The Tooth Fairy (or Easter Bunny, or Santa Claus . . .): a fun and harmless fiction, or a pointless justification for lying to children?
As a child, I loved believing in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy and when I found out that it was my parents, I was immensely disappointed, not with my parents but with the world. The world became a little sadder that day because I had to realize that there didn’t exist a benevolent being who just wanted to make me happy and show me that I was special for just a few different days in the year. I wouldn’t trade the fun and the anticipation of all those years of believing in them for all the tea in China even if, at the end it yielded such disappointment.
I think that it is a rite of passage for most and it embodies the childhood innocence that we try to keep alive for as long as possible. Adulthood comes way too quickly and it seems way too early for some, I say that if you can keep the fantasy or the illusion going, do so, you will be providing your child with wonderful memories and feelings of being special to another being that is shared with other children everywhere.
I love it and hate it at the same time. I can’t take the dramatic irony, but these things make life more fun for the kids.
I know. 🙂
I remember sobbing when I found out there was no Santa!
I didn’t cry but I remember the deep sadness. It wasn’t good:(