Here are the five top reasons why we never have, and never will, have a magical elf in our house at Christmas time:
The Big Brother element
Using Christmas as a behaviour modification tool is fraught with potential problems. Research suggests there are long-term consequences of using rewards (and lack of them) as a form of discipline. Not only are they largely ineffective, in the long term anyway, they can also really undermine the chances of the child repeating the ‘positive’ behaviour again without either the same or a better reward.
Elves that report back to Santa, or come with reward stickers may create short term compliance over the run up to Christmas, but there is a very real chance that parents can be faced with problems in the new year when the elf and the threat of losing presents is no longer around.
Top Comments
Agree with this completely! I find the elf creepy. I also hate the whole "if you're good, you'll get presents" mentality. I don't think We should be teaching kids that the reason we do nice things or behave well is because we might get something out of it for ourselves.
A few points:
1. If you think a little elf moving around the house at night is too scary for kids then I sure hope you don't inflict on them the belief in an old man sneaking into their house at night, or a giant bunny skipping around their garden, or a tiny fairy coming for their TEETH!
2. Children will be children and sometimes children are "naughty" or rather cheeky and mischievous. As are (some) elves. So you laugh at the elves behaviour with your children without vilifying the elves, and then they help you clean up the mess, and they learn that an uptight mum and dad don't always freak over silly tomfoolery and come down on them like a ton of bricks.
3. Actually elves don't have to be expensive at all. You can get them on Ebay for less than the price of a cup of coffee.
4. Some people (including us) get their elves doing Acts of Kindness of leaving kindness activities for the kids. Oh the horror!
5. Elf on the shelf is as stressful as YOU make it. Which, coincidentally is the same deal for the whole of Christmas itself. I know, I know, shocking concept.
6. Elf on the shelf is no more oneupmanship than the Pinterest crafts some mums show off with or the intricately decorated bday cakes some mums post, or the homemade goodies others share or the hand sewn clothes another makes or the amazing school photo day hairstyles another mum is capable of. We're all good at and interested in some things more than others. If elf on the shelf is one mum's forte - or many - who are we to judge and why you bother feeling competitive?
7. For some children their Elf actually IS an integral part of the magic of their family's Christmas tradition. Ask the parents today whose own parents did it for them as a kid and who are joyfully carrying it on for their own children! There are many stories online of this very experience of handing on the torch, or Elf so to speak! This is a concept that has been around for generations ~ it just hasn't been the "in thing".
Don't hate something just because it's popular...