Why My Kids Will Never Believe in Santa

I really don’t like to lie. It gives me the heeby jeebies…I mean, I get this bad, horribly guilty, feeling when I lie. When I was a little girl I would tell the truth within days of telling any lie. Now, as a parent, I hate lying to my children too. I try to give them honest reasons for why they shouldn’t do things like eat MSG or jump on the couch (hello, head injury!).

So now with Christmas drawing near, my twins will be turning 2 years old, and my husband and I are being faced with what to tell our children about Santa. Everyone from Grandparents, to receptionists, to hair stylists are asking my toddlers if they are looking forward to seeing Santa, and getting gifts from Santa, and asking if they have been good for Santa etc. It just drives me crazy! The whole world just assumes that we tell our children that a rosy cheeked, large man will somehow break into our home and leave gifts for them…ugh.

So here are my problems with teaching my children to believe in Santa

1)     Jesus is the reason for the season. This season, and every other one. Our family celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas and I don’t want my children’s attention more focused on the glitz and glamour of Santa and gifts rather than Jesus. Don’t get me wrong, I love gifts, holiday lights, carols, glitter and reindeer….but I think that you can have all of that and still focus on the birth of Jesus. I think that Christmas is the perfect time to emphasize the gift that God has given us. Jesus is God’s gift to us and when Jesus died on the cross as payment for our sins; that was His gift to us. So in a season that seems to be all about who gives the best gift, we will be teaching our kiddos about the ultimate gift, Jesus.

2)   The whole lying thing. I can’t fathom perpetuating a lie for the next 5 or so years. Telling my children that there is currently a magical man, who lives in a magical land, with flying reindeer, and elves who make toys…that is a flat out lie. I LOVE LOVE pretend, and make believe. But I make it a point to make sure my children know that we are “pretending” to drink tea, and fly, and be puppy dogs, etc. They know reality from pretend. Enter Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, etc. I have no problem with my kids having fun and pretending that a large rabbit laid eggs in our yard, or pretending that a winged, magical fairy flies into their room and collects rotting, stinking teeth…ugh.

3)   We all know that it is hard to trust and/or respect people who have lied to us. Especially lies that have been carried out over years, or multiple lies. So I don’t want to start long term lies with my children. I want them to know that they can trust mommy and daddy; that we will always be honest with them. Being honest with them will instill respect and trust both ways.

4)   History is fun and Saint Nick was an interesting man. I hope to teach my children about the history of Saint Nick and how he became the legend known as Santa. I want my children to know how Santa came to be, and why people tell their kids about him. I hope to teach them to therefore respect other people’s feelings and not blurt our “Santa isn’t real!” to other children.

5)    Back to my pet peeve. It bothers me so much when people use Santa to try and manipulate their children and their behavior. Saying things such as “If you don’t behave Santa won’t bring you any gifts.” Or “ Santa is watching you and keeping a list.” Okay, that last one is just creepy. What kid needs to think that someone is always watching them, but they can’t see that person….But really, a child should be taught to behave because it is the right thing to do. If they behave well only when a reward is offered, they will quickly misbehave when there is no potential for reward, or when they find out that the reward is moot.

All this being said, we will celebrate Christmas, with Jesus as the focal point. We will decorate a tree, we will hang lights, we will sing about Rudolph. We will even go to a mall and get a picture taken on “Santa’s” lap. (Or as my kids will know him, a man dressed up as the historical Saint Nick.) You can still allow your family to experience the joy of celebrating the holidays of this world without being of this world. I don’t believe that my children have to be ostracized because they don’t believe in Santa. I hope that my kiddos can share their faith and love of Jesus Christ with all of their little friends during Christmas (and all other times).

Merry Christmas!

The Good, The Bad, and the Smelly...A Pros & Cons Review of Diapers

Diapers. Yeah, we go through a few; about 20-25 a day. On a good day that is. A good day being one without poop blowouts and urine soak throughs. That being said, we have used just about every brand of diaper out there. I like to think that makes me a self-appointed diaper expert. So I think that it is my duty, as an expert (haha) to let you all know the good, the bad, and the ugly about the diapers available out there.

Yes, that is over 2,000 diapers that we went through in months

Huggies:

I have found that overall Huggies diapers are very absorbent. They are decent at holding in wetness. They also are moderately priced. The Huggies brand is pretty good at putting out coupons too, which is a huge plus. They also have a rewards for purchases program. Their downfall is that they tend to run at least one size too small. This isn’t too big of a deal, except that when you buy a bigger size, you get less diapers per box for the same price. Ugh. What is the deal with smaller things costing more? But I will say that I like the Huggies Overnight diapers; I of course have to buy them one size larger. They are pretty good for stomach sleepers that tend to leak urine out of the top front. B

Pampers:

Now Pampers really is a mixed bag because they have many different types of diapers. Unfortunately, I am not a fan of most of them. I find that the Baby Dry have an odd smell and aren’t great at protecting against leaks. The Cruisers aren’t much different so I don’t know why they are touted as anything special. Another downside, Pampers are very pricey. Often they are the most expensive diapers available besides the organic type. On the plus side, I really do like their Swaddler variety. They used to be available only for small babies, but they are now available up to size 6. The Swaddlers tend to hold in most liquid and poop. They are also made of a thick and durable material. Pampers also offer some coupons and provide a rewards system based on purchases. B

Babies R Us:

I was extremely disappointed with these diapers. You would think that a diaper produced by a “baby” brand would be decent. Wrong. The Babies R Us brand diapers are thin and barely absorbent. They leak out of the leg holes very badly. A plus, they are inexpensive. But at the rate that you go through them, the low cost is moot. C-

Parent’s Choice (Walmart):

Walmart’s Equate and Parent’s Choice brand generally are a good equivalent to the national brand’s quality and better priced. However, their diapers are terrible. They are on par with the Babies R Us brand. They are super thin, not absorbent, and they leak. So again, while the price is great, it is not worth it because you will go through them so quickly. C-

Luvs:

I like Luvs. They are pretty low priced and decently absorbent. We still had leaks with Luvs, but not as many as with the Babies R Us and Parent’s Choice. Luvs would be my second choice in diapers. B

Target Brand:

Target’s brand of diapers is my favorite. They are of medium thickness so their absorbency is pretty decent. We have low leakage with Target diapers too. They move pretty well with our kids and their price is very good. One of the best things about Target diapers is that they often run a deal where you get a $10-$15 gift card when you purchase two boxes. A pretty sweet deal when you have two sets of twins. Plus, I got a Target Red Debit Card so I get an additional 5% off of all purchases and free shipping from their website. I don’t know about you, but it can be very hard for me to get out of the house to buy diapers. Thus, the free shipping from Target is a great option! The negative about Target diapers is that they have a slight tendency to bust open and leak the absorbent gel bead insides. Generally this happens with a semi full diaper and after bouncing or rough playing. However, I have found these beads all over my daughter when she hasn’t been bouncing or rough playing. So overall, Target diapers are my #1 choice. A-

Choosy moms choose Target lol! 

MAM Infant and Toddler Products Review

I love baby products. Every few months it seems like companies put out these new and innovative products that are safer, better looking, and more effective for baby’s use. MAM UK gave me the opportunity to select some things from their website to use with my 4 kiddos and review. Among the things that I have tried out with my kids are a nifty teether, some cool glow in the dark pacifiers, some soft, coated spoons with a carry case and dribble bibs.

I love, love, love the teethers! MAM sent me a blue one and a pink one so that my 2 year old boy/girl twins could each have their own. I love that you can chill these teethers and so do my kids. They have a unique shape that allows for contact on the front and back teeth, on both sides. Perhaps one of its best features is the clip-on function; my kids have a ton of teethers and leave them all over the house. With this clip-on teether, I can guarantee that they will have it for at least an hour before they figure out how to get it off.

Next, we tried the dribble bibs. So cute! We got two of them, one in green and one in pink. They remind me of a bandanna and they look way cooler than your normal bib. They have several folds that are intended to catch debris; liquid or otherwise. However, we used these bibs for bottle feeding and it was a fail. They didn’t catch the milk or the subsequent spit up. I think that the term “dribble bib” is meant to imply that these bibs are meant to catch drool from teething babies. Not the gush of spit up that comes out of my acid reflux babies.

We sterilized the new glow in the dark (Perfect Night) pacifiers and introduced them to our toddlers. They loved them! These new Perfect Night pacifiers are designed to reduce the risk of misaligned teeth and thanks to Dento-Flex® the nipple neck is 60% thinner and the nipple itself is 4 times softer. We obviously love that these glow in the dark. My twins are champs at losing their pacifiers behind their cribs. Then, of course, we cannot find them in the dark. Now, voila, we can suddenly find the glowing pacifiers! Yay!

One of the great things about all of the MAM pacifiers we received is that they all came in their own little sterilizer box; which is so convenient for cleaning. The spoon set is also great! The smaller spoon has a nice curve that helps little eaters in training. I also really appreciated that a MAM representative followed up with me to see how we liked the products and if we had any questions.

MAM also sent us two mini teethers specifically meant for the front teeth, and two small training tooth brushes for ages 6 months and up. The mini teethers are too small for my 2 year olds, and I tried giving them to my 4 month olds but they are still thrusting their tongues forward so that didn’t work for them yet. And the toothbrushes look amazing, and perfect for small hands. It has a tongue scrubber on the back and a lot of grip for little hands.

So far we haven’t had any disappointments with MAM products and I would recommend them to any of my friends. I can’t wait until my little ones are big enough to use the other great MAM products that we have bat cannot use yet. Check out MAM UK's website today, follow them on Facebook and on Twitter too!

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