4 countercultural reasons my family doesn’t celebrate Santa (and why my kids think he’s Noah)

December 10, 2014 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Christ, countercultural, God, nicholas, not real, presents, santa, santa claus

I don’t own a pair of those record-everything “Google Glasses,” but there are times I wish they had been invented much sooner.

Like the moment in 2010 when my oldest son – then 2 – first saw an image of Santa Claus. He and I had been enjoying a father-son night at a Cracker Barrel restaurant, having just finished off a shared plate of chicken and dumplings after coloring the kids’ menu.

But before leaving we wanted one more moment in front of the restaurant’s fireplace, and it was that moment I could have used those Google Glasses.

“Noah!” he shouted.

Caught off guard and trying not to laugh, I replied, “Did you say Noah?”

“Yeah, Noah!” he excitedly responded, pointing upward at the fireplace mantle, where a small statuette of Santa Claus resided.

And then it hit me: This is how a child who has not been raised to know anything about Santa responds.

I grew up believing in Santa – studying toy catalogs and writing letters to the North Pole — but when I reached adulthood I pretty much decided that I didn’t want to continue that tradition with my children. And then I married someone who felt the same way. And so it was an easy decision: We wouldn’t “do Santa.”

Of course, such a decision would have no impact on anyone at all if my family lived in the Alaskan wilderness or in the northern parts of British Columbia or pretty much anywhere in Wyoming. But we don’t. We live in a town near a mid-sized city. We interact with people, and our kids do, too.

When our kids were very little, we never mentioned Santa around them. No books about Santa. No TV shows about him. Nothing. When strangers asked them what Santa was bringing them for Christmas, they responded with a “what-planet-are-you-from” look – and we all laughed.

As they aged, though, they learned from friends who Santa was. But because we didn’t reinforce the Santa story at home, they naturally placed him alongside other fictional characters such as Clifford The Big Red Dog and Charlie Brown. It was only when they were 5 or 6 and running into friends who “believe in” Santa that they came home with questions. And so we tell them that some families practice Santa and some kids believe he’s real — and that we shouldn’t ruin it for them. But, of course, kids are kids, and everything doesn’t always go as planned.

Sadly, Santa has turned into one of those taboo subjects for Christians that we can’t discuss without dividing into camps, getting angry, and questioning everyone’s motives, patriotism and faith. We have friends on both sides of this, and we get along just fine.

My family does eat apple pie and we do celebrate the Fourth of July and we even like baseball. We just don’t “do Santa.” Here’s four reasons why:
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3 easy ways to teach your kids the REAL (non-PC) Pilgrims’ story

November 17, 2014 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged charlie brown, giving thanks, God, mayflower, pilgrims, prayer, thanksgiving, thanksgiving book, thanksgiving day

Several years ago I was in an airport with an hour or so to waste, and decided to go hunting for a shop that sold one of my favorite sweet treats – frozen yogurt.

But when I found a yogurt shop, my heart sank.

“Sorry – no yogurt today,” a matter-of-fact sign read.

Huh? No yogurt? Why? You’re a yogurt shop!

Alas, I didn’t get any yogurt that day. But I did get a memorable story that applies directly to our modern day celebration of Thanksgiving. Let me explain.

Thanksgiving became a national holiday in 1863, when President Lincoln proclaimed a day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” Lincoln had it right, but modern-day America has drifted far, far from that first proclamation.

America still celebrates Thanksgiving, and it still gives thanks. But for the most part, it’s forgotten the “Whom” it’s thanking.

We’re the yogurt shop with no yogurt, trying to celebrate Thanksgiving without give “thanks” to God. (And we’re not about to reference those Christian Pilgrims.)

This perhaps is best seen when searching for children’s books that recount the story of the Pilgrims – a group of men, women and children who crossed the Atlantic to find religious freedom. Sadly, few children’s books acknowledge either the Pilgrims’ faith or their purpose in crossing the sea. My kids have one book on their bookshelf that says the Pilgrims wanted to hold a celebration feast because they “felt so happy about their good fortune.” The Pilgrims, essentially feeling lucky? I doubt that’s how the Pilgrims – who believed God guided their every step – truly felt.

I’m always looking for children’s products that teach the true story of Thanksgiving, but the list is fairly short. I spent a few minutes at a major chain bookstore the other day, looking for books (aimed at young children ages 4-8) that give more than a one-sentence reference to the Christian part of the story. In the end, I found two.
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9 chaos-free steps for taking your child to any sporting event

October 22, 2014 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Children, families, family, football, kids, Parents, sporting events, sports

Generally, when I’m at football games and enthralled by the on-field action, I ignore comments by the inebriated fans.

But one remark caught my attention recently.

“I’ve been to 100 games here, and I just want you to know that what you’re doing is great,” the man told me. He was in his 20s and wasn’t slurring his speech, but he obviously had had a few “extra ones” outside the stadium.

I suppose my two young sons and I stood out, even in the midst of an 80,000 seat college football stadium. My 2-year-old was sitting in my lap and my 6-year-old son was sitting beside me, and both were behaving remarkably well — great news because I was doing this solo. I had thought a “boys’ day” would be fun and challenging, and I wanted my wife to enjoy time alone with our daughter.

So what would possess a grown man to take two young boys to such a crowded, busy, loud event? Simply the fact that I enjoy college football and thought my sons would, too. And they did.

We got in the car that morning at 5:50 for an 11 o’clock game, and everything – from the weather to the game to the post-game events – went splendid. There were no meltdowns or tantrums.

Maybe God just blessed me with a marvelous time that day, and perhaps next time it will be disastrous, but there are at least nine things I did right that I’ll try again. If you’re a sports fan wanting to take your child to a major sporting event, here are a few tips: Continue reading →

‘Dad, will dinosaurs be in heaven?’ (the answer may surprise you)

October 17, 2014 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Christ, creation, creationism, dinosaurs, dinosaurs in heaven, extinct, glory, God, heaven, old earth, young earth

Sometimes I wonder if we Christians have missed the mark when it comes to discussing dinosaurs. I think about this often because I have a 6-year-old who, honestly, wishes he were a triceratops.

Too often we seem to get lost in arguments over the when and how—for instance, “Did they live thousands or millions of years ago?”—and we fail to ask a more basic question: Why did God create dinosaurs? For instance, did He make these majestic creatures simply so we could split up into two camps (young-earthers and old-earthers), or did He make them for the same reason He made the rest of creation: for His glory? And if he made them for His glory—which He did—then why did He have them all die off before you or I would even see them?

Here’s what I think: It’s because we will see them again someday, after creation is restored. There is scriptural evidence for this, and that should excite all Christians—your kids, my kids and the “kid” in all of us—and make us even more amazed at God’s plan for the future.

To build the case for why dinosaurs just may be in heaven, we need to start with a more basic question: Will animals be in heaven? I don’t know whether your specific pet or mine will be in heaven, but the Bible seems clear that animals—generally speaking—will be there. Consider …
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4 tricks to making every child in a large family feel special

September 29, 2014 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Children, Christ, families, God, kids, large family, Parents

There’s a humorous but wise adage that many parents who are having their third child eventually hear: “Man-to-man defense no longer applies. You’ll have to switch to a zone.”

The meaning in a nutshell? The kids now outnumber the parents.

I had heard friends talk about the blessings and challenges of a larger family but didn’t fully understand it until my wife and I added twins to our “bunch,” which automatically bumped our small family of three to a “large” family of five – thereby putting us at that out-of-the-way corner booth in all the restaurants. No longer would we fit at 95 percent of the restaurant tables or 99 percent of the hotel rooms.

That also meant it was not possible for each child to be held, for each kid to receive individual attention, for each child to sit in a lap. I’ve always been one who wants to see needs met, so it was a major adjustment. After all, I physically couldn’t read a story to my twins and ride bike with my oldest son at the same time – even though I wanted to do both. (It did, though, put me in awe of God more, because He
can comfort the little boy in China and the little girl in America simultaneously.)

So can a mother and father of multiple kids still make each one feel special? Yes. Here are four suggestions:
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