‘Tis the Christmas season, but if Generation Z and cancel culture have anything to say about it, Santa Claus won’t be coming to town anytime soon. The jolly red fellow who inspires children to be nice and not naughty is naught but a pile of coal in the stocking because some parents feel lying to their children about him is “traumatizing.” And they have every intention of pressing the issue and ruining it for the children who do believe.
Santa Isn’t Real Trending on TikTok
The hashtag #SantaIsntReal has already had more than 18 million views on TikTok as Gen Z parents yell, preach, and even cry triggered crocodile tears at how telling children about Santa is upsetting them. Apparently, this comes from the new trend of raising kids called Gentle Parenting. This technique focuses on four elements: boundaries, empathy, respect, and understanding. It “encourages age-appropriate discipline that teaches valuable life lessons,” according to the verywell family website.
Gentle Parenting became popular after, you guessed it, celebrities told fans that they use this child-rearing method. Actress Alicia Silverstone was one such Hollywood elite who bragged about being a gentle parent. However, it should be noted that the Clueless star (pun intended) is still sleeping with her 11-year-old son, saying it promotes bonding, despite the fact that many psychologists disagree, and teaches boundaries. “When a child begins to question the difference in genders, his puberty and or starts to show discomfort is when to stop,” parenting expert and psychologist Reena B. Patel told DailyMail.com. “It can be as early as five years of age.”
Part of the Santa issue for Gen Z parents is that it requires lying to their children and how that will destroy trust later in life. Another is they don’t like the idea that a fat, cheerful man dressed in red will determine if the child has been naughty or nice. One TikToker said, “We actually won’t be doing presents from Santa for our kids because I don’t like the idea of lying to my kids or my kids getting ‘better’ things from Santa than other kids.” She then added, “I don’t want to scare my children into thinking that they have to behave a certain way or that they were more ‘naughty or nice’ than another child based on Christmas gifts.”
Tanysha Costales posted a video on the social networking site, saying her child’s teacher had been “pushing Santa” onto other students and that she didn’t want to “feed her child lies.”
In one video, a man is asked about his parenting beliefs when it comes to Santa and other imaginary characters. While wearing a hat featuring a unicorn horn with ears, he said they decided not to lie to their daughter about the jolly fellow “[b]ecause of the psychological trauma that occurs with children when they find out their parents have been lying to them for years and years and years.” You can see the short video here.
(Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
In another, called Post Santa Interview, which warns it isn’t a real interview (but still amusing), a 24-year-old man is upset after just finding out Santa isn’t real. While it’s “fake news,” the idea behind it isn’t so funny because it exemplifies the triggered attitudes of younger generations. You can view it here.
Millennials to the Rescue?
Who would have thought that millennials would be the ones to talk sense to Gen Z parents? This cancel-culture generation doesn’t seem like they would mind crossing Santa off the nice list, but many took to TikTok in defense of Mr. Claus.
For example, Courtney Ryrie shared her video, saying, “If you choose to not let your kids believe in Santa, that’s fine. Just make sure to educate them to not to ruin it for others who do believe.”
It seems every generation is getting more cancel-addicted, looking for anything and everything that can be considered traumatizing, inappropriate, racist, and on and on. This year, letting kids believe in Santa causes psychological trauma. What will it be next year?
