Daughter's School told her the "truth" about Santa

[HappyDi]

Hi there long time lurker, first time poster so be patient.
We live in a little village in Angus Scotland, the kind of place where life goes just that little bit slower. Which suits us fine. The local school is ok, not that good, not that bad.
However tonight my daughter came home with her new reading book and I was appalled. In it on page 8, the reader is told that parents buy all the Christmas presents, and not santa. It is also full of really dreadful english, the kind of words that if the pupils use in a test, they are marked down for and there are whole words spelled out in block capitals. It is written in the vernacular, which is entertaining to read out, but in all my years as a professional writer I have never looked at a book that provided such an all round appalling example to children. These little children (my daughter has just turned 10) aren't yet secure enough in the rules of grammer to be able to discount what they read in textbook. There are loads of great, modren children's writers who provide excellent examples for writing (even the cadence in the sentences is not appropriate for UK voices). I bet the book itself is a laugh, but it isn't appropriate for school, yet she is stuck with it.
AIBU to expect a reading book from school that actually sets a good example to children?

Am I being a total over-reacting cynic in being suspicious of this poster?

I have never met a parent of a 10yo girl who speaks of her child as belonging to the category of "little children": loads of girls have hit puberty at that age and are usually hardly babyish innocents ime.

I also wonder what a 10yo is doing with a reading book selected by the school. Can't she go to the library on her own? Why does the school encourage this dependence on adults in a child who will shortly need to get ready for secondary school?

And how long are you planning to keep her wrapped up in cotton wool?

Sorry, but I find it really hard to believe in this 10-year-old. Do they really make them like that in Scotland?

ok, i want to know what the book is.. however.

1. Not all writers can spell.. thats why we have proof-readers and spell checkers before professional pieces are published!

2. Professional writers are not at work posting on a parenting board and typo's are not the end of the world.

3)10yr olds do still have books picked out by the school if its a reading project.

Cory your post made me really sad!! I hope when my little girl is ten she still believes in Father Christmas and is a "little girl".
Maybe I'm deluded.. but then I was probably quite young for my age at nine or ten, and I think it's nice. Feck knows the world is quite harsh once we grow up. Plus with people all being so different it's really not hard to see that the OP's daughter, who lives in a small village could be different to one who lives maybe, in a large town with more outside influence?

Put it this way, when you see a ten year old forced in to an arranged marriage and having children, you'd think "she's just a baby!!" then wouldn't you?

Think OP's been scared off aynway!

Umm just to add to this: I found out at age 11 that Father Christmas wasn't real when on my first day at big school the teacher set a creative writing task called "The Day I Found Out Father Christmas Wasn't Real". I was gutted.

That's horrid Rost beef! Did you keep quiet?

Lol at a 10 year old believing in Father Christmas.

Yep - although my best friend hissed "I TOLD you so!" really loudly! We are still friends... just!

Hey Rostbeef Was I in your class? That's exactly what happened to me. I sat in class and my world had shattered. I still see the teacher who did this (31 years ago!) as she lives close by us, but every time I see her I remember that day!

By the way a few of my dcs have been 12+ and still believed!!

My ten year old dd still believes in Father Christmas but the children in Belgium seem to be in much less of a rush to grow up than they are in the UK which I'm grateful for. She'll be grown up soon enough.

My mum thought I believed in Father Christmas until I was 12 the truth is I had stopped by the time I was 8 but didn't want to shatter her illusions.

I personally think that most children over the age of 9 are just keeping up with the pretense because it is a lovely story and they are worried that they won't get so many presents if they own up! Think about it most children over the age of 8 are aware of how gravity works and capable of working out the time differences across the world to conclude that it isn't actually possible, well this how I came to the conclusion anyway.

Last year my sil was going on about Father Christmas and my 9 niece just shot me a look which basically said just humour her she has good intentions.

some children still believe in fc at 10 - i still believe at 36

seems weird there is a book outing fc

but if you are not happy then get the school to chnage it

also curious what book is called

I do think a lot of children keep up the pretence for their parents' sake. I know I did until I was about eleven.

PMSL at Rostbeef though.

Me too!

Blonde, I've wanted to say this for such a long timebut everytime I see your name it makes me giggle. My eyes play a trick and I see it as Blondes shave more fun. heh

As you were.

The book is called "SANTA - IT'S REALLY YOUR DAD, DUH!'

LOL rhubarb!

My parents used to leave a mince pie and glass of sherry for santa and then leave a sooty thankyou note. Mum confessed that half the time the mince pies were frozen but I never noticed..

many do lotster!!

def blondes have

i see your name as lobster!!

Everyone does, I should change it!

You mean Santa isn't real????

Ooo-er, didn't you get a hard time! Don't let it put you off, I'd suspect the book is designed for her age group because that's the age roughly when most kids work it out, hear rumours he might not be real or begin to suspect Santa might be Dad in a red jacket with a cushion up his jumper. Wouldn't be too mad at school for this, they don't read every book that comes in, but it would have been reviewed by the education authority. Kids writers use an amazing variety of styles - has your daughter not read Clarice Bean's Utterly books or even Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking for all the backwards words in caps bold!! It's all a lovely rich lot of creative writing - great stuff (you did think it was entertaining!) What's the book?

she is 10 fgs

Any sign of the OP? No? Really?

we have told our ds(6yrs), that Santa/Father Christmas has a different arrangement with each family. So, some buy the presents and send them to santa, some send the money and he goes shopping (unless the elves are able to make that particular gift of course!!), for some santa will pay for - which is why some children gets loads from him and others only get a couple of bits....

mine is on count down to christmas already

I do rather wonder how the OP reacts to the reading matter 10 year old girls (and younger) seem to choose for themselves - Jaqueline Wilson. Of course in some of those I wouldn't bet anyone is buying presents. There's worse problems in the world than timely mythbusting and a little dodgy grammar.

Or how about another Christmas classic suitable for this age - Little Women. Who needs Santa when you've got the March girls spending their dollar and giving their breakfast to the poor? Good example, good literature. And the myth implicitly busted. (of course it still perpetuates the rest of the Christmas myth but its good enough to put up with that )

The OP is possibly a Troll and in rl is Santa, busy time of year so no reply.