nah, as a kid I could do whatever I wanted. my friends and I created a whole fantasy world called Dizzon, complete with a new language we created, system of government, social norms, etc. You had to a special dance sequence to enter. Looking back I'm astonished I was popular, I think my moves on the football field saved me from the crushing judgement most of my kin in nerdom experienced.

I think there's a disconnect here, and it lies in my inability to fully articulate my position.

I'm not in any way advocating a style of child-rearing devoid of imagination, art, mystery and magic, my point is that that the real world is full of that anyways, even without the lies some parents feel the need to tell their kids.

Just a thought- maybe fewer adults would be miserable and jaded if they were raised to appreciate the beauty and magic of the real world we live in, without being taught childhood lies that they then have to grow out of as they get older. So many adults seem to lack wonder and imagination; is there a correlation? Whatever the cause, sad, that.

My parents encouraged my imagination, told me stories that I new were just that, but that didn't make them any less awesome. They also exposed me to the beauty of nature, of people, of science. To me that's a far cooler and more permanent sense of wonder.

I didn't get $$ under my pillow from the tooth fairy either as we didn't practice that ruse, I guess my childhood was diminished there as well? Wrong, I had a multi-lingual grandmother who taught me to swear in 7 languages, who paid me a dollar each time I worked one of those curses into a family dinner. That thrilled me to end as a kid, no one else at the table knowing what I was saying. Beyond that I cleaned up the $$$ far beyond what a set of baby teeth could bring. It came in handy at school too.

The above I mention only to underscore that unique family traditions/special moments can be far more meaningful to children than any of the default ish offered by our cultural norms.

I still stand by my first point though, that 15-20 years from now none of your kids will remember 'Santa' as a defining special moment in their holiday memories. Their time with you is what they'll remember. So many parents seem to think that time together isn't enough to merit being 'special'; to kids it's everything.

Every Xmas as a kid my bro and I woke up to stockings filled with toys, fruit, books, all our fav things. I remember feeling so loved, knowing my parents put all that there, just for me.

Anyways, thanks for this thread. For the first time in 36 years I was planning on spending my first Xmas away from my parents as we now live in diff countries. This thread made me realize: fuck that. I gave them a 'casual' call today to inquire about their Xmas plans, turns out they were planning to spend it solo as they're old, live in the middle of wilderness and don't want to drive down to my aunts on precarious roads. My bro is fairly close by but he'll prob be too busy acquiring his daily dose of crack to visit them. Treating them to anything is like pulling teeth so I just bought them two non-refundable tickets to visit me for Xmas week. I'm gonna surprise them tomorrow. On Xmas day I'll take them to the beach and thank them for doing such a wicked job in raising me.

I feel like I totally jacked this thread responding to posts here so I'll bow out now, but thanks gfy. I don't post here often but every time I do something cool transpires. Zoo non-withstanding, ya'll are pretty cool. Merry Xmas/Happy Holidays to everyone.

(and I promise Phoenix, you can still give your kids and amazing Xmas no matter what they believe)

that made me laugh out loud, well done

I think you should tell your 5 year old that Santa has always only existed for those who believe in him. He's magic like that.

You could also tell him that Santa's kryptonite is kimchi, but then he might be afraid to eat it.

I would bet the guy thought he was only doing you a favor by having your kids beliefs conform with what he knows as normal. In Korea Christmas is more of a couples / dating holiday anyway, right? Probably take a while for it to really catch on if ever.

:xmas-smil22

Focused on getting fit? Big pile of chocolate? :1orglaugh:1orglaugh

You are a huge vagina.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/APP_Richard.jpg

You are extremely clever. I love how you delve deep to pull out insults by insinuating i am gay. Someone should nominate you for smartest webmaster of the year.

You must be about five years old, mentally i mean.

@ OP

An Australian news TV show got in strife last night for announcing santa was not real : https://www.facebook.com/theprojectt...52530089693441

Watch out for Donny, then ... allegedly.

Why the fuck would you work your ass off to buy presents for your kids and then let some fat old fuck with a beard get the credit? Fuck that I want my kid to know I bought the presents.

hmmm; pretty sure you can find plenty examples of adults being converted to Christianity if you looked around.


Time to walk the dogs

No disagreement, but many of these people are also desperate for an "answer" and are filling the void with whatever nonsense other people provide social proof for. If no one else believed it, and no one told you about it as a child, don't you think it'd sound just a tad ridiculous? I was indoctrinated young, and it took a lot of encounters with the truth to allow me to think for myself and decide that I am an atheist.

It sounds like you're a believer, and that's fine -- I know that YOU personally are the RIGHT kind of believer, if that's what you are, because of WHO you are. However, many Christians cause a lot of issues overall (ridiculous laws, making people feel dirty for normal things, judgment, hypocrisy, indoctrination of the young, cult-like behavior, child molestation, etc, etc). And don't even get me started on the people who blow themselves up for their religion (sigh). It's just such a damn mess, all for a fairy tale.

Those are the ones you read about; there are literally billions that don't fit that mold.

Couldn't agree with you more.

As for any adult outside of my kid's school teachers, relatives or trusted friends... they have no business telling him any of their beliefs about santa, religion or any other hot button issue.

Yeah, I'd be pissed too. I'd talk with my kid about it. Then I'd talk to the adult who did this.

most adults that 'convert' to christianity have a lot of issues. these are the people who "need" god in their lives or else they are a mess. i can't say i've ever known an adult to become religious later in life for no other reason than they suddenly believe. most do it for addiction reasons, loss of a loved one or feelings of emptiness.

I'm not even a tiny bit religious, but so what if some other grown person has a 'need'? I then 'need' to point out someone is 'worse' than me somehow, because they have a 'need' and I don't? People who feel the 'need' to infer how person xyz is a dumbass because they have a different 'need' or an issue (like there is a person on the planet without any issues whatsoever), need to get down off their high horse and take a look at why they feel they have to point out someone else's supposed shortcomings :2 cents:

No personal dig btw, I enjoy almost all your posts and am on the same wavelength as you when it comes to most of the stuff you post on here :thumbsup

I can see where you are coming from but I am not on a high horse. i just dislike how religion subverts people who have problems in their lives and offer false hope for change/happiness. i cringe when people thank god for giving them strength etc when they should be giving themselves thanks. god..is you! its mental fortitude and its unfortunate organized religion has recognized this weakness in people and exploited it. i am no better than anyone else but if people stepped back and looked at it objectively, its right there. everyone has needs but these people are just being used.

the high horse comment wasn't directed at you personally :thumbsup

thing is, it's like a placebo... and placebos work. If person xyz wants to thank god, thinking it is some other entity, who cares? Not me :)

Organized religion has a ton of faults, but that 'problem' is totally separate than any perceived problem of joe blow finding something in his life whereby he benefits from it, and chooses to thank what they believe to be an outside entity (whereas I'm the same as your example, and any 'god' is just another part of myself). Because someone perceives 'god' as something different than I do, because his mental fortitude isn't exactly the same as mine, and vice versa in other areas, who I am to judge that person, or look down on him any any way shape or form? That would just bring me to the same level of thinking as those who use religion (not everyone who is religious) to look down on others.

also, if it works, it isn't false hope. The mind is one powerful motherfucker, and if that's what it takes for an individual's mind to adapt it's inner belief system, then that's not in and of itself a bad thing, just because some other people don't need that process.

that's how I look at it, anyway :)

thats cool, its really not my place to judge your childhood based on one statement. i actually did something similar myself, creating a whole fantasy world. anyways, my response was based on the idea that telling a kid there is no santa when the majority of his/her peers believe there is one just seems like a way to "adultify" the kid before his/her time. just my opinion. as for why so many adults lack imagination and wonder, some have thought its because the pineal gland has calcified by adulthood but who knows. studies have shown the brains of children/teenagers are basically programmed to push limits and such. i don't believe people are any less happy in adulthood because they believed in santa or whatever other myths as a kid. you are right in that i don't specifically remember santa being a big part of anything looking back but if i focus on it i can remember it being fun to leave a snack out for santa and the reindeer, trying to peek downstairs or camping out at the top of the stairs in hopes of hearing him and running down. i think somehow i really knew all that stuff wasn't from 'santa' but it didn't really matter. christmas was fun.

I totally agree with this. I'm 51, and Jewish, and we still had a tree and Santa at Christmas time. Obviously nothing to do with Christ, but more about family, friends, peace on earth, doing good deeds for strangers and about the MAGIC of all of that. Believing in magic as a child didn't impede my intellectual growth as an adult in any way. I think that instead it widened my ability to imagine and conceive new ideas, enjoy creative arts of all kinds and grasp new concepts more quickly. My son is 3 years old, and he believes in Santa and has a wonderful time doing so. There will be plenty of time for him to deal with adult realities when he grows up, so I'm going to let him be a child for the next oh-so-few years.





.:2 cents:

Oh, well then I stand corrected. If you don't know anyone then I guess it doesn't happen.

My apologies.

most adults that 'convert' to christianity have a lot of issues. these are the people who "need" god in their lives or else they are a mess. rarely adults become religious later in life for no other reason than they suddenly believe. most do it for addiction reasons, loss of a loved one or feelings of emptiness.

..better?

I think baddog is a blast at birthday parties.

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

I am not insinuating anything. I flat out called you a pussy. There's no deeper meaning or conspiracy here. I'm just pointing out something we both already know.

Wait, just so Im clear...the father told your son directly? Or he told HIS sone, who then told your son?

If its the former, Thats a dick move. What kind of person is he?

Ok tough guy. I know people here like to suck up to you because you like to practice wrestling on the ground with other men. It does not impress me though.

Go fuck yourself. I know you are nothing but a bully. Worse than that you are an internet keyboard bully. I suspect the roids have damaged your balls, so perhaps the only way you can get it up is to amp up your testosterone by getting into pretend internet battles. You are a brain dead juice monkey.

Are you even able to go a full year without getting back on the juice? Are your balls totally useless? Have you even managed to do anything with them? Or are you pretending to be too busy to produce anything?

I know this is the point where you will want to challenge me to a fight...telling me to come on down to Bermuda or wherever it is the woman that keeps you is living currently. You are one dumb mother fucker.

Feel sorry for you.
:321GFY

It was the father, he told my son that there is no Santa. That i am Santa, referring to me.

You seem angry.