WHY WE SHOULD STOP LYING TO OUR CHILDREN
To prevent any misconstrued thoughts, what I mean by child icons are those unreservedly jovial characters (namely Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny) that are worshipped without avail by children worldwide, in their own modified forms. For example, Santa Claus has been a patron saint to children, sailors, prisoners, bakers, pawnbrokers, shopkeepers, and various woodland creatures. In China, he is called Shengdan Laoren. In England, his name is Father Christmas. In France, he is known as Pere Noel. In Germany, children receive presents from Christindi, the Christ Child. So I guess you could say he is fairly infamous, in a kooky kind-of way.
I shall first explain my personal bias against these various child icons. While the idea is fine and dandy, and fairly exhilarating for children (and maybe even those various woodland creatures mentioned previously), it�s extremely deceitful. The way I see it, something that is worshipped for what is merely represented is a very detrimental tactic. The reason I see this way is, it provides the illusion of reality, but in actuality, it will mess with one�s psyche. I also consider the idea of these phenomenal characters to be quite absurd. I hardly see the point in blatantly lying to a child, especially when it is fully known that there is definitely not a Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, and most certainly not a Tooth Fairy. I can�t help but wonder, is there some kind of sick pleasure in shaping a child�s naive mind to what a parent prefers? What is so seemingly difficult about expressing the real joy of gift giving? Why do parents insist on instilling the importance of honesty within their child�s life while deliberately contradicting themselves?
Defenses for child icons lay solely with the notion that, it�s not hazardous to provoke a child�s imagination. The general idea of Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny are harmless figments of that imagination, which are conducive to maintaining a sense of magical wonder about the world. HOW SWEET!!!!!!
This is very considerate for a child, and completely understandable that a parent would care so much as to make the holidays (or the event of losing a tooth, or the mere presence of the elusive rabbit-spirit that has very little to do with the Easter holiday) more exciting and miraculous. To get a more detailed grip on this topic, I broached it to a second grade student, asking her to explain the alleged �miracle� of Christmas. Before she assaulted me in places unmentionable, for reasons unknown, she replied with: �Wow, even though I don�t have a chimney, a big fat man somehow made his way through my furnace, ate my darn cookies, and somehow left me a bunch of wrapped presents, which I�m [certain] didn�t cost my parents anything! In fact, my parents aren�t [associated with] this jolly ol� elf one bit, because they told me so! And it was special!�
Special, my toe!
On the other hand, was not a child so easily deviated. My beloved brothers and I sought out the path of righteousness one Christmas Eve. From there we bravely staked out the living room with such fervent determination that we inevitably discovered the true benefactor of Christmas. We did indeed see that it was our parents all along. They, I believe, had more fun in playing the role of Santa Claus, if anything, as they continued feigning the character of Santa even though my belief had long since diminished.
Children believe in Santa Claus, because good behavior means an overabundance of presents - and what child doesn�t like waking up a nice, rewarding stack of presents? Bad behavior equals obnoxious lumps of coal in their stockings, which, I admit, aren�t too appealing in any aspect, especially concerning a child. Keep in mind that Santa allegedly has a personalized list of just who has been naughty or nice. He even checks it twice. Fancy that!
Children adore the Tooth Fairy, the main motive being, whenever a child looses a tooth and informs their parents, this Tooth Fairy will automatically know the whereabouts of this tooth, therefore the child will be a mighty ten cents or so better off. The Easter Bunny, on the other hand, makes absolutely no sense to me. What association does a RABBIT have with Easter? Last time I checked, Easter revolved around a Christian holiday, not a RABBIT. Call me crazy, but not only does it NOT have any relevance to Easter, it�s also detracting from the point of celebrating this holiday.
Child icons, while a seemingly harmless ploy, hardly benefit a child. Actually, they don�t benefit a child in any way, unless fraudulence is an honorable attribute. It is up to the responsibility of a child�s parents to encourage or discourage the illogical notion of Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny. In its full glory, fabrication reeks throughout the concept of child icons, and children will be better off knowing the truth rather than being mislead for an important portion of their lives.
