Should Parents Tell Kids About Santa and the Easter Bunny?

In this day and age it goes without saying that you really can’t do a whole lot in the world without offending at least someone about any given topic. From your view on how things are handled or lack of being handled, to how the government is doing that or how this group is doing this. Even in terms of the little beliefs about holidays, the tooth fairy, Santa and even the Easter Bunny. While I haven’t personally encountered a lot of people saying they don’t do this, not for the religious aspect, but other reasons. There are people who firmly believe in not telling their kids about these mythical stories because they don’t want to lie to their children. Or maybe they just give presents for the sake of giving presents without the bells and whistles people also say too.

The main reason why parents are starting to not tell their kids about these stories is because they simply don’t want to lie to their kids. Now I get it, there are some people in this world who are truly freaking traumatized by their parents for whatever reason. So what. They LIED. I also gotta be honest, my mom told me when I was 10 about Santa, because her mom told her when she was 10. I was DEVASTATED. I wanted the magic to be so real and so true. Now in my nearly mid thirties *shudder* am I messed up? No. In hindsight I should have known because I was sick A LOT over Christmas and sometimes only getting a slight few hours sleep. Truth be told I was allergic to our Christmas tree. So realistically, how could Santa know and magically come the very small window I actually slept? Some years I only slept a few hours. For whatever reason parents these days are all about the “Gentle Parenting” crap and being honest with their kids. And while yes, I am being honest (most times) I’m also being real with my kids. They won’t be in a fake world where everyone is tip toeing around trying not to offend anyone or anything. I believe there are some situations that a lie must happen or even just a little sugar coating in certain circumstances. I don’t see these holidays tainted for me either. I see them as magical and so many wonderful stories that I share with my family. Ones that I want to also give to my children and the magic of believing in something a lot of other children do as well.

Looking back, I don’t think my parents lying to me was any different then them not lying. I don’t see myself as not trusting my parents any more or less than I do now as an adult. I don’t look back with resentment or a hatred because I was lied to during my childhood. In fact, I can’t say it really had a negative effect. Maybe momentarily when I did in fact find out that Santa is not around. But I never really thought about it impacting myself. Especially not as an adult. The fact is, while yes, my parents lied to me about a fairy or a magical bunny, the good memories outweigh any type of negative. I also think we had a pretty modest Christmas and Easter. Which I also need to cut back slightly too with my kids but I just am wanting to give give give! We always got one thing we wanted, we also would get a lot of say outdoor toys for Easter. We were not a house to have presents piled half way up the tree. We certainly were not raised that Easter was a Second Christmas either. Sometimes when people complain on socials about being broke and you see their child with everything under the sun you have to wonder if they really notice where their issues are.

The main reason why myself and my husband have decided to tell our kids about these stories and traditions is because of the magic. There is no denying that magic is the main reason. For wanting to tell your kids these God awful lies. But so many of my childhood memories were around these holidays. From remembering favorite toys like my Creepy Crawler machine? Or my Gooie Louis booger picker game (which now has a come back!). These toys and moments truly were memories I still hold near and dear. Especially since I was the oldest of 3 so when I was told to keep the secret I too felt like I was part of a bigger picture too. Keeping it hidden from my siblings so they still felt the magic as long as possible. Though I think they figured out the Santa trick way before I did. Now having children, and this year that past being the year that our second fella “got it” really makes these moments special. And you bet we do tease that Santa does come to good kids. We are not above that. WE even have that silly little elf that many parents have a love/hate relationship with too. Why? Because that’s another level of magic that parents just want to bring to their families. Ill have a blog about that in the future too.

So really, at the end of the day. If you want to not lie to your kids and take the magic away. Good for you. But your kids are going to be missing a lot of memories and happy moments that their classmates may all share with each other. And I also URGE you this too, if you are one of those families that chooses to not celebrate for whatever reason (religious Included), PLEASE also tell your kids to keep their mouths shut. Because some kids DO believe in the magic with their families, and it’s simply not okay for someone else to ruin that time in their lives. I think that is a major issue now a days is the magic becomes something their school friends feel the need to ruin. And while that choice to celebrate and lie about magic is a family choice, it isn’t a child’s to hear the truth from their school bully or classmate either.