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The Elf On The Shelf Is Nothing More Than Bullying Your Kids

Every Christmas since I joined Facebook, my news feed is filled with that silly little elf. Sure, last year I had fun and posted pics I found around the net of the elf doing blow off of Barbie's ass and such, but I don't have kids and I wouldn't allow that little guy in my house if I did.

Here's the problem with it. It's bullying. Just because you attach a cute story to it, you're instilling the fear of no gifts to a child who is still naive enough to believe in Santa. Sure they will laugh when they awaken to see the Elf making cereal, but that wears off quickly and the thought that the elf might possibly have been watching them is creepy enough, but monitoring their behavior? That's plain sick.

I have a big problem with what I see friends doing these days and calling it parenting. I'm not saying a DVD from time to time isn't a needed break, but I know people who use this for hours on end. The lack of imagination they are using will hamper them socially down the road. Don't tell me you only use them for educational purposes either, because when your fifth grader can't understand math, because there isn't soothing Mozart and a puppet teaching it, it will be your fault.

The elf is a lazy way of controlling your kids, whether that was the reason you bought it or not. It also sets your children up for heartbreak if they don't get something they had hoped for. Imagine you get something for them that is the wrong size, shape, color, whatever the case may be? They will think in their hear that they've done something wrong. If you're reading this and saying, "My kid is much too smart for that," then why do you use the elf? Wouldn't they be smart enough to know the elf is false gimmick, just like Santa?

Kids who this was made for are in their formative years and if you attach a negative action to a positive objective, you create a world of doubt in a child's mind. I've seen children have complete breakdowns because a parent has forgotten to bake cookies to leave out for Santa and they had to run out Christmas eve and go buy them, just to console the child. What's the lesson? If you attach something to a child being rewarded, they will take that very seriously and if you create a game, where for an entire month, they worry about their daily actions and how it will affect their Christmas bounty, you create anxiety.

You don't have kids.
You don't understand.
You're over thinking this.
You're wrong.

Watch a Catholic walk into a Lutheran church and tell me child programming doesn't stay with us forever.

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