Empowerment · Lifestyle · Mental Health · Opinions · Winter Holidays

An Open Letter to Parents from Santa

mrspillar

As many of you who follow me on Twitter already know, this past Sunday I hosted an annual gathering at my house called ‘Supper with Santa’.

My dear friend and esteemed helper of the big guy himself finds time each year out of his busy Santa schedule to come and greet the children of my local friends, hand out candy canes, and eat supper with us. The kids love it, and it is a chance for me to celebrate the holidays with those closest to us, and they get some photos of their kids with Santa in a comfortable, familiar setting, surrounded by people and other kids they know rather than standing in line somewhere public with strangers.

This year, Santa and I were talking about a post he recently made on Facebook about pressuring parents forcing visibly distressed children to sit on his lap for photos, and I asked him to come here and write an open letter on The Boozy Housewife addressing this subject. I think this should be said, and who better to put this out there to parents than the man himself?

Dear Parents

Dear Parents,

I make many Santa appearances this time of year, and get a lot of joy out of visiting with the children. I love to see kids light up when they get sight of me and share the magic of childhood.

However, I hate it when parents insist a crying child has to sit on my lap for a picture. I have no desire to be a part of causing stress for anyone, especially young children. Forcing a child to sit on a stranger’s lap conditions them to accept adults taking control of their bodies.

I firmly believe even infants have a right to say no about making physical contact with a stranger. Children need to learn from an early age “NO means NO!” Their body belongs to them, and THEY have a right to decide who touches them and who they touch.

Let the kid decide if it is OK to sit on Santa’s lap. If he/she refuses this time and no one forces the issue, chances are they will be willing at some point in the future. Force them and not only are you sending a bad message but also creating a negative memory that may make them fearful and even more reluctant to cooperate in the future.

The holidays are a time to celebrate. Let’s keep it a happy time for everyone, for people of all ages.

Merry Christmas from Santa    Ho! Ho! Ho!

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There you have it!  I for one completely agree with Santa. I know you really want to get that perfect photo, but there will be other years.

You can contact Santa regarding this on his Facebook page by clicking below!

Visit Santa on Facebook!

Thanks for reading, and have a happy holiday season!

Santa

 

Published by mrspillar

Stay at home wife getting through life one cocktail at a time.

11 thoughts on “An Open Letter to Parents from Santa”

  2. Last year our 1 yr old grandson was perfectly willing to sit on Santa’s lap for a picture. This year, at 2, he decided sitting beside Santa was what he was comfortable with. I also think there is no reason Mom or Dad can’t hold the child or their hand & be in the picture too. Whatever is best for the child.

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    1. Yes, have to let them decide. They know what they are comfortable with, and kids have none of the social filters that we do, so they have no problems letting us know what they are ok with and what they are not. Only job we have is to listen to them when it comes to things like this.

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  4. I love this!!! I’ve never actually gone to see Santa and sit on his lap or any of the little ones in my life, so I’ve never thought about it. But this is so right!! The way you wrote about it was so cool too and this is so so important in teaching the little ones concent and knowing that they have the power over the things that makes them comfortable/uncomfortable. Great post!!

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    1. Thank you so much! I really found it odd that I had never considered this before when my friend brought it up, and I just had to get him to write for me, so that this could be in his words as ‘Santa’. I can only imagine how uncomfortable that has to be for him in that role, as well as the stress of the child and most likely it also causes stress for the other children that are nearby and their parents. Just a sticky situation all around. Thanks for reading. Have a happy holiday season!

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  6. This is great to mention, I’ve not thought about this much before, but we shouldn’t be forcing kids to sit on Santa’s lap if they’re so terrified and crying their eyes out just for a ‘nice picture’ we should respect their wishes 🙂

    Chloe Chats xx

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