To Believe in Santa or Not !

The Back Story

Around two years ago (2010), it was we (The Parents) who introduced our then 5 year old son to the relation between Christmas, Santa Claus and gifts. We did that for a reason and in the end were left kind of embarrassed. The full story is here.

What happened in the coming years made us learn the true meaning of "You Reap What You Sow" :-)

The next year (2011), as the Christmas approached, Pranav started wishing for the oh so popular in this generation of kids - A PSP. We did not pay much attention to it. We were vacationing on a beach in Krabi that christmas and got off by saying that Santa Claus will not be able to deliver any gifts here, instead he has asked us to buy you something. Pranav bought that explanation. So we took him to a market off the beach and he chose a sand digger. We got off easily and all was forgotten.

The Persistent Wish

As the Christmas of 2012 approached, Pranav started to tell us everyday that in the coming December holidays he doesn't want to go anywhere for vacations. On asking many times, he explained that he doesn't want to miss Santa this year and he is already wishing for a PSP everyday. We were taken aback.... this 7 year old, otherwise mature and rational kid, still believes in Santa !! Moreover he remembered what we said last year about gifts not being delivered outside home even though we never discussed this ever.

The discussion continued.We knew that all his friends had a PSP and he had been waiting for 2 years to have one of his own. Throughout the year he never asked us to buy one for him and kept waiting for the next Christmas. "I don't think Santa will give a PSP, why don't you ask for something else?", I tried to persuade him. "Let me at least ask for it, rest is up to Santa." he replied. 

The Secret Enquiries on Santa's behalf

Before giving in, we decided to make some enquiries on the models and cost of a PSP, because ironically, for Santa to be able to keep his name and fame, we had to do all the ground work.

Whilst my husband made some enquiries in Mustafa Centre, Pranav pitched in, saying, "Papa, you don't need to spend any money, if Santa will give it to me then it's TOTALLY FREE." Hmm... so we had to find ways of making enquiries secretly :-)

We finally bought one from Mustafa. Pranav was of course elated on finding one under his bed on Christmas. Can't say whether he was more happy to own a PSP or with the fact that his friends had paid for it while he got a damn good deal by getting it for free ! 

The next task was to set some rules for its usage. We had to tell him that Santa has send these rules. And thus once again we contributed in keeping the faith in Santa going. 

Heart vs Mind - Is this what Faith is ?

Now, we do realise that this is a very dangerous thing. Pranav was already getting the idea that he can get an expensive thing for free on Christmas. It was a kind of an achievement and vindication for him. We did not want to outrightly prove him wrong, so we started giving him subtle hints that there is no Santa and these gifts are bought by parents. He kind of understood in his mind that this could be true but in his heart he did not want to believe this. 

A friend suggested that one of the way to stop this without any heart break is to tell kids that Santa fulfils wishes only till kids are single digit age...(see this will be a chance in touching up on Math as well :-)).

We don't know how the next Christmas will be on our pocket, but when I think of this episode, I realise may be this is what faith is like... it gives one Hope, Hope that there is someone out there who has the power to fulfil our wishes. It gives us a reason to be good, to sort out what is it that we really want and then be patient and persistent till he hears us :-) 

Thus starts the Cycle of Money

"Will you give me 10 cents for school?" Pranav, now 6, asked, lying lazily on the sofa one morning. "With 10 cents I can buy a super lemon candy in recess. If you give me 20 cents I can get 2, 3 for 30 cents, ... and 10 for 100 cents. But actually to buy 10, you will have to give me one dollar. Yesterday my friend bought a super lemon and he did not even share with me." The monologue went on.

Overall, I was happy that he could do this much of practical math and after some dos and donts talk agreed to part with 10 cents.

In the evening, we were super excited to hear his story of how he could not eat his lunch because he had to stand in the queue for a long time to buy the super lemon which was oh sooo lemony. How he sweated because there was no fan near the queue. How super lemon can be eaten by only older children like him because the kindergarten kids will find it very spicy.

After a few days, while running already late for the school bus, he asked for 20 cents so that he could share a super lemon with his friend. There was no time to argue and somehow I could not ignore the cute request. I handed him 20 cents just in time before the lift door closed. This time it was a sob story in the evening as he dropped and lost those coins in the bus. After some thought he said "If you can buy me a wallet, I will never lose money like this". We ignored it, but his request continued day after day with daily calls in my office - "I really hope that you can get my wallet today". I finally bought him one which has become his proud prized possession and he now refuses to wear any shorts or pants that do not have a pocket.

All was well till Pranav dropped another bomb - "See how empty my wallet looks with only a few coins.I want some 'notes' for my wallet. Will you give me one?" Welcome to the cycle of money and possession. What started as a  'request' for 10c has now become a 'demand' for 2 dollars (In SG lowest note is $2 ) and the battle of wits continues....!

We have been trying to avoid the topic for a while. 
No prizes for guessing who will emerge as the winner in due course !
Looks like the time has come for some serious money talk.

The chicken or egg dilemma !

I was helping Pranav complete and understand a puzzle depicting the life cycle of a hen. It was like this.....

It was just a simple puzzle and probably did not need much explanation to a 5 year old. But as with all children, Pranav didn't buy it and asked how can it start with an egg....there should be a hen first....!

I was taken aback for a moment...but then I said ..umm ya ok...that's also possible....we can start with hen and then the life-cycle could be ... Hen->Egg ->.....and so on... . This confused him further and he asked - then how did the hen come ?

I was amazed at the question and the thought process of a 5 year old ! Kids have such open mind without any pre-conceived notions but as we grow older we stop questioning a lot of things.

It is such a simple question and yet so complex. The little one did not know that he had just asked a fundamental question about life and universe.... a dilemma...a question that has perplexed generations from the times of Aristotle or even earlier.

I was in a catch-22 situation- whatever explanation I gave, the cycle had to start from somewhere. Every start led to another logical dilemma.

For the first time I tried looking into what exactly is going on in this regard and found that various practitioners have tried to find answer to this in their own ways.

Wikipedia summaries various beliefs regarding this question here.

Interesting to know is that as per the Hindu Mythology, the supreme 'cosmic egg' from which the whole universe originated comes before all creatures and this egg is called 'Brahmanda' = 'Brahma' (Creator) and 'Anda' (Egg). I knew the meaning of Brahma as the creator but never knew the break up of the word 'Brahmanda'.

The only convincing theory seems to be from the Darwin's evolution according to which a mutation might have taken place at conception or within the egg such that an animal similar to chicken (but not chicken) laid the first chicken egg.

Very recently in 2010, British scientists claimed to have solved this mystery saying ' The scientists found that a protein found only in a chicken's ovaries is necessary for the formation of the egg, according to the paper Wednesday. The egg can therefore only exist if it has been created inside a chicken.' Which means that the hen came first.

But many do not buy this theory and are of the view that this is exactly the same as what has been stated in the Bible and so is not anything new.


CREATION, DAY 5: "And God said, 'Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.' So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, 'Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.'" –Gen.1:20-22

So there still isn't a conclusive end to the argument. But now, after all this study, when I tried to strike a conversation about this with Pranav, with the intention of explaining him that he had asked a very good question to which there isn't a definite answer, he seemed to have made up his mind that hen came first and no longer wants to argue on this topic :-(