Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, and Tooth Fairy

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I would treat it like a religion. I wouldn't tell others god isn't real and the bible is BS or even tell kids that because that won't go well. The whole Santa/tooth fairy/Easter thing is like a religion.

I was nine when I figured out Santa wasn't real. I remember it was right after Christmas when my friend told me. I felt relieved because that explained why he would get me the wrong presents and got his presents mixed up sometimes and why I never got anything from my wishlist. My brother wanted a Sonic doll and asked Santa for it, his friend got it instead. When I was six, I asked for a Little Mermaid Fish Tank, my friend got it instead. Santa goofed up. It also explained why he would use our wrapping paper sometimes and my mom would tell us Santa sometimes wraps presents in your house so he uses your wrapping paper. if we found other gifts in our home that was for Christmas, Santa had dropped them off for them to hold for him so he could give them to us. Always excuses my parents had.

I connected the dots and figured the Tooth fairy couldn't be real or the Easter bunny. It was just logical to think that if Santa isn't real. I remember being excited about it so I told my mother and she told me I was right and to not tell my brothers or they will be upset. She also didn't want me telling anyone else or else they will be upset.

That reminds me of the time when I was 13, we were going to Missoula and we were on the freeway driving by the town and I tell my mom how there is this wading pool ahead and it has turtles in it. We finally go by it and I point to it and boy was my eight year old brother upset because he thought there would be real turtles, not these cement ones for kids to play on that squirts water from their mouths for kids to splash in. He was NT and he took it literal and me of course couldn't understand why he would think there would be real turtles in the wading pool. Because I knew they were cement turtles, I never though the would think they would be real just because I say the pool has turtles in it.

Then of course he got his revenge when he ran up the stairs one time telling me he killed a rat and I wanted to see the dead rat but instead he shows me the rubber rat our uncles sent us through the mail when they got us Halloween stuff.

My brother and I never believed in Santa Claus or the Easter bunny; our parents straight-up told us they weren't real from a very young age. My parents are Catholic and used to tell us that these characters aren't the 'real' meaning of Christmas/Easter. We never celebrated Halloween either.

When I was in the first few years of school I used to get my Mum in trouble with the school because I would just blurt out to the class that Santa wasn't real.

it's a sound approach when i was younger my sister would tell me of her friend, who claimed to catch a glimpse of the tooth fairy as she laid in bed. that alone was enough to sustain my belief in the fairy tn til i was around 8. something was fishy when her friend never gave details, or specifics other than "OH I SAW HER. YEAH."

i never was a strong believer in santa and my belief of him that was there was more like a case of doublethink, choosing to believe he was around when simultaneously i knew it wasn't feasible.
what sticks out for em the most was seeing an envelope at home, signed "Santa Claus" in a calligraphy too delicate and ornate for either of my parents or known family members to pull off.

then again, it could have been part of the envelope to begin with.

telling kids about santa, or the tooth fairy or easter bunny isn't exactly bad and like another user has pointed out, it doesn't take advantage of a child's gullibility, but using made up characters to promote good values.

plenty of time for being rational as an adult......

How is it like a religion?

Kinda baffled by that one. I mean, kids have not gone on rampage, cutting off dolls heads and putting firecrackers on models because they did not have enough things under their tree or pillow.....

(That was bit of hyperbole on my part. I really do mean the question though.)

How did this go over? Did you feel like you had been deprived of something in your life? Did your parents suffer a lot of backlash for it? How did it work out for everyone involved?

I don't believe in God.

I would never tell an 8 year old from a Catholic family that there is no God, though.

One has to use discretion in these matters.

That seems to be the thing that is missing these days.

The need for one group to impose their will on others without any respect. The extremism of "I'm right, you're wrong" is coming from everybody from every direction these days.

Discretion seems to be missing from almost any dialogue these days.

It wasn't Grammar Geek who said that, it was me.
Religious indoctrination is child abuse. Threatening children with an imaginary hell is a cruel thing to do and may cause lifelong trauma.
Atheism doesn't try to prove anything, it simply rejects something that lacks evidence. Religion is a pile of BS that has caused a lot of suffering throughout history and has no redeeming qualities. We atheists should unite and fight it in any way we can. Saying that this makes us dogmatic is like saying that people who try to help the environment are dogmatic. Atheism isn't a religion, just like abstinence isn't a sexual position.
Just my opinion.

You're right--discretion goes a long way.

It's not phoniness. It's adapting to the situation.

You are correct. That was an editing mistake.

As for the other, as long as you choose to be contrary, you should never be surprised that people do not accept you.

As for your other opinions, I completely refute those as well.

If you think that teaching people to "Do unto other's as you would have them do unto you" and other things like that is child abuse, then you are cherry picking your arguments. Religion isn't the problem. It's what individuals do with it. The same for atheists that will not accept or bend. It isn't the system. It's the implementation of the system by individuals. Most individuals I know from many different belief systems are good people. Not violent and accepting of opposing viewpoints.

And, yes, atheism is becoming it's own belief system and following a religious trajectory. "If you don't believe like I do, then you are wrong." That by definition is a 'belief system' in and of itself. The inability to bend or be accepting is the hallmark of what you say is wrong, yet, you actually do that here.

You refuse to accept any viewpoint other than your own, you seek to make the world bend to your desires and you seek to argue points from both sides of the fence.

It may be your diagnoses (inability to bend or accept) or you just may be cranky. I don't know. Don't really care. Your life has absolutely no impact on me or my life. But, most of your points are not geared towards growing or learning. Just constant reiteration of the same things most times, and then a short capitulation, and then more of the same.

Not agreeing with other people is not a reason to be rejected.
I said it's just my opinion. Being blunt and direct about it doesn't mean I'm trying to force it on other people.
So stop playing the victim.

This will be my last post regarding what you say.

I completely disagree with your position simply because you've either chosen to overlook or cannot accept what I said about you playing both sides of the fence.

And, your opinion is just that, an opinion. But, you are trying to insist you are right and cannot or choose not to have any cogent argument to back up your opinions. I can have the opinion that the sky is always green or pink. Will not make it right.

I basically have bigger fish to fry in my world. Needless bickering (not cogent debate) is pointless and I choose to not engage with this anymore.

Telling people to keep their opinions to themselves won't make you any friends.

Never said to keep an opinion to yourself.