Reminds me of my son. As soon as he could talk,which was very early, he had an imaginary playmate. Naturally I tried to find out what was the best way to handle it. After that I proceeded to emphasize to him that pretend was fun but he needed to remember the difference between pretend and real. One summer when he was about 2 and 1/2 years old, we were going to the grocery store and he proceeded to tell me that Santa Claus was not real. I asked him why he thought that. He said you couldn't really see pretend things and he had never seen Santa. Boy was I glad I hadn't taken him to the mall to sit on Santa's lap the previous year. We came to an agreement that Santa was pretend but everyone made him up so that we could make a special time to remember and have a good time with the people we loved.
Unfortunately many of the parents in his kindergarten class were very upset with his determination to explain this to the other children.
I grew up in a family that were JW's, needless to say I got into a lot of fights at school but I also never believed in Santa or the Easter Bunny etc. One bully who was particularly annoying was absolutely crushed when I explained to him that Santa and the Easter Bunny were just his parents and that it was all bull shit. He left me alone after that, probably worried that I might tell him more things that would crush his fantasies. lol
The parents of my grandson's 2nd grade classmates had the same issue when he tried to explain to their kids about god
You tellin’ me Santa ain’t real!!!?!!!!
Well since God isn't real then there can't be a St. Nicholas, so yeah, no Santa. lol
I always figured God wasn’t real, since the fucker never answers my prayers.
At least Santa brings me presents every now and again?!
That's when I stopped believing in God...when I found out they lied to me about Santa. I was 5 when I realized my "note from Santa" was in my mother's handwriting. To her credit, she admitted it when I confronted her about it. Then she cried. Mother was religious in a very quiet way. She knew I didn't believe in god. It made her sad, but she never argued with me.
When I was a child I pretended Santa was real, even after I knew otherwise. I realized playing along would net me gifts. Perhaps some religious adults have a similar thought process.
My kids used your strategy. Of course it might of had something to do with the fact that I told them on several occasions, that if they ever stopped believing in him, he wouldn’t bring them anymore presents…..
Agreed. Playing along at least gets you social acceptance, conformity, and maybe some conditional friendship. And there's always the magical hope that you will be rewarded for your faith by some sky fairy..