughter believe in Santa for now.  But I do worry a little about when it will be time to tell my daughter the truth, because her 4-year old faith in Santa is very real.

On the other hand, i think that it takes so much faith to be an atheist and say absolutely that there is no God that there is much more to the story than "I found out that Santa is not true and am applying this to God."  I can see why many people may be agnostic and say "I don't want to think about religion", but true atheism appears to be a much more difficult belief to sustain than any sort of organized religion.  I question if an atheist can truly be turned solely on the basis of finding out that santa is not real...

Edited December 30, 2016 by DoctorLemon

[Guest]

I've made it a policy to never tell the kids that Santa is real or fictitious.  My wife has chosen to tell the kids there is a Santa and Easter Bunny.  I try to remain silent for my wife's sake.  But when the kids get old enough to suspect, they ask me point blank.  I use my linguistic skills to provide an answer that satisfies them without actually saying yes or no.

Eventually, they get old enough and smart enough to recognize my non-answers for what they are, and they push a little further.  I then tell them the truth that Santa is just a game we play -- a tradition.  The age they figure this out has been different for every child.  My eldest recognized my non-answer at age 7.  My 8 y.o. currently has not figured it out yet.  The point is that I have plausible deniability since I've never actually lied about the topic.

We've also made it a point to separate the secular from the spiritual for both Easter and Christmas.  In so doing, we hopefully separate any intermixing of their beliefs on the matter.

[NeuroTypical]

Santa is very much real.  And when my kids turned 13, I invited them in to join the fold and keep Santa real.  Last week, my wife and kid #1 were Santa. 

[estradling75]

9 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

Santa is very much real.  And when my kids turned 13, I invited them in to join the fold and keep Santa real.  Last week, my wife and kid #1 were Santa. 

This...  When they are a child they understand as a child... when they grow up they need to learn and understand as a grown up.  Everyone that gives a gift (during the Christmas season) is Santa.  So he very much exists, just not in the way a child understands them to be.  Many kids transition just fine between a child-like understanding and an adult understanding... some need help.

 

 

[MarginOfError]

Most children don't develop the cognitive ability to reason with abstract concepts until between the age of 7 and 10. Not surprisingly, this is when most children start to catch on to Santa, the Easter Bunny, Elves on the Shelf, Tooth fairies, etc aren't actually real.  It's part of their normal development.

There is something you must remember in all of this though. To a young child, Santa has the same level of reality as Jesus who has the same level of reality as those monsters under the bed, or the people eater in the closet. 

The inability to deal with abstraction results in a very real belief that something that cannot be seen at all times still persists in existence. 

Never telling your kid Santa is real will not prevent them from questioning the existence of God. That will happen inevitably, as a natural and healthy part of maturation. Don't fool yourself into thinking that questioning Santa will train them to question God. 

The difference in handling these questioning moments is in providing your child with opportunities to feel the Spirit. My eight year old began questioning Christmas traditions like Santa this year. But she has not yet questioned Jesus because talk of Jesus makes her feel differently than talk of Santa. When the day comes that she does question the existence of Jesus, I hope that the testimony she is building and the familiarity of the Spirit will lead her to accept His existence in the absence of proof. 

I very much doubt that discovering Santa is fake is the cause of someone losing their faith. It may be the impetus of the question, but not the cause for the loss. That is purely a matter of testimony; those who have the gift of faith on Jesus Christ will make it through the ordeal while those who do not enjoy that gift may not.

[anatess2]

On 12/29/2016 at 6:27 PM, Vort said:

I would still like to know what deep, Godly truths people imagine they're teaching their children with Santa that they could not teach more effectively by telling the truth.

I see the problem here.

Saint Nicholas is a very important TRUTH figure in Catholicism and most of mainstream Christianity.  Growing up Catholic, Santa was a symbolism of the spirit of Saint Nicholas.  We learned the truth about Saint Nicholas in tandem with Santa but it wasn't until we "grew out of Santa" that we became old enough to understand the symbolism.  @NeuroTypical gets it.  We continue in the spirit of Saint Nicholas when we become the Santa for the little ones.

So, the problem here is when we don't connect Santa the Tree, the lights, the presents, etc. etc. with their symbolism.  They just get stuck with the commercialism or being fun things associated with religious belief instead of religious principles.  I didn't grow up with the Easter bunny.  I don't know who he is actually.  There's nothing much fun about the 40 days of Lent in my growing up years that Easter by itself is a big joyful thing without a bunny needed to help us along.

So yeah, there's Superman - purely fictional character - that growing up we have looked up to as this mystical figure of truth, justice, and the American way (yeah, Filipinos in my generation and prior grow up looking at American as something to look up to) that we realize is just fiction.  And then there's Santa who is something completely different.  And then there's God - something that we know through our testimonies, not through some magical reindeer kind of thing.

As complex human beings, it is quite important how we are taught to recognize these differences that makes it easier for us growing up to understand core gospel principles.

In any case, I grew up like this kid and it was one of those things that just brought me closer to Christ and brought a special magic to Christmas.  Easter is another big thing with Lent and its intensely emotional experience that is the completely opposite of Christmas.  I miss those days, actually.  My kids grew up differently - there's just a much more elaborate spiritual Christmas and Easter experience as a Catholic, especially a Filipino Catholic than in the LDS Church.

P.S.  In Montessori teaching, they discourage the fantastical, so we weren't allowed to dress our kids in superhero themed shoes or shirts or backpacks or lunchboxes and there's no Santa nor Easter Bunny either.  So my 2nd kid did the Santa and Elves thing but he knew Santa was grandpa and the looking-for-elves was just a game the whole time.

 

 

Edited January 3, 2017 by anatess2

[Just_A_Guy]

35 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

I see the problem here.

Saint Nicholas is a very important TRUTH figure in Catholicism and most of mainstream Christianity.

That, and punching heretics in the mouth.

[anatess2]

25 minutes ago, Just_A_Guy said:

That, and punching heretics in the mouth.

Wait wait... I thought they burned them at the stake. 

[Just_A_Guy]

Didn't Nicholas clock Arius at the council of Nicea?

[anatess2]

19 hours ago, Just_A_Guy said:

Didn't Nicholas clock Arius at the council of Nicea?

That he did.  And wrought one of his miracles that earned him Sainthood while he was in jail for it.

[mordorbund]

2 hours ago, anatess2 said:

That he did.  And wrought one of his miracles that earned him Sainthood while he was in jail for it.

Don't tell me what it was. I'm just going to assume that while Nicholas was in jail Arius was bent over stirring the coals in his fireplace when Nicholas miraculously reached through the fireplace and punched him again.

Fun fact: Nicholas wasn't thrown in jail for punching Arius, but for taunting "thy face hath prayed me for it."

[mordorbund]

Just now, mordorbund said:

Don't tell me what it was. I'm just going to assume that while Nicholas was in jail Arius was bent over stirring the coals in his fireplace when Nicholas miraculously reached through the fireplace and punched him again.

Fun fact: Nicholas wasn't thrown in jail for punching Arius, but for taunting "thy face hath prayed me for it."

Finally, a Santa Claus I can welcome into my home.