Are you on Santa's good or naughty list? A mother from Queensland in Australia had to put her own kids on the naughty list and "cancel" Christmas due to their bad behaviour!
While most kids are excepting lots of (expensive) presents on Christmas, they often forget that they are supposed to be good all year to deserve a visit from Santa! Discipline and punishments are very controversial and different from parent to parent.
So when this mother with the help of Elsie the help, wrapped up the Christmas tree in plastic wrap and hid all the present, the internet went crazy! Some people were supporting the mother, while others were saying that kids are already having a hard year due to COVID-19. On which side are you?
However, this wouldn't be the first time a parent canceled Christmas! We all heard stories of parents packing up all the decorations and some even ended up giving all the toys to donation! After further thinking, the mother is still allowing her kids to improve their behavior within 1 week, she is quite generous!
On the other hand, parenting expert and academic Michael Carr-Gregg told ABC that she might be doing more damage than good. In fact, cancelling Christmas can really damage the parent-kid relationship. Gregg said:
"I think that we get into dangerous waters when we speak on behalf of Santa Claus or his elves. The general principle of there being consequences for bad behaviour I agree with 100 per cent. Just not this way. Christmas is a time for family, peace, love and good will … and to turn it into a punitive toll takes some of the gloss off Christmas."
Parenting and Family Support Centre psychologist Kylie Burke agrees with Gregg and said:
"What we would say that works better are consequences that are brief so no more than five to 30 minutes in duration that are immediate so the kids experience that consequence pretty close to when the behaviour has happened."
Experts also agree that parents should not be speaking on behalf of Santa or the elves. Also, the kids are more likely to behave even more badly as they will get really upset their favourite holiday is canceled.
What do you think? Do you believe this mother is being too harsh?
