Speaking from the Heart

If I had my way, my kids wouldn't have believed in the tooth fairie, Santa Clause, and the Easter Bunny. I wanted them to focus on the birth of Christ and His resurrection. However, a family member persuaded me that it was best for the kids to believe in Santa and the Easter Bunny. If they didn't believe in Santa and the Easter Bunny, the kids would have teased them in school.

I regretted the decision, because I was being a hypocrite. It's not all right for them to lie, but it's fine for me to stretch the truth. I can't imagine the hurt my daughter felt, when she found out that there was no such thing as the tooth fairie, Santa Clause, and the Easter Bunny.

Summer 2007

My daughter doesn't like to read. Therefore, I was thrilled when Lisa Whelchel's Creative Correction caught her attention. She read the book to see if I had applied any rules in our home. She read the book as if it was a novel. As a matter of fact, she stayed up past midnight reading it. Not thinking about the contents in the book, I encouraged her to read on.

The book and the lies came back to haunt me. While we were riding our bicycles, she asked me if there was such thing as a tooth fairie. Not wanting to hurt her feelings, I danced around the question. When guilt overcame me, I apologized for lying and told her the truth.

Since she knew that a tooth fairie didn't exist, she began to question me about Santa Clause. and the Easter Bunny. This part was hard, because I knew this was going to hurt her more. After telling her the truth, I gently reminded her that Easter and Christmas are all about Jesus, not about Easter Bunny and Santa Clause.