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Parenting
Can We Please Stop Overdoing the Magic?
by Dr. Emily Carter
Updated: November 5, 2018
Originally Published: November 20, 2016
This past St. Patrick’s Day, I followed our usual morning routine with just a slight twist. I helped my son get dressed, deliberately choosing a green shirt. That was it. After dropping him off at school, I returned home and logged onto the internet. What did I find?
Kitchens with chairs overturned and cabinet doors ajar. Living rooms cluttered with shoes and books. Empty, DIY “traps” for imaginary creatures. Bathrooms festooned with toilet paper. It looked like a regular Wednesday in my household, but no — this was chaos courtesy of leprechauns.
In that moment, it struck me: some of my son’s classmates would be regaling tales of leprechauns wreaking havoc in their homes while leaving behind chocolate coins and limited-edition boxes of cereal. I felt a wave of betrayal wash over me from my fellow parents. They had yet again coaxed us into a world that relentlessly seeks to inject unnecessary magic into our lives.
I can’t comprehend why some parents feel the need to embellish everything. St. Patrick’s Day should simply be about wearing green, perhaps enjoying some corned beef, and maybe sipping a Guinness. We used to have fun with minor traditions like adding green food dye to meals, but we quickly realized that colored food is a surefire way to make it inedible. While we scaled back, others seemed to push the boundaries even further.
I tolerated this madness for other holidays, but there comes a point where enough is enough. One day, my son will come home asking why a leprechaun visits Billy’s house and not ours. “Leprechauns aren’t real, and Billy’s parents are fabricating stories. Now eat your green eggs.”
This is a charade I refuse to partake in, just like the growing list of ways parents are trying to up the ante on celebrations that are already magical.
Take Christmas, for example.
A jolly man in red descends your chimney, visiting every home worldwide on a flying sleigh pulled by reindeer. He leaves specially chosen gifts under your tree, knowing exactly what you wished for.
Verdict: NOT MAGICAL ENOUGH. Let’s introduce an Elf on the Shelf who monitors our kids for a month and needs to be moved each night to keep the illusion alive. Let’s also create a trail of powdered sugar leading from the fireplace to the tree, because clearly, a man who flies around the world and leaves presents also needs to make a mess.
Consider losing a tooth.
You place it under your pillow and find coins or a few dollars left by a fairy.
Verdict: NEEDS MORE MAGIC. Let’s add glitter on the floor to simulate fairy dust, which will take months to vacuum out. And instead of a couple of bucks, let’s leave a toy so the child feels like they got $27 worth of love instead of just $1.
Then there’s Easter.
A rabbit hides eggs filled with candy while you sleep. No one knows why this happens.
Verdict: NO MAGIC IN THIS EGG-LAYING BUNNY. Let’s make all the food resemble bunny faces or tails. Let’s fill a field with plastic eggs, so kids can trample each other while gathering them instead of searching for hidden treasures. Let’s convert Easter into a springtime version of Christmas.
Thanksgiving remains mostly untouched for now, but it’s only a matter of time before Pinterest bombards me with images of stuffed pilgrims observing children before they feast on turkey. If kids misbehave in November, maybe the pilgrims will deliver smallpox.
Life is already filled with magic. Just pause for a moment and appreciate the simple wonder of being alive. Instead of fostering a constant expectation of spectacle, let’s teach our kids to appreciate the world around them. It’s pretty extraordinary, even without the glitter and candy.
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In summary, while it’s tempting to create a world bursting with magic for our children, we should embrace the everyday wonders that exist. Let’s focus on teaching them to find joy in the simple things around them.