Elf on the shelf = Santa's scout.

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   Kathryn L Hillposted 5 years ago

   He will be watching out to see all the good and bad things your children do if you buy him and put him in your house. Every night he flies to the North Pole and then reports to Santa the goings-on in your house! This tattle-tale scout is available from from Thanksgiving day to Christmas day! How convenient for the parents who merely point to the scout when their child starts to lag.
   
   The amazing thing is the kids actually believe the scout is alive. He has become an icon as the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny and Santa are! The difference is, his peering presence is there day after day until Christmas!
   
   I do not think this new Christmas "tradition", ( since 2005) is psychologically healthy!
   Do you?

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      wildernessposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Two of my grandchildren live with "Luke", the elf of the shelf.  They get great glee out of his antics and movements around the house at night - I do not see any more mental health problems than Santa Claus.
      
      When the family spent a night at our house, for instance, it was with excitement and wonder when "Luke" appeared the next morning at the top of our Christmas tree, followed by a discussion of how he got there and how he knew where they were.  I expect that, like Santa, they will be disappointed when they figure out that Luke isn't real, but without any harm done by the whole thing, either.  Past experiences with Santa didn't produce anything but a disappointment that the magic isn't real and I don't expect that Luke will be any different.

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      The0NatureBoyposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Controlling others by deception isn't a wise thing under any circumstance that I've found. For children that is especially true because more times than not they will find out the truth and resent their parents although they might not say it but their actions will tell it all. They will grow into being disobedient to them and openly show some form of resentment.

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         Kathryn L Hillposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         I agree.

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         Kathryn L Hillposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-tyrann … 1544634142

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   Aime Fposted 5 years ago

   We have one. I told my daughter nothing about him watching her and telling Santa everything. He’s just a fun magical little elf that moves around the house every night and she has fun finding him every morning.
   
   I don’t really like the idea of using Santa/Christmas as a threat, personally. So I don’t. Santa brings her a present or two even if she’s misbehaved because she misbehaves sometimes year round and we deal with it in December the same way we do every other month.
   
   I want Santa and Christmas to be a fun and happy experience for my daughter so I keep it light. If other people want to use it as a parenting tool then that’s their business. I don’t think anyone is psychologically scarring their kids with Elf on the Shelf, though.

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      wildernessposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      It's been many years since our children were "Santa" age, but we did use the "Santa's watching" gig.  Never made a bit of difference to the kids though (any more than it does to our grandchildren now) as to how they behave - they seemed to understand or assume that Santa would bring gifts whether they were bad or good.  And we do the same with our current elf and grandkids with the same result; no change in behavior.  Just laughs and excited searches for that naughty elf!

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   Kathryn L Hillposted 5 years ago

   An inanimate object is proclaimed to be real! This is very silly and nonsensical. What is the good of it, I ask? It is destructive to their developing sense of reality. The generation which is promoting Elf On the Shelf is the same generation raised on Sesame Street.
   
   Furthermore, there is a movie out in Red Box called The Happytime Murders featuring the Jim Henson puppets. The movie is violent, vulgar, overly sexual and rated R, yet It is appropriate enough in humor and plot to be a child's movie. Heaven help the adult who lets their children watch this movie which is obviously for the purpose of "corrupting of the youth."
   
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkCfws0jtVA

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   Kathryn L Hillposted 5 years ago

   What's a substitute teacher to do if she has touched the elf and has taken away its magic powers? The kids in my first/ second grade classroom, recently, were absolutely distressed when I casually rearranged a small elf sitting on a book case. Suddenly, the students were yelling and screaming at me in horror! How dare I touch the elf and take away its magic powers?
   "I'm sorry," I said in amusement.
   I would have let the incident go, but one boy came up to me and said, "Its okay, we can read the book to say the magic incantation and it will get back it's magic powers." I couldn't believe his seriousness. I said, "You know this is just a doll, right?"
   In unison the children cried out:"NOOOO! It flew during the night from that side of the room to this side of the room!"
   I said, "That is impossible and you know it!"
   "NOOOO!!!" They honestly believed the elf could fly.
   These are six and seven year olds!
   At what point/age do they stop believing in the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus, I ask!

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      Glenis Rixposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      My granddaughter has an elf on the shelf but I am not aware that he reports back to Santa. I have no firm views on this craze but I do think that children grow up too quickly nowadays so a little magical make believe when they are small is no bad thing.
      
      I worry more about the kids who won’t be receiving gifts at Christmas, or even a decent meal to fill their bellies, and those living under constant bombardment, as in the Yemen,  Perhaps parents would be acting more in the spirit of Christmas if they used the money that is spent on elves to support charitable causes.

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      wildernessposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      When their minds are capable of using their experience to reason their own way to truth?

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      Aime Fposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, how ridiculous that a bunch of six and seven year olds should be using their imaginations! Good thing you squashed that for them. Might as well have thrown in that Santa isn’t real while you were at it.
      
      You sound like you should not be teaching young children if you can’t stop yourself from crushing their enjoyment of something innocent like a magical elf that moves across the room.

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   Live to Learnposted 5 years ago

   I was not aware that elf was magical. That sneaky midget has been spying on us? Is it just the kids or has that little pervert watched me in the shower?
   
   I'm going to run right over and move that thing to remove its magic.
   
   Thanks for cluing me in on that evil plot to warn Santa of possible infractions. I don't care if my kids are little monsters. I will not accept cornbread and switches in their stockings.

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      wildernessposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Oh he is most definitely magical!  Why, when our grandkids spent the night with us he appeared the next morning, riding the train we have around the Xmas tree!
      
      No apparent mode of transportation, no coat, not even snow boots!  Yet there he was, inside the locked doors of our house, riding the train!
      
      (The discussion with the kids on how he got there was most interesting.  They finally settled on his using Santa's magic to teleport himself, just like the star trek people do.  And their eyes when they spotted him were as big as dinner plates!  Immediately ran to get Grandma and Grandpa and show us.)

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   Kathryn L Hillposted 5 years ago

   Yes, well, I was banned from working in that classroom and possibly the school. The students and parents had gone into into a tizzy emailing the teacher who then reported me to the school board.
   BAH Humbug!

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      Live to Learnposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      You remind me of a teacher who told the class Santa was evil, because it's an anagram of Satan. I didn't call the school. I just asked my crying son if that sounded crazy. He thought for a minute,said yes it did, and I told him he should understand that crazy people have a right to speak but intelligent people know crazy when they hear it and should just feel sorry for them.
      
      That's what I would have done if my kid had a substitute who acted like you did.

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   Kathryn L Hillposted 5 years ago

   I should have just told them that if a substitute teacher kisses the elf, he will get back all the magic powers she accidentally took away.
   
   They would have believed me????

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      The0NatureBoyposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      True but very funny also.

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         Kathryn L Hillposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         ... if only had just kissed the little thing.

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   Kathryn L Hillposted 5 years ago

   Maybe I was afraid he'd turn in to a prince ... or a frog.

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