LIAR; LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE...

That childhood wonder; the belief in magical or fantastical things that, as you grow older, fade and you realise how silly it was to believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny.

You begin to see the signs that rip crevasses in your faith. Common sense takes over; you no longer accept the adult's lies that those are reindeer or rabbit pellets covering the carpet or the roof. The idea that some beautiful fairy somewhere collects teeth so that some other 'bad-dude' won't? Really, that's the best you could come up with?

The thought that these mythical creations can reach everyone in the entire world in one 24-hour period should be a dead give-away that it's a 'tale' of epic proportions.

We teach our children not to lie and then we tell them some of the biggest whoppers out there – and INSIST they are true!

Our children believe a bunny hops all over the world bringing chocolate Easter eggs (that somehow HE laid) for all the 'good' little boys and girls. So, when a child doesn't get one, they're what? BAD? No Christmas present? Sorry, you must have been BAD. No money under your pillow for that tooth? It must have been rotten. She left the tooth there? Whoa, you musta been really BAD.

The single parent, struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their head knows Santa isn't stopping by this year, cries themself to sleep each night, knowing the disappointment on their child's face come Christmas/Easter morning when all the other kids are out smiling and laughing; showing off their new things and their kid looks at them and asks why Santa/the Easter Bunny thought they were BAD.

Santa is fake; so is the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. Make sure your kid knows this before they hear it from someone else; someone like me, who won't sugar-coat it. I don't like to see the tears in a child's eyes anymore than you, but if you hadn't been lying to them all this time, the tears wouldn't have to be there, would they?

A child can be really happy in the world with mythical creatures and storybook tales, but when those characters take on a life of their own, it's time to reveal the truth; or were you okay with your child imitating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, crawling around in a sewer?

Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy are all wonderful fictional characters that all children should meet and have memories of – but they should not be memories of disappointment or confusion or false hope. You can introduce these worldwide characters to your children and explain who they are and what they represent and why some kids think they are REAL.

Something as simple as, "Well, Santa Claus was invented by the Coke Co. to promote their product, and, because similar characters existed in folk tales of other nationalities, he was promoted to SANTA CLAUS, the dude who'll make your Christmas perfect.
"Small bits of each tradition were blended until the man known as Santa arrived with his red suit, white beard and fat stomach.
"He's not a real person, but he evokes the feeling and spirit of Christmas visually for the world to grasp and hold on to. But he doesn't bring you presents or live at the North Pole, or have flying reindeer – those were made up by people who drank too much of the early Coke products. Your gifts, and indeed, everyone's gifts, are bought and paid for or handmade with love, from a person you know and love, not from some stranger. And when you don't get what you want, it's because your mum or dad or family member decided you didn't need it, or couldn't afford it for you. That's why poor people don't get fancy gifts – not because Santa doesn't love them, but because he doesn't exist and they just don't have the finances to buy things that aren't needed; they need money for things like food, light and heat."

Childhood wonder should allow the imagination to soar, ideas to flourish and magic to happen. It should evoke dreams and surprise; it should be about the unreal or the fanciful – but it should not be about a lie your parent's perpetrate and you believe until your heart is crushed and your trust broken, lying in dust at your feet. (And no, I am not talking religious beliefs, Religious beliefs are totally separate and are for each person to determine what is, and is not real, for themself.)

What age do you tell your child the three biggest beliefs in their lives are a lie. Six? Seven? Eight? Nine? Ten? We've all heard someone whispering behind their hand, "I can't believe that kid still believes in Santa; s/he's like what, 11 now?" Are YOU going to be the one to break that kid's heart and beliefs???

What age is a good age to tell your kids YOU are a big, fat, LIAR?

Merry Christmas,
Disgraced Elf,
khrys...

PHOTO CREDIT:
Santa.Claus photo - celebritiesinview.com
Tooth.Fairy photo - innovationdrivedental.com
Easter.Bunny photo - andreasmoser.wordpress.com
Liar.Liar photo - hknshaven.blogspot.com

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