Why keep perpetuating the myths of Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy e

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   Rod Raineyposted 11 years ago

   Why keep perpetuating the myths of Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy etc.?

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   Ericdierkerposted 11 years ago

   I would assume you do not have children. Helping a child with his/her imagination is what produces people like Einstein and Gates and Sabin and Salk. The ritualistic and commonly shared traditions of make believe teach important lessons also. Santa - giving, Easter Bunny -- change from winter to spring and hide and seek. Tooth fairy -- each part of our body is special.
   Birthdays are silly too. New Years is foolish, and all our Christian holidays are the wrong days.
   I have twenty one envelopes to pass out today to celebrate Tet. Inside is Lucky Money, how fun.

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   MickSposted 11 years ago

   Because it's a bit of fun for children, and their parents.  What would you rather have, a dull, boring world that never has a place for immagination, full of 'bah, humbug'.

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      duffsmomposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      well said.

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   taburkettposted 11 years ago

   The answer to your question is - Because life is filled with enough misery in all other sectors.  By stimulating the mind of Children, society orchestrates a joyous depiction of life for the young  and old alike.
   As a grandfather, I can assure you that seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter as everyone participates with Santa, the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc. is positive life support for those involved.
   Besides, you seem to believe them to be myths, while I choose to recognize them as a means to produce family love and joy.

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   Stina Caxeposted 11 years ago

   Magic, mystery, and surprise, are all beautiful things for a child to experience.  I think it helps their imaginations and helps contribute to happy memories of childhood.

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   peeplesposted 11 years ago

   I guess I'm going to give the uncommon answer. I think it's because adults in general are unhappy with something about life and need to fake happy moments with their children to make up for it. I am against lying to my children no matter the reason, however my husband isn't so to keep balance I am stuck going along with it. I think it's bizarre! I mean there are so many other ways to spark imagination and creativity. There are so many other ways to make children happy. They are so easy to please. I truly don't understand having to lie to make them happy. Maybe I'm a tad odd but I remember finding out all of it was lies and I was not happy about being lied to for all that time.

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      MickSposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That is very pedantic way of looking at make believe, do you, or have you ever read a fiction book, when ended is your thoughts on it that it was just a pile of lies?

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      peeplesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I don't turn the book into what I do in life because it is fiction. Movies are make believe but I don't go around blowing things up. Make believe should be shared with children such as dress up or tea parties where they are included.

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   duffsmomposted 11 years ago

   Because using one's imagination is fun and helps a child be creative in other areas of their life.
   
   I doubt any children grow up to be traumatized by their transient belief in these fairy tales.  They believe, have a bit of fun, fun for parents too and they grow up and out of it.
   
   Real life with all of its brutality is what hurts our children and that is something we cannot protect them from.

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   Rod Raineyposted 11 years ago

   Loving all the answers, thank you all for participating. I am a father and I don’t think I ever would have questioned these things if I wasn’t.  I have been a father figure for many years. I was with a woman for twelve years who had two daughters who I still think of as my own. I got married three years ago to a woman with a daughter and a son. In both cases the children had already been raised with the myths before I came along. I just played along (I love playing the myths) and honestly never gave it much thought. Now I have a four month old baby girl of my own and I find myself conflicted. 
   
   I agree these stories are fantastic for teaching values and lessons and positive traditions are important. Also, I would have died of a broken heart without my imagination, but would the impact of the stories be lost if they remained stories? It all seems so innocent to tell children these characters will sneak in at night to shower them with cool stuff, but in principle it is dishonest. I personally do not recall ever believing as a child; I just humored my parents.  My wife says she believed as a child and was distraught when she learned the truth.  I want my children to trust me and I never want to hurt them. (Heavy sigh), this might have made a better forum topic.

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      Stevennix2001posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      You should watch the nostalgia critic's video on this same topic, as i thought he came up with a lot of valid points on why the lie about santa can actually be a good thing for kids. hers' a link:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQDW1C1r-h0

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   Stevennix2001posted 10 years ago

   Like you, I just figured it out for myself as a child that santa wasn't real.  In fact, I always knew he wasn't real even when i was like a little kid.  I just lied to my parents about believing in him up until i was like 10 to get more presents for christmas.  lol.  What can i say?  I was a smart kid back then.  lol.  Same reason why i went along with the whole tooth fairy myth, as i knew my parents would give me money for my teeth.  lol. 
   
   All kidding aside though, the childhood myths we tell to our kids can be an important lesson to our children as well when you stop and think about it.  As nostalgia critic said in that video link i gave you, he points out how when kids discover that santa isn't real that kids will undoubtedly be upset about it, but it'll also teach them an important lesson.  It'll teach them that sometimes in life that no matter how much you believe in something that sometimes things won't always turn out the way they want it to be in life, yet that doesn't mean the world will blow up or end just because it doesn't work out. 
   
   It teaches kids how to adapt when things like that happen. It teaches them that in life not everything will always work out, so in a way, you're teaching your kids to be more prepared for the real world someday. 
   
   Plus, the world is already filled with misery, so why not let the kids believe in a world where santa rewards the good kids of the world for a little while. sure it may not be true, but it's like some hubbers here said, it'll help spark their imaginations, and help them grow up to be better individuals.

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