My sweet Little Buddy got into some MAJOR trouble with his after school program for making a very very bad joke.
A little back story:
Not sure where Little Buddy heard this, most likely an old Disney cartoon where Goofy dresses up as Santa. Well, he came home talking about a story where a little boy pulled the beard off of the "fake" Santa and exposed him for the fraud he was. *See below.
Santa just so happened to be visiting Little Buddy's school yesterday, and what does my dear sweet child say to the kids?
"That's not Santa, his beard is fake, I know someone pulled it off."
SHIT!!
According to the teacher at his after school program, Little Buddy ruined Christmas for children who still believe in Santa.
P.S. this just auto corrected to Satan. *nervous giggle*
He was kept away from the kids for the day.
He was scolded and told that he ruined Christmas.
He was told that Santa doesn't come to the homes of non-believers and that he wouldn't get any gifts.
I would like to take the time to point out that my child STILL EFFING BELIEVES in Santa.
We get to the car and he BURSTS into tears, big Niagara falls tears. All he can say to me is "Mom I didn't mean it, I didn't mean to ruin Christmas, but he was fake"
My response was simple, "Buddy how would you feel if someone came to class and told you Santa wasn't real"
"But he is real, Mom. I know it" was his response.
He then told me it was just supposed to be a joke, that it was a high school volunteer, the boots were fake, he didn't mean to hurt anyone. And the tears continued.
I felt like my child was being made out to be a bad kid, a mean child that wanted others to not believe. When it was a stupid mistake. We all make mistakes, we all react to the mistakes we make differently and he was taking this hard.
I hugged him, I hugged him and told him it was OK. That he could make it better, apologize to the kids and explain that it was a bad joke.
"But they think I'm a bad kid, they think I'm mean. I ruined Christmas!"
So I walked my freezing booty back into the school and asked the provider for a moment of their time. I proceed to explain to her that he does believe in Santa and that he didn't mean it. He isn't a bad kid and would never intentionally hurt anyone, especially in this way. I told her that I understood that he hurt feelings of his friends and that he wanted to apologize and make up for it.
I was told this: "He did Christmas for a few of his friends, one in particular was crying. A special needs child will not get over this. I don't know why he did it, but we won't tolerate it. That Santa is the only Santa some of these kids will see, this is a very poor area and they don't have the ability to see a mall santa"
What I thought was:
Um, excuse me but I am well aware of the economic profile of OUR neighborhood. We live here too! My child has NEVER sat on a "mall Santa's" lap, I don't like the lines, I don't like the crowds, I don't like most people and I sure as hell don't have the money to spend on a pic of my screaming child sitting on a strangers lap (what lesson are we teaching here?!). Heck the last Santa he saw was Goofy for goodness sakes! But in his defense, he was right. The young man in the Santa suit was not the real Santa. Whether he believes or not there is nothing wrong with noticing flaws in a costume. Should he have kept his observations to himself, damn right he should have. But we are human we make mistakes. Ease up will ya, he's 7 years old!
What I said was:
"I am sorry that my sons poor choice in a joke has led his friends to not believe in Santa. I sorry that you feel his mistake has ruined Christmas for a few of his peers. My Little Buddy is a mess over this and feels terrible."
I should have said what I thought...
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