To want these mums and swimming to stop talking about moving the elf!!!

[nowayjose1]

So was on the sides with DS2 (5) watching DS1 at his swimming lesson.

Next to me were a few mums whose kids were in the pool were talking about Christmas. How and when they move the elf and when they sneak the stocking in etc. All the while my 5 year old is hearing all this. I'm not ready for the magic of Christmas to disappear for him yet wahhhh.

So anyway later that day the owner of the swimming school emailed to saying he would be sending out an email to to everyone about something to do about parking at the venue blah blah blah so I just replied and said would he mind just also adding a lighthearted reminder to just have a bit of discretion when talking about Father Christmas and moving the elf etc and just to have a quick check no little ears were listening.

Anyway he basically replied just saying he gets where I'm coming from but he's not going to say anything.

AIBU for feeling pissed off that he can't just pop a quick line in about this?? Or am I going to have put earmuffs on DS2 next lesson

pineapple magic of santa??? Dear lord..

I am not overfond of elf on the shelf OP but sorry , you are overthinking this in my view

Fuck my face!

A new one to me

What elf? I thighs it was Santa that was the secret thing

I only got an elf this year, he puts up new decorations at night and my 3 1/2 yr old lives him!

Lay off Stanley!

Seriously, OP :

You could have just loudly said

EXCUSE ME LADIES, yes my DS here who is called Timmy and is FIVE and his DBro simply love seeing where the elf has MAGICALLY MOVED HIMSELF overnight.

Job Done, instead of silently seething.

Lol at "the magic of Christmas". This is the only place where there is this dumb obsession with pretending to kids that santa exists for as long as possible. Why?

At least the owner of the swimming school has had a good laugh today.

Oh bless

Haha and "the magic of Santa". You do realise you're doing it for yourselves, right? Your kids would in no way be traumatised if you explained that you give them the presents (which, unless they are total dimwits, they will have figured out by around 6 or 7 anyway). I laugh when I see threads about 11 year olds who have to be protected from finding out 'the truth'. I do worry for their future.

Isn't the standard reaction in these situations to quietly tell your child that it's so sad, how naughty children's Elves don't move on their own and that their parents have to pretend for them? Or some other kind of little lie that probably will end up way out of hand and coming back to haunt you before you know it?

I will preserve Santa for people who care. The ridiculous Elf - who cares? I'm not going to pretend there's some Elf , what next?

The kids 5

Yeah, so I doubt he is taking in the meaning of the conversation between two adults at the pool and putting two and two together to be honest. Fair enough if you want to peddle some magic crap, but you cannot expect the rest of the world to restrict their conversations around your dc so that you can keep up some weird pretense for as long as possible. If it's too dangerous to go out in public because of the risk of overhearing that santa or the elf on the shelf are not real, then you will just have to stay at home.

Your ds doesn't seriously believe it's Santa's elf, surely?!!

Isn't the standard reaction in these situations to quietly tell your child that it's so sad, how naughty children's Elves don't move on their own and that their parents have to pretend for them?

Really?

Isn't the standard reaction in these situations to quietly tell your child that it's so sad, how naughty children's Elves don't move on their own and that their parents have to pretend for them?

The same as how naughty children don't get presents from Santa because he only gives presents to the good kids. Oh wait, sorry, it's the poor kids that don't get the presents, silly me. So by saying that the presents have nothing to do with parents and are based on children being good or bad, you are conveniently justifying social inequality to your kids by suggesting to them that deprived children don't get anything because they have been 'naughty'. Good message, right.

Isn't the standard reaction in these situations to quietly tell your child that it's so sad, how naughty children's Elves don't move on their own and that their parents have to pretend for them?

At the risk of sounding rude, some people are just fucking mental. Now OP's child is supposed to think that the children in the swimming pool are 'naughty'. Don't be surprised to catch little 5 year-old Timmy giving his mother a pitying look if she tries that one on.

Bit thoughtless of them. Surely you don't talk about that sort of thing in front of young children, just like you don't have a massive sweary conversation or talk about your drunken antics when there's little ones present. Some conversations just aren't meant for little ears.

I do get why you didn't want to engage them because it would have drawn attention to the fact that they were saying something you didn't want your DS to hear, which would have made him listen if he wasn't before.

I don't think that yabu to expect that parents, who are presumably not letting their children know that they move the elf or fill the stockings, have the awareness of their surroundings not to spoil if for your child. BUT expecting the owner of the swimming school to mention it in a business email is bordering on batshit!
I would have just started a conversation about what your ds was asking Santa for/what your elf had done to remind them who they were sitting by.

Yes YABU to ask manager to email however I agree many ways you could of said.

Lots of Meh comments about anyone do elf on the shelf here.

Haha, the man deserves a medal for managing a polite response.

Yanbu for being annoyed with the gobby mums, but yabvvvu expecting the swimming pool owner to email members about the elf on the shelf

Ya also bvu for thinking that creepy little elf thing is part of the 'magic of Christmas'. It's not; there's no tradition or magic about a creepy doll which apparently stalks around whilst you sleep and spies on you . I can't actually believe any child would think it was real anyway - all these kids are probably just going along with it and are secretly terrified that their parents are going nuts.