Children sitting on Santa's knee....yay or nay?

AudreyHepburn

I posted this in the Christmas forum....just curious as to people's opinions here!

I came across a post on Facebook today about a mother who took her child to visit Santa and was shocked to be told that he could only stand beside or sit next to Santa not on his knee because 'You can never be too careful'.

There are calls in Australia at the moment for the practice to be banned altogether.

What are my fellow boardsie's opinions on the matter?

Personally I see no problem with it whatsoever. It's a lovely tradition for children imo and I can't see the good in teaching them it's not safe to sit on Santa's knee.

I can't understand why it's so hard for people to accept that their children are statistically more likely tone abused by some-one known to them than this mythical dangerous stranger on the prowl.

Lovely Bloke

Last week I let my 7 month old sit on a Santa-impersonator's knee, he had a great time.

so did my son.

Rabbo

Jesus Christ. It's getting to a stage now that a man won't be allowed to look at a child without being branded a paedophile.

Women lock up your children, there are men around!

How Soon Is Now

Jesus nothing is safe anymore is it!!

Over sensitive crap really has taken a huge hold on society in general.

OldNotWIse

F.uck sake.

The only benefit from not allowing it that I can see is to protect innocent men from false allegations by hysterical parents. We've actually got to a stage now where a man is afraid to go to the aid of a lost child in a shopping centre for fear of being accused of doing something he shouldn't, and I remember reading a post here a number of years back by a man who spotted a child in the swimming pool unattended who had gone out of his depth. He had to help him but was terrified he'd be accused of trying to steal/molest him so basically held him out at arms length, shouting "does anyone own this kid!?" - quite funny really but a sign of how ridiculous our society has become. And, as all too many know, it's not usually the stranger, is it?

**** sake, hey Santa! Leave those kids alone!

Anyone who has a problem with their child sitting on santa's knee is an idiot, simple as that.

castletownman

They'll be bemoaning the tradition of leaving out a mince pie and glass of milk for Santa, and a carrot for Rudolph, next as it encourages unhealthy eating or something.

PC gone mad Joe.

Lovely Bloke

Glass of milk?

My kid will be leaving a bottle of premium craft beer for Santy!

kylith

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Glass of milk?

My kid will be leaving a bottle of premium craft beer for Santy!

We always left a glass of whiskey. Co-incidentally Santa was a big fan of the same one as my dad.

jester77

castletownman wrote: »

They'll be bemoaning the tradition of leaving out a mince pie and glass of milk for Santa, and a carrot for Rudolph, next as it encourages unhealthy eating or something.

PC gone mad Joe.

Once the milk is lactose free, the mince pie is gluten free and the carrot is organic then I don't see anything wrong.

Corvo

"Kids, we aren't leaving out a carrot for Rudolph this year, he used it as a sex toy last Christmas"

Christ. Lock this thread, what a load of rubbish.

Staplor

Rabbo wrote: »

Jesus Christ. It's getting to a stage now that a man won't be allowed to look at a child without being branded a paedophile.

Women lock up your children, there are men around!

Hide yo wives, hide yo kids, and hide yo husbands they raping everybody up here

Tabnabs

If Bad Santa has taught us anything, keep small children at arms length and never on your knee...

suicide_circus

Sad reflection of the direction we have allowed our society to go. Professional handwringers, take a bow.

c_man

castletownman wrote: »

They'll be bemoaning the tradition of leaving out a mince pie and glass of milk for Santa, and a carrot for Rudolph, next as it encourages unhealthy eating or something.

PC gone mad Joe.

Glass of milk? Jaysus the PC brigade have already gotten rid of Santa's drop of whiskey then?!

castletownman

c_man wrote: »

Glass of milk? Jaysus the PC brigade have already gotten rid of Santa's drop of whiskey then?!

Can't be drink driving sleighing like

super_furry

I don't they're going far enough. The only way to ensure children are safe is to lock them up in a cage until they're 18. Give them an iPad (internet restricted obviously) and they'll be grand.

Micky Dolenz

I saw Santa empty his sack.

fran17

The same woman who is lobbying this has been a finalist in the "Australian of the year" award numerous times.Scary.

Karl Stein

castletownman wrote: »

PC gone mad.

I reckon most of the people who say this have no clue what it means.

This Santa's knee thing would be more of a child protection issue.

Discouraging the use the word 'retarded' in favour of the term 'intellectually disabled' or 'Police Officer' in place of 'Policeman' in respect of gender would be a PC thing.

Edit: I think it's ridiculously OTT to ban something like this. Let parents decide.

jimgoose

I'm not gone on that Santy fella at all, at all at all. I'm told he sneaks into children's bedrooms in the middle of the night and empties his sack.

mad muffin

Tabnabs wrote: »

If Bad Santa has taught us anything, keep small children at arms length and never on your knee...

Exactly. I don't want my child sitting on no hobo rent a santa's knee.

God knows what kind of filthy peado this hobo is! :mad:

Philo Beddoe

I love how a situation which is the direct result of tabloid indignation and curtain-twitcher paranoia is being labelled as political correctness. Next up, how immigration is to blame.

Plazaman

As a helper of Mr Claus and a wearer of his suit down through the years, I have come to the conclusion that a lot of the time children are brought to visit Santa, it is for the parents sake not the kids. I would probably be talking about kids 5 years and under who are foisted upon the knee of a stranger by the parents that they trust. Tears and tantrums ensue. It irks me when a kid is obviously scared, that Mammy or Daddy force the kid to sit on Santas knee. Luckily I am armed with distraction tactics for all the family to get the kid their present, the parents their photo and all out the door before the grotto is wrecked.

Menas

Look- Santa is an foreigner and probably a muslim who is drawing the dole in ireland too. Would you really want.....

Oh wait, wrong thread.

ALiasEX

Kids, don't talk to strangers, I'll just force you on this stranger's knee.

ToddyDoody

Aiden Tight Springtime wrote: »

Anyone who has a problem with their child sitting on santa's knee is an idiot, simple as that.

I'm sure that's true but you just cant be too careful these days

GalwayGuitar

Isn't Australia the same country that bans men from sitting next to children on airplanes in case they accidentally molest them?

anncoates

ToddyDoody wrote: »

but you just cant be too careful these days

Or hysterical, by the sounds of things.

c_man

Trigger Happy wrote: »

Look- Santa is an foreigner and probably a muslim who is drawing the dole in ireland too. Would you really want....

I heard he got radicalised while fighting in Syria.

The Moldy Gowl

So they won't allow them sit on his knee, but tell the tale of how Santa breaks into you're house and comes into your room without waking you to give you presents.

Surprised they haven't banned Santa

My name is URL

I feel sorry for kids who are brought up by such paranoid fcukwits... can't be good for developing their character.

diomed

I visited Santa in a midlands town in the 1950s and it was super-exciting. About 40 years later my Da told me he was the town drunk.

FunLover18

Sitting on Santa's knee is grand as long as they stay away from the Easter Bunny's hole

Zonda999

OldNotWIse wrote: »

F.uck sake.

The only benefit from not allowing it that I can see is to protect innocent men from false allegations by hysterical parents:(

Nail on the head tight here. If this where we're at, then it really is a sad stage for our "society".

I don't mean to go OT here but I was thinking about lately the idea that you can go out looking for the best or worst in people you encounter in life. I think this kind of hysteria feeds into that somehow..

mohawk

Karl Stein wrote: »

This Santa's knee thing would be more of a child protection issue

Protecting the child from what though? The parents/responsible adult is present for the Santa visit.

What kind of world is my son facing as he grows up? At what age does a male become an automatic threat to children? 16?...18?...

Kermit.de.frog

I'm increasingly of the view that political correctness is in fact a damaging cult or ideology. You can't do anything, can't say anything about anyone or group (no matter how true it is) or make simple observations without some busy body pressing the intolerant button or screaming blue murder about something. This Santa thing seems an extension of that.

What really annoys me about it though is the people that propagate this stuff most are those least affected by the consequences - i.e the middle class telling the working class how to think about immigration for example when they are the ones most affected. Now we have the great paedophile panic of 2014. Everyone must be watched, every man (in particular) is potentially a dodgy so and so and children must be protected by the most over the top and ludicrous way imaginable - by having their child hood basically more and more restricted. Sure why not lock them in the house all day if this is the way it's all going?

crazygeryy

Seriously close this ****ing thread. What a thing to ask.

PirateShampoo

I recently was working on a building site of a new school, the kids of the Junior school next door where playing in the yard they would come over to the fence and ask questions we were told to ignore the child and walk away.

It's getting ridiculous. I'm a father of 2 and feels like your guilty of being a pedo just because your a man.

Rosy Posy

ALiasEX wrote: »

Kids, don't talk to strangers, I'll just force you on this stranger's knee.

IMO the not talking to strangers rule is bs. I try to teach my children to be polite and answer people when they're spoken to, in the park, the shops, wherever. Also, statistically, they're more likely to be harmed by someone they know. Our rule is that they never go anywhere with anyone, or accept anything from anyone, without checking with the adult in charge. I feel sorry for kids who grow up to fear strangers, and sorry for men particularly who have to live under the shadow of suspicion.

Anyway I've never taken my kids to see Santa- they really believe and I don't think that they'd buy that a Santa in a grotto was the real deal.

crosstownk

I'm sick to my teeth of the continuous PC horseshít that seems to prevail these days.

What a load of fcuking crap.

Fcuks sake.

Into The Blue

How Soon Is Now wrote: »

Jesus nothing is safe anymore is it!

Not jesus, Santa.. Sssaaaaannnnntttttaaaaaa

Son Of A Vidic

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

My kid will be leaving a bottle of premium craft beer for Santy!

Anyone who drinks that hipster craft beer nonsense, really doesn't deserve a visit from Santa.

AndonHandon

This isn't PC bull****, people need to calm down. It is merely some headbanger spouting some nonsense and being given a disproportionate amount of attention.

AndonHandon

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Anyone who drinks that hipster craft beer nonsense, really doesn't deserve a visit from Santa.

*pulls down trousers and poops on Corvus' shoes*

Son Of A Vidic

AndonHandon wrote: »

*pulls down trousers and poops on Corvus' shoes*

*Adds Andon's ingredients to new craft beer range*

Karl Stein

mohawk wrote: »

Protecting the child from what though?

I guess this woman considers the sitting of children on a disguised strange man's knee, in lieu of gifts, somewhat strange.. (it is a bit if you think about it)

The parents/responsible adult is present for the Santa visit.

I agree.

At what age does a male become an automatic threat to children? 16?...18?...

Who has suggested this? Do we really have to go down the gender war direction?

crosstownk wrote: »

I'm sick to my teeth of the continuous PC horseshít that seems to prevail these days.

What a load of fcuking crap.

Fcuks sake.

Please stop getting emotional and read my previous post in this thread.

Baldy Conscience

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Glass of milk?

My kid will be leaving a bottle of premium craft beer for Santy!

Quite the artisan snob your child.

Not whiskey, not beer, but craft beer......:rolleyes:

cassid

My lot were with santa last week and he asked was it ok for the gang to sit on his lap. Before I could answer they have scrambled all over him, I would have no issue with it at all. My 5 year old ask me afterwards if he reckoned Santa knew he farted when he sat on his lap, naturally I told him no, but I know this childs fart could blow a hole in a pair of trousers.

blatantrereg

No. Don't sit on strangers' knees. Kinda like "don't talk to strangers" but more important.

...Actually scratch that. If someone wants you to sit on their knee, keep yelling "don't touch me" and immediately tell parents.

Nothing to do with suspecting anyone in particular of being a fiddler. Just about giving kids attitudes that make them less vulnerable.