Friday 20 December 2013

Is It Time To Warn Kids About Santa Claus?


Is It Time To Warn Kids About Santa Claus? Is It Time To Rein In The Santa In The Suit?

 

It’s that time of the year again. It’s the time when a big fat man with red chubby cheeks and white cottony beard, in red suit ho-hoes his way around with a large sack that has endless amounts of gifts. And who is this big fat man in a red suit? Well any little kid around the world can identify him. It’s Santa Claus.

 

He doesn’t simply leave just about anyone a gift; he leaves gifts only for those who have been good throughout the year. And how does he know that? Well, he has a gold book and a black book and he watches you all year long and makes his entry in the gold book every time you are good and you get a black book entry if you have been wicked or naughty.

 

But who is keeping track of whether Santa has been good? Let’s be practical, the Santa Claus that your child encounters is a hired man/boy who is just wearing a suit and trying his best to convince the kids he is Santa. How much do we know about these Santas that we so willingly ask our kids to go and hug, shake hands with, sit on their lap? In countries around the world there have been instances where ‘Santa’ has been arrested for drinking, touching kids inappropriately etc. so this means that there could be a pedophile lurking behind the beard and rosy cheeks? Isn’t it the perfect opportunity for them as  parents are urging their kids to ‘go to’ the Santa, ‘go kiss’ the Santa, ‘go sit’ on his lap.

 

Well, sad as it may sound, it’s time to either warn our kids about Santa or watch carefully when our kids are with Santa. But how would you be able to keep an eye on all the Santas that your kids encounter this year? There is the Santa in school, the Santa at the mall, the Santa at a child’s party, the Santa in your own housing society.

 

Santa Claus is considered safe by kids and their parents; well it’s time to rein in the Santa in the suit. Follow these 5 important points while bringing Santa in your child’s life-

 

1.     Teach your kids to only shake hands with Santa

2.     If you are clicking a photo of your child with Santa, be vigilant about Santa’s ‘hands’.

3.     Please do not ask your child to hug or kiss Santa. The suits that they hire are hardly clean so let’s not pass unnecessary germs to our kids.

4.     Teach your child about good touch bad touch and talk to your child that even Santa cannot be allowed to give bad touch

5.     Try to keep your child’s belief in Santa alive as long as possible but important that you also believe in safety of your child. Maintain a balance.

 

Let’s help kids have a merry and safe New Year.

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Much required awareness at a much required juncture. Parents have to understand that they need to create this awareness in children and continuously safe guard them to avoid such experiences by children. I will be sharing this article with all whom I know and on facebook, so that it reaches maximum number of parents.

Anonymous said...

An eye opener blog just when children will be waiting to hug Santa and shower their love on an unknown person hiding behind the garb.
I hope this article reaches across to all parents and educationists so that this awareness and knowledge of how even a Santa can be judged as 'good' or 'bad' from a child's safety and hygiene point of view.Regards,Bhavna

Unknown said...

Yes it is very important where we forget this of which we are not aware while handing our kids to santa and we unknowingly think that its a santa who will make our children happy with gifts ,shaking hands and make them always learn that he is the only person who will come and gift you. Where on the other hand as explained in the article it should be the safety first of the child and keep balance with the other taking care of it .

Anonymous said...

Most parents know that lying to our kids about Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and unicorns? — is likely to erode the trust our child has for us. Or on contrary have the Joy of belief in magic makes them hopeful for life , they have great fun in anticipation. Back in the early 2000s, Arctic sea ice extent and volume started to drop rapidly -- even more rapidly than scientists anticipated -- due to the rapid warming of the planet caused by the burning of fossil fuels, especially coal. The ice started thinning, breaking up, and disappearing. There are rumors that Santa and Mrs. Claus are trying to relocate to Antarctica with the surviving elves, for as long as the ice there persists.
We are busy with the above topics or legends not considering the facts that we read where santa was charged with groping female. It is very important to educate our kids . Tips mentioned is important for every progressing parents to keep our kids safe

Unknown said...

Since the 1950s, Santa has happily sojourned at Napapiiri, near Rovaniemi, at times other than Christmas, to meet children and the young at heart.He comes on christmas every year to hear what children want for Christmas and to talk with children who have eagerly waiting.With these blog it is clear that it is important even to be aware for the safety of kids not only that shaking hand or kissing Santa will give importance of Santa.

Anonymous said...

"Stranger danger" was the keyword about child safety when I was a kid my mummy & daddy use to tell me all time whenever i use to public place along with them or with friends. Also in addition to this statistics are clear that children are more often abducted and harmed by people they know than by strangers as kids easily trust them. This article is really eye opener for all parents as well as for teachers to teach kids about their own safety . We have to teach our children four very basic rules about interacting with people they don't know, even if they seem nice.
• Don't go with a stranger
• Don't get into a car with a stranger
• Don't answer questions a stranger asks
• Don't accept anything from a stranger

Our children need to grow up in a world where they are safe, and we adults as a parents & teachers have an important role to play in helping them make good decisions, to be wary of people who might harm them, and to know how to react when they feel threatened. Teaching children these important attitudes and skills will help them stay safe and grow up to become confident and responsible adults. I will request all to read this blog & pass it to all friends so we can keep our kids safe from SANTA this Christmas .
Regards ,
Snehal N

Unknown said...

Jingle bell, Jingle bell ,Jingle all the way….
So, the Santa is all the way to come to your kids to shake their hands, to hug them, to kiss them and to click photos with them. From the view of your child it’s all about a dream land, the blog is an open eye to the parents how to train kids when they are with a stranger Santa. Let’s help our kids to make this Celebration a safe celebration.

Unknown said...

Wish you a Merry Christmas. Santa is coming to each one of us with gifts in his pocket.Each and every one should be aware about santa who is shaking hands,giving gift to children. Children really love santa and if we as parents take care about the child's safety we can never let santa down in the eyes of children.

Anonymous said...

its very important that we guide our children at every point of life ..
sometimes we take things for granted and neglect it
and many a times people around us make us feel that we are being over possesive when they see us guiding our children at every walk of life ...
but its important that as teachers and parents we are always vigilant and pass the vigilance to our children, as you never know when they might encounter the bad experience in their life
so this christmas and new year party time ...do have lot of fun and enjoii , but don't forget to be careful and safeguard your child ..

jayshree shah said...

A very interesting advice before christmas for all kids lover to take care & how to convey love to the Santa by shaking hands and be aware about bad Santa.

Preeti Jha said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Preeti Jha said...

A very important awareness for parents,teachers that they need to bring awareness in children to avoid such experiences by children

Arwah Dalal said...

Its very important to make your child aware of Santa as children are very fascinated with Santa claus and the gifts.
a very good article for all to know that santa claus is just not a fairy tale thing there are dangers too which each parent needs to be alert and educate their kids on

Unknown said...

everyone need to be very alert and vigilant,especially those hiring Santa because they are also responsible towards society and of-course we cannot take away the pleasure of Santa from a child's life.

Unknown said...

Thank you for the article, because we never have this thought in our mind as we want the child to be with santa for photo if child avoids going to him parents push them to bring him out of his fear ,now henceforth will observe and train others too really, this blog gives lot of learnings and solutions to it feel proud of you thank you

Unknown said...

This article is an eye opener to the entire society.After reading this article really it has become very much necessary to bring awareness about good touch and bad touch in the society for the safety of the kids.

Jumbo kids Latur said...

Really it is a eye opener blog for all of us. We should make aware our children to be careful whenever they will deal with any stranger.
We are telling them stories of Santa so they tend to love Santa, but as a part of security we must share such things also with children and parents so that it reaches to our dearest and nearest and as many as people we know in our Society.

Unknown said...

Every Coin has two face and we just look at one side which we want to see or which is shown to us from ours elders and neglect the second one as we are not aware or we don't want to use our brain.
Thank you Ma'am for showing us the second face which we haven't thought about.
Merry Christmas !

vaishali joshi said...

Thanks ma'am for valuable advice....

kajal said...

we should teach children that the people around them are not always good people to be trusted. Person wearing the costume is also a stranger though he is santa whom children believe as their friend. When ever parents are taking their kid's for any party they must have a watch on kids as it is common in birthdays people wearing costumes of different character and children get attracted towards them. "Molesters are not ugly looking but they wear a shield of trust."

mini said...

Very well written piece. Being a mom certainly gives me sleepless nights when i think and shudder at the thought of my kids going through any such harrowing experience. I do keep telling my older son about good touch bad touch n what to do if any such incident happens. I hope I am preparing him well. - Mom to a jumbo kid- Mini

Ms Vaishali Chaudhary(PJK Chinchwad) said...

The legend of Santa Clause can be traced hundreds of years to a monk named St.Nicholas.Much admired for his piety and kindness.This is the image of our beloved Santa who is full of energy and love which he showers on us by giving us blessings and good wishes for the upcoming new year.But unfortunately some people under his disguise commit undesirable deeds and that too with our little kids.
We as adults have to have an eagle's eye on our children whenever they are with strangers ,be it santa or any of their favourite character.
This wonderful blog has really helped us to deal with such situations and also guide our children to be more alert and vigilant.

Ankita Suchak said...

It's an eye opener article.We must be very alert and vigilant regarding our kids safety & every one must read this article.

pjkparbhani said...

On this Christmas we learn very important things through this blog. Precaution is always better than cure. Wish you all Merry Christmas !

Unknown said...

This article is an eye opener for all those who believe that only "negative idols" cause harm, whereas as per the statistical figures "postive idols" take undue advantage of people's faith.so spread this article to maximum number...........

Unknown said...

A very informative and knowledgeable
information from this blog.
A must read information for every parent where safety and security of child comes.

PoojaKothare said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
PoojaKothare said...

Not just the 25th Dec Santa but our kids must be aware that such cunning and notorious Santas may be exist 365 days of the year and that they must refrain themselves from being cozy to such STRANGE SANTAS.

Unknown said...

It is very important for all parents about awareness on good and bad touch.

Unknown said...

A very helpful article for Parents and Teachers which will help them to be always vigilant when it comes to child security.
This article is an eye opener to the whole society.

Prutha Kamdar said...

A much needed eye opener on these days of 21st century...
Parents need to be very careful about this when their child is busy enjoying with the Santa!

Thank you ma'am for guiding us with this. :)

Prutha Kamdar
Rajkot