The Santa-skeptic

My seven year old son doesn't believe in Santa Clause. He displayed a very bad attitude a few Christmas seasons ago. At that point, I proceeded to inform him that I was his Santa Clause. If he didn't like it, then Santa just won't visit him in the future on Christmas day.

He was quite grateful for his gifts, after that.

Nowadays, when I pick him up from the bus stop after school, he complains about how all of his friends still believe in Santa Clause.

"They just keep thinking he's real. They won't listen to me. I try to tell them. Geesh! They won't even listen".

I try to help him understand that everyone isn't ready to face the reality of Santa Clause not being real. Their parents keep telling them that Santa is coming. I think many parents use Santa Clause as leverage for good behavior. Also, my son's friends probably want Santa to be real. After all, Santa will deliver exactly what they want for Christmas.

My son is still happy and enjoys Christmas even though he doesn't believe in Santa Clause.

He even enjoys watching movies about Santa such as the Polar Express or The Santa Clause.

But, dismissing Santa Clause is easy. People claim that Santa Clause lands on your roof top and comes down your chimney.

People say that he brings toys and lives at the North Pole.

I know that if I don't place gifts under the tree for my kids, nobody else will.

My son believes in god. He does because both his grandmothers spend a lot of alone time with him. They both lay it on thick.

But, I teach him a lot about the nature of the world we live in -- the solar system, the weather system, history. Little tidbits of the basic things.

He notices contradictions in what he hears from his grandmothers and what I tell him from time to time. How can god control the weather if rain comes from clouds? If god does control the weather, then why does he let hurricanes hurt people?

My son noticed problems with Santa Clause before I ever admitted that Saint Nick didn't exist. He asked how Santa Clause could visit our home since we didn't have a chimney (at the time, our home did not have a fireplace).

Maybe he was already turning into a Santa-skeptic before I even told him the truth.

Maybe deep inside, he's becoming a god-skeptic, too.

Time will tell.