WHAT IF WE DIDN'T POISON CHILDREN'S MINDS WITH FANTASY?

by Terry 213 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  Terry

  Mpatrick says:

  Who's to say that teaching fantasy to some can be quite innocent and will never progress anything more than what it is and that a child that is only taught the truth will fare much better? Do you think children in third world countries are at a better advantage because they see the harsh truth of life than my own children?

  I'm looking for the reason WHY you think not telling a child the truth is a BETTER idea. Are you saying the end justifies the means?

  Are you equating starvation in 3rd World countries with telling our children the difference between make-believe and non-ficition?

  That is extraordinary!

  Why is the FACT there is a make-believe Santa a "harsh truth"?

  Definition: HARSH extremely unkind or cruel; "had harsh words"; "a harsh and unlovable old tyrant"
  www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn
• 

  Terry

  GENTLYFERAL OFFERS:There is such a thing as the fantasy-prone personality. Taking your children to see "Santa Claus" is not going to make them any more prone to "susceptibility for hypnosis, possessing imaginary friends as a child, having psychic experiences, having out-of-body or floating experiences, vivid waking dreams, visions, or hallucinations, encountering apparitions, and receipt of special messages" than letting your boys play with dolls will turn them gay. See also "A Study of Fantasy Proneness in the Thirteen Cases of Alleged Encounters in John Mack's Abduction".

  Results

  One of Mack's subjects ("Sheila," No. 2) exhibited four of the seven fantasy-prone indicators, and another ("Arthur," No. 13) exhibited five; the rest showed all seven characteristics. These results are displayed in Figure 1.

  What am I missing here???
• 

  Terry

  Czarofmischief says: I, for one, am willing to say that learning the truth behind the troof on my own was a rewarding experience and such a fundamental change for me that I could not conceive of giving it up or rewinding my life and living without it. I wasn't angry, I was sad at the people who felt compelled to live like they do.

  I will not say that it is equally as rewarding for everyone, but neither is it as devastating as you have made it out to be for everyone. Sure, it sucked, but I learned from it and most importantly, learned to laugh at it, and moved on. Did I waste those years? parts of them, surely, but parts of them were spent doing things I might never have tried... like reading the whole Bible. On the whole, it was a no-score win for me.

  CZAR

  Remember, I framed the discussion in terms of damage to children.
• 

  Terry

  Princess complains: To each his own Terry. Personally, I think you try to hard to push your views on people. Using a huge font feels like you are yelling or trying to force something down my throat.

  I guess I don't give a rat's ass what you think of Santa or whether or not I let my children believe.

  So, I'm PUSHING my views on you when I use large fonts? Huh?

  You "feel" like I am yelling at you and "force something down" your throat?

  Good heavens!

  I apologize that you would take the views of one person in such an intimidated manner. I assure you I have no intention to yell. I have no intention to force my views. If I wanted to FORCE my views I'd not have invited comments and opinions, now would I?

  My large fonts are used for contrasts. Some sentence fragments are more important than others. But, I don't yell at people. I'm soft spoken in person.

  I cannot make you teach your children something you don't want to teach them, nor do I wish to. How I gave you that impression is disturbing to contemplate!

  As far as a "rat's ass" is concerned, I'm sure I don't have any experience personally.

  Accept my humble apology for even the hint of a suggestion that I want to bully you to think or feel beyond your personal comfort level.

  I enjoy discussions and I think it is healthy to see other views and to defend one's own. Perhaps we all suffer a bit of residual defensiveness because of the powerful Authority behind the Jehovah's Witness fantasy we all bore the brunt of and its unhappy consequences.
• 

  Terry

  Narkissos

  Bottom line: fantasy for children (which I think is very useful and even necessary) is not the same as beliefs for teenagers and grownups. When the first is supposed to grow into the other (as in religious teaching) this is no mere fantasy. Nobody believes in Santa Claus as an adult. There I draw the line (but it is just me).

  Btw, my daughter enjoys visiting churches, she knows who is the guy on the cross and the mother with the baby, she makes the crib for Christmas, but she can step in and out of the story as she likes.

  Sounds healthy to me!

  I never wanted my children buying in to the whole religious fantasy either.
• 

  Euphemism

  Terry:

  Surely an honest discussion of "opinions" can lead to an exchange of views

  I enjoy your posts and have the highest respect for your intellect. But if you can't see the difference between an honest discussion of opinions and telling people that they are "poisoning" their children, I personally don't feel that there's much to gain by discussing this with you.

  You also ask why your post seems to have hit such a nerve. Might it perhaps be because many of us, as Witnesses, were raised with a very bleak worldview that discouraged imagination, creativity, and pleasure? I'm sure that is not what you meant to support, but to many--myself included--your comments sounded eerily similar.

  Anyway, that's my opinion, and I'm bowing out of the thread now. Carry on.
• 

  StinkyPantz

  I think that sometimes people don't want to 'discuss' on discussion boards, but instead want their own beliefs reinforced.
• 

  Terry

  Euphemism said: I enjoy your posts and have the highest respect for your intellect. But if you can't see the difference between an honest discussion of opinions and telling people that they are "poisoning" their children, I personally don't feel that there's much to gain by discussing this with you.

  Let us look at what I actually said at the outset of this thread: read below

  Terry wrote:

  I assert that by filling little children full of fantasy and fiction from their very start we are poisoning their capacity to tolerate REALITY. Fantasy tastes better. It is a sugar-coated world.

  Make your best arguments pro and con.

  What do YOU think?

  Isn't that a bit different than what you are saying I said?
• 

  mpatrick

  I'm looking for the reason WHY you think not telling a child the truth is a BETTER idea.

  Telling my children the truth about Santa would destroy the fantasy. I don't think fantasy is wrong or that it damages a child.

  Are you equating starvation in 3rd World countries with telling our children the difference between make-believe and non-ficition?

  Why is the FACT there is a make-believe Santa a "harsh truth"?

  Wow, is that what you got out of my post? I guess I should rephrase, how about...There are alot worse things in this world than teaching my children harmless fantasies of Santa, etc. I appreciate that my children can grow up with a little imagination than live the with the harsh realities of less fortunate ones. Or easier said..."We see the world not as it is but as we are." -Anais Nin
• 

  Panda

  This thread is so interesting. And everyone has valid points. Have you ever read Carl Jung's works dealing with FairyTales? The Grimm's brothers cleaned the original's up, but they were very very useful in teaching (through metaphor) about life. AND they were stories told by and for adults not children. Nope these stories don't polute. I found this article, What Adolescents Miss When We Let Them Grow Up in Cyberspace, by Brent Staples. It's only a 2 page article. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/29/opinion/29SAT4.html The following is a sample from the editorial.

  "My 10th grade heartthrob was the daughter of a fearsome steelworker who struck terror into the hearts of 15-year-old boys. He made it his business to answer the telephone --- and so always knew who was calling --- and grumbled in the background when the conversation went on too long. Unable to make time by phone, the boy either gave up or appeared at the front door. This meant submitting to the intense scrutiny that the girl's father soon became known for. This was my first sustained encounter with an adult outside my own family who needed to be convinced of my worth as a person.."

  He goes on to state that "[While] the internet was billed as a revolutionary way to enrich our social lives ... a growing body of research is showing that heavy use of the Net can actually isolate younger [users]... [who use the Net] to replace face-to-face interactions with their family and friends. ... No group has embraced this socially impoverishing trade-off more enthusiastically than adolescents."

  I hope you get a chance to peruse this short but imteresting bit (byte?) Fairy tales are fine. Kids love 'em. And psychiatrists and anthropologists and English teachers love a well written story or play. Shakespeare's " A Midsummers Nights Dream" shows just what a talented author can do with the fairy folk to entertain.