Brycen lost his 1st tooth last night. I have never seen him so excited. Not only because he lost a tooth, but because that meant the tooth fairy was coming to our house!!
Yes, in our house, the tooth fairy is real.
And so is Santa.
Never for a single second did I ever consider NOT letting my kids believe in those 2 things.
"BUT YOUR JUST LYING TO KIDS!!"
Yep, guess I am. And guess what? I lied to the girls today when I told them the picture they drew looked just like me and daddy when in reality they were just squiggly lines.
In our house, we sometimes lie to our kids.
Its part of parenting!!
It would KILL them if we honestly told them exactly what we thought.
"No, your not singing on key"
"No, your not the fastest kid I've ever seen"
"No, I can't tell that's a boat in your picture"
"And by the way, Santa isn't real and all that's going to happen when you lose a tooth is we are going to replace it with money from the money jar"
Now, I'm NOT saying we never give them constructive criticism.
At one of Brycens soccer games, he played bad. Just down right bad. He didn't run. He didn't participate. He barely touched the ball. When he asked us how he did, we told him that. Because HE knew he could do better and because we had SEEN him do better. He doesn't get to slack off and us still treat him like he's the best player ever.
Now that he knows how to color in the lines, we don't let him scribble all over a picture and then praise him for his coloring skills.
When the girls 1st started counting, they would go "1,2,9" and we would clap and hug them and tell them they did so good. Not because they counted right but because they said numbers and attempted. Now that they are learning to count and we have heard Braycee count to 5, "1,2,9" isn't going to be praised.
As our kids grow up, we will become more and more honest with them. But right now? Why break spirits? Why crush them when we can tell they are trying so hard at something and so proud of something? Why not let them believe in Santa and the tooth fairy?
What harm is it doing having Brycen think the tooth fairy appears in his room once he's asleep and gives him money? Heck, this tooth fairy may get him to clean his room! Along with the money she wrote him a note telling him next time to have his bed less messy and I GUARENTEE next time, all that will be on his bed is a blanket and a pillow :)
Down the road when they find out the truth about Santa, are we going to continue to lie and say he's real? No. One day, they will all find out the truth. But why take away that excitement now? Why not let them believe that their behavior affects what they get? Why not let them think carefully about what they want on their list and let them be SO excited to go sit on his lap and give him that list they worked on so hard.
Yes, my kids believe in Santa.
But guess what, ask Brycen what Christmas is and 9 out of 10 times he will tell you Jesus' birthday.
He knows what Christmas is.
He knows the meaning behind it.
Santa isn't overshadowing Jesus.
Our kids are kids. They are going to be kids. It seems like parents lately think their kids need to be exposed to the ways of the world at such a young age.
I have no idea how I will explain to them why we lied about Santa and the tooth fairy but ya know? I would rather them get sad with me for a couple min than to miss out on the magic of being a kid.
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