I have a dilemma, which is mostly of my own making. As the Safe Ministry Representative in our church, I have a tendency to see things through the harm prevention goggles I've been given to wear. NO SECRETS! proclaims the manual. Don't encourage children to have secrets, as that can make them susceptible to predators who love to weave a secret world away from parent's eyes.
OK, fine. But what about Christmas?
Exhibit A:
Recently, my husband wanted to go shopping for a present for me. A secret present. Unfortunately, in our little town, it wasn't possible to find the item he wanted, so he returned empty handed after carting the kids around to various locations. I returned home shortly thereafter to hear:
(yelled through the screen door) "Mummy! We couldn't find your pres-"
(hurried shushing from Dad)
I walked in and got comfortable, and Eldest came running up to me with a catalogue in hand.
"Mummy!" he yelled eagerly, "We tried to find this for you (pointing to the item in question) but we couldn't!"
Exhibit B:
Eldest's preschool is a very strong Santa teacher. Two weeks ago he apparently watched a DVD all about the jolly bloke, and on the last day came running up with a little plastic shot glass full of "Magic Reindeer Food". Apparently he's supposed to sprinkle it on the grass to encourage the reindeer to stop at our house on Christmas Eve. We have explained that Santa is a fun game that some kids play, and that you shouldn't spoil the fun for them by saying that Santa isn't real, but with the secret-keeping behaviour of Exhibit A, next Christmas is going to be a worry.
Any ideas?
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