Do your kids enjoy sitting on Santa's lap?
You see it all the time…
Kids in shopping malls crying at the top of their lungs because they’re scared of sitting on Santa’s lap.
And then you see the parents dismissing their kids’ crying as innocent, insignificant fear while the kids are still forced into sitting on this stranger’s lap.
In the end is a picture of two individuals in two completely different state of minds. Santa Claus smiles while the kids cry.
Judith Barr, a psychotherapist and author of Power Abused, Power Healed, believes that parents should never force their frightened, crying kids to sit on Santa’s lap.
Here’s why…
[Forcing your kids to sit on Santa's lap] subverts the child’s “ownership” of and responsibility for his or her own body and for his or her own feelings. It cedes to others the right to do such things as touch the child when he or she does not want to be touched. Children learn that their body is not their own…that others (friends, dates, strangers) have the right to do with them whatever the other wants, regardless of the wishes of the children…and that mom and dad will go along with this. This diminishes, even sabotages, children’s ability to say “No” to things that are not right or safe…like inappropriate touching, and pressure to have unwanted sex, drug use, etc.
So the simple act of making your child sit on Santa’s lap while he or she is clearly not willing to goes beyond just a picture at the end of the day. It can affect the child in the long run.
Do you make your kids sit on Santa’s lap despite their crying? Do you think it’s a good or bad idea to do this? Let’s hear your thoughts below!
Should I Make Scared Child Sit in Santa Claus’ Lap? No, Warns Experts [Associated Content]
