The Tooth Fairy, Santa and other imaginary creatures.?

Do you think that it's important for a child to know that fictional characters like santa clause, the easter bunny and tooth fairy don't exist...I grew up knowing they didn't exist...I knew my parent's made the money to buy toys, my mom was the one putting money under my pillow and easter was the 3rd day jesus was resurected...I think that it is important for a child to be able to maintain a certin amount of innocence...but shouldn't they also be taught logic as well?

The Tooth Fairy, Santa and other imaginary creatures.?
Have you ever seen a child's face light up on Christmas morning?





The pure joy, wonder and excitement in their eyes that Santa has been is something very special.





They still learn that the reason why we exchange gifts is to celebrate the birth of Jesus or why we don't eat meat on Good Friday %26amp; have Hot Cross buns on Sunday morning, but can't they just be a child?





After all, they grow up so quickly, why steal their innocence?





They will find out eventually who bought the toys %26amp; stayed up til 4am putting a swing set together, or made the dirty bunny footprints across mum's clean floor!!





When the time comes that they realise it was their parents who made all the magic possible I truly believe they will appreciate the sacrifices that were made for them.





I know I did!





As a mother of 3 young children I have great respect, admiration and appreciation for what my parent did for me and my brother %26amp; sisters.





Ultimately it is your decision what you feel is best for your child.


You can only do the best you can with the knowledge you have at that moment. :)
Reply:I never believed any of the above existed. I don't feel like I missed out on anything, you get to know the truth about holidays and still enjoy them, regardless of what other people may or may not believe
Reply:I love Santa %26amp; everyone. It is what makes being a kid fun.


My two year old twins love Santa %26amp; easter bunny. And I myself think that they are a big part of growing up.


i think that they are too young to understand logic and very happy believing in a few white lies.
Reply:My kids figured there wasn't a tooth fairy or an Easter Bunny, but Santa was different I wanted them to believe in him for as long as possible. With all the horrible things in the world I think it is good for kids to believe in things like Santa.
Reply:I think it's important personally to stick with fairy tales with the young ones. Belief in things you can not see is many times, what keeps us going through life. They have all the time in the world later to understand money, logic and all of the problems the world has to throw at us adults. This is something you should make a decision about. But I don't see how it is illogical to get your children to imagine and have fun? Just as your children watch peter pan and dream about tinkerbell existing or peter pan really flying somewhere in never-never land, or when little girls play with barbies and other dolls they have to "pretend". So it is robbing the child of an imagination I think. But that is my personal opinion. Next thing you know people will be banning disney movies because they are unrealistic.
Reply:I guess you should take their imagination away from them too. Creativity is the key to success. You have to teach them some way.
Reply:Allowing your children to enjoy the simple pleasures of childhood fantasy is far More important in the early years (less that 7-8 years old for sure) than teaching them logic 9they wont understand)





If you are not religious don't play up the holidays then you can have your logic and not really be ruining the fantasy for them - but if you do celebrate Easter and Christmas and the tooth fairy...let them enjoy it for a few years..a child's innocence is whisked away so soon these days why not let them enjoy something simple and pure for a few years...
Reply:Pssst... It's been a long time since I've been to a strictly Christian church, but I'm pretty sure that Easter is *the day* that Jesus was resurrected (not the third)....





Quite honestly, my parents presenting their religion to me as fact was more disturbing, once I found out the truth, than was Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc. I actually still believe in those guys :D





Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy - those are like surprise parties. They are secret, fun, wonderful ways of doing things nice for someone. There's nothing wrong in that at all. If my kids ever did get mad at me about my secretly doing something nice for them, I'd wonder where I went wrong in teaching them about gratitude.





There's plenty of room for logic -and- fantasy, imagination and surprises in all of our lives.








edit.... Wikipedia is not infallible - each entry is created %26amp; edited by people just like us. And, anyway, even that doesn't say that Easter is the third day that Jesus was resurrected. It says "It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, which Christians believe occurred on the third day of his death by crucifixion"
Reply:Not until logic is a concept that their minds could understand. I know that the Easter Bunny %26amp; the hiding of colored eggs stems from pagan fertility rituals, while I'm unaware of the origins of the tooth fairy. But even at 52 yrs. old, I still believe in Santa Claus -- not as a "real" entity, but as the spirit of giving that should be in ALL hearts -- not just @ Christmas, but all through our lives!
Reply:DON'T tell them.





When I found out that there was no Easter bunny or tooth fairy I cried for hours. I was in elementary school maybe first or second grade.





I cried because I was hurt that I was lied to. I was also EXTREMELY embarrassed. I defended something so stupid and fake at school in front of everyone when other kids told me they didn't exist.





I was totally hurt and extremely embarrassed for a really long time, but of course grew out of it and now the whole ordeal doesn't bother me a bit because I'm older and love my parrents.





I think parents tell their kids about Santa Clause to "aid" in the enchantment, or to help make their children's experience more special...but really kids are awesome and don't need any help enjoying holidays at all. It's the parents that need the help. I'm all grown up and already think most holidays are a money wasting drag.





Something cool I've heard done make by some is to make Santa Clause, and the Tooth Fairy a tradition rather then a belief system of some sort. Tell your kids the story, and let them participate in the fun by everyone buying a gift "from santa" and hide them around the house so that each family member has to find their gift. You can do the same sort of thing for the other characters too. Make sure you're kids know it's fake, because it is fake. And just have fun with it.
Reply:it is so much fun having santa clause. that made christmas the most special day of the year when i was a kid. it still is but for different reasons. it's important for kids to use their imagination. don't ruin it with logic or whatever. when i was little, i always hated the kids who didn't believe in santa. i felt like if i let them talk like that, i was letting down santa. let them enjoy it. eventually they'll figure it out on their own. don't let them ruin the fun for other believers!
Reply:I think that there is a balance. I don't think it's necissary to tell your toddler that there is no Santa or Easter Bunny, but I don't think you have to tell them they exist either.





We don't do Santa or the Easter Bunny because we believe it is more important for our son to realize what we believe are the true meanings of those holidays than to believe in fictional creatures. Our son is 3.5 years old and as far as he is concerned Santa is just another person-he recognizes him around the holidays, but we haven't given him any significant meaning. Our son gets just as excited about his presents and stocking, even if we don't do Santa. Kids like presents regardless of who they are from, and we use that opportunity to tell him about the gift of Jesus. When he gets older, we plan on explaining to him that Santa is the fictional embodiment of a greater sentiment of giving-but that's a little over our toddler's head.





Our son gets treats on Easter too, but we explain to him that we're celebrating Jesus's resurrection-and what better way to celebrate as a child than with games and candy?





I think it just depends on what your personal beliefs and priorities are. And you don't have to go strict one way or the other. Our son still enjoys Christmas and Easter believing that Santa and the Easter Bunny are just people.
Reply:well I beleived as a child and i wasnt scared for life after I found out. Its just like reading you child a fairy tale. not really any different. I think it actually makes them more creative. gives the immagination. The wonder and joy of trying to wait up to see santa. Just the fun of being a kid. I think its really up to you as a parent to decide. I cant immagine what my childhood would have been like though if i couldnt get excited about the easter bunny comming to visit. I think our kids today have a lot more adult stress than we ever had to deal with anyway. thats just one more fun thing that we as parents would be taking away from them. well thats just my oppinion.
Reply:Why are people saying that Santa doesn't exist? Really sad that people don't know the TRUTH. Santa Claus is a very real being -- St. Nicholas. He's not made up. :)





You are right that children need to know the real meaning behind Christmas and Easter and such, but definitely keep the magic behind it alive. My kids do know that Christmas is the celebration of Christ's birthday and that Easter is the celebration of his coming back from the dead. :)





They also believe in Santa and the Tooth Fairy. :)