-Removed-I thought about this when my kids were little. I taught them the truth because why give glory to a myth? I taught them God gets the glory in all things.
Today I have strong Christian kids( who are adults now) and grand kids ( who are adults as well) who love God and our Lord Jesus.
They are all church going and good people, no damage done by telling them the truth.
Originally posted by checkbaiterThey sound damaged to me - still believing in fairy stories.
I thought about this when my kids were little. I taught them the truth because why give glory to a myth? I taught them God gets the glory in all things.
Today I have strong Christian kids( who are adults now) and grand kids ( who are adults as well) who love God and our Lord Jesus.
They are all church going and good people, no damage done by telling them the truth.
Originally posted by wolfgang59Believing that God is a fairy tale is the damage being done today.
They sound damaged to me - still believing in fairy stories.
Believing that there is no higher power in the universe than oneself is the damage being done today.
Believing that there are no consequences for one's own actions is the damage being done today.
My kids have only ever seen Santa Claus as being a part of the commercial flurry that goes on in the place where I come from ~ through my 'testimony' or attitude, I suppose, and a Christmas trip a few years ago ~ and they are aware that the same flurry exists elsewhere too through TV.
-Removed-I also don't have children. I don't like them, and I don't understand a thing about them. And they never understand me. In short, I am not compatible with children.
Anyway, while parents may not explicably state that Snow White is real, for many young children it is very real, and unless the parents fear the children might suffer from nightmares, most parents don't go through a lot of trouble explaining how it's all fake. We're all children only once, with the imagination of a child only once. Why not use that? As they get older, children will easily understand that Snow White is fake.
With regards to Santa Clause, in The Netherlands we have a similar tradition called Sinterklaas and I too was once fooled yearly by my parents (and the neighbour, who would dress up as Sinterklaas) where I believed that if I put a carrot in my shoe in early December, Sinterklaas would come by in the middle of the night and leave presents for us. The carrot was food for Sinterklaas' white horse. Poor classmate whose parents were JWs and thus never experienced the fun. Last I heard, she lost all contact with her parents.
I was about eight when my parents told me it was all fake. I remember being quite angry and disappointed at the time.
Looking back, it's a wonderful tradition, and it tickles the imagination of the child to no end. Do you know that Sinterklaas lives in a castle in Spain? Do you know the sensation of being a six year old going on holiday to Spain with his parents and realising he is now in Sinterklaas' home country?
I have not suffered any negative consequences and I wouldn't have want to miss it.
Now, telling your children about how there is a higher being who knows everything you do, and never ever telling them how that's all make-believe...... there I see problems.