It\u2019s that beloved time of the year again folks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The holidays are rolling around and kids everywhere are writing their wish lists in hopes of getting the newest Lego set or Barbie doll on the market. Everyone is on their best behavior knowing Santa Claus is coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, as fun and good-natured as the concept of Santa Claus is, it can perpetuate some dangerous ideas in the minds of young kids. With Christmas fast approaching, it\u2019s worth noting some of the effects the myth of Jolly Old Saint Nick is thought to have on our youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I found out that my parents were the ones giving me presents every year, I was heartbroken. For so many years I had indulged in this fantasy, thinking there was hidden magic all over. The story of Santa Claus helped me believe in the kindness of people and assured me that anything is possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But being devastated wasn\u2019t the half of it. I was suddenly suspicious of everything else my parents had ever told me. Did this make lying okay?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Santa myth is such an involved lie\u2026 if parents can lie so convincingly and over such a long time, what else can they lie about?\u201d said clinical psychologist Kathy McKay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, many parents feel that if they don\u2019t keep up the Santa Claus tradition, they\u2019re responsible for destroying the magic of Christmas and some of the wonder of childhood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s one of those things where the good outweighs the bad,\u201d said Sinclair student Cole Turner. \u201cThe story of Santa Claus allows children\u2019s imagination and creativity to run wild.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, another issue that arises when considering the effects of Santa is the potential of receiving \u201ca lump of coal.\u201d This warning, as a means of controlling bad behavior, is not always the best parenting tactic, as it can send kids into a panic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know I, for one, was always anxious around Christmas time. I monitored my every move, scared I was going to do something Santa would perceive as irreversible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kids don\u2019t need this kind of fear instilled in them. Christmas is a time to come together and enjoy the company of friends and family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Besides, the unease surrounding the possibility of coal intensifies children\u2019s desire for presents and at the end of the day, that\u2019s not what the holiday is about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think the Santa Claus story is a good and bad idea. On one hand, you\u2019re teaching kids discipline\u2014if they\u2019re good, they get rewarded with presents. But on the other hand, it\u2019s a lie,\u201d said Sinclair student Kelsey DeLaet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A possible balance to this dilemma is embracing the \u201cstory\u201d behind Santa Claus. That is, letting your kids know up front that Santa Claus is a story, but keeping it up for their sake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much reality in this life, that one of the delights of childhood, and of being a parent, is to spread a little fairy dust occasionally,\u201d said columnist Emily Yoffe.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kayleigh DaLaet<\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s that beloved time of the year again folks. The holidays are rolling around and kids everywhere are writing their wish lists in hopes of getting the newest Lego set or Barbie doll on the market. Everyone is on their best behavior knowing Santa Claus is coming. But, as fun and good-natured as the concept […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10416,"featured_media":27361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3613,3524,3346,2109],"tags":[2292,441,3634,1407,628,3798],"class_list":["post-27360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-my-voice-2","category-off-beat","category-opinion","tag-christmas","tag-holidays","tag-kayleigh-delaet","tag-my-voice","tag-parenting","tag-santa-claus"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/man-in-santa-claus-costume-716658-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5s3vR-77i","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10416"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27360"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27362,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27360\/revisions\/27362"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Reporter<\/p>\n\n\n\n