I spend my days surrounded by twenty-five energetic little creatures, from three to five years-old. And, in case it has slipped your notice, December has arrived and snow has begun falling. That means much of my group is alight with Christmas spirit. There's a lot of chatter about Christmas trees, anticipated gifts, and of course, Santa.
Yesterday a sweet little face looked at me with trust and asked, “Mrs. Chawla, is Santa real?” So what’s my role here? Do I break their hearts and shatter their wishes in the interest of open and honest discourse? How do I balance the needs of my diverse classroom, comprised of kids from a variety of religions, cultures and traditions? How do I answer without contradicting what families have told their children?
This Mom Wants To Know: Is It Time To Scrap Santa?
Over the past few years, I have read the posts and social media comments from questioning parents, wondering if they should perpetuate the Santa lie. My personal stance, in my household, is ABSOLUTELY! I believe in having an honest relationship with my children and in answering their questions truthfully, but I also believe in giving them a childhood full of magic, creativity, and wonder.
I grew up believing in Santa and at some stage (I think far later than most), I finally had to admit to myself that he was just a story - but that realization didn’t shatter me, or cause a rift of mistrust between me and my parents. Even well into high school, my mom and dad would sneakily fill our stockings, never admitting that it was an inside job - and we all happily went along with the ruse. It was just good fun.
I think children have a way of intermingling reality and fantasy in a way that makes sense to them and in a way that fosters imagination and joy in their lives. For example, my daughter is currently a big fan of Elmo and his friends. We recently took her to the Sesame Street Live show, and she was in complete awe. She screamed like a teen fan at a One Direction (insert current popular boy band here) concert when Elmo was revealed, and proceeded to dance her toddler self up and down the aisle for the duration of the show. Now have I sat down and patiently explained that Elmo isn’t real and that it was just an actor in costume? No way! Sure, letting her believe in a muppet may be a lie in the strictest sense, but for me, the pure joy and wonder far outweighs the need for reality here.
Find Joy In These Simple Things
And the same goes for good old Santa Claus. In my family, we choose not to stress the idea that St. Nick is watching you always and judging your behaviour (I find that part of the tradition rather creepy), but we talk about his visit, read stories about him and never forget to leave carrots for Ruldolph on Christmas Eve. In my family, I say long live the jolly fellow in the red suit! Let him fill our stockings and fill my children’s eyes with wonder for years to come.
So back to the classroom, with that sea of eager faces awaiting my response to the “Is Santa real?” question. I feel its my duty as a teacher to honour my students beliefs and their family traditions - whatever those traditions are. I replied that many, many people believe in Santa Claus and we went on to talk about some of the stories about Santa. We also talked about the fact that there are many who do not believe in Santa. I told the kids it is up to them to decide what they believe and that not everything in our world has a right and wrong answer. We discussed how sometimes people have to look at all the information and make a decision for themselves.
I say, when it comes to sharing such stories with your children , take what works for you and your family and celebrate that. Trust your instincts on this. For me, I believe in the spirit of Christmas, in the delight that comes from giving, in the comfort of time spent with family and in the many wonderful traditions that surround this time of year. If a student asks me for my viewpoint on this debate, I will have no problem saying with conviction, "I believe in Santa!"
Erin Chawla is a teacher and blogs for YummyMummyClub at The Kiducation Learning Curve.
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