The great American girl fake out

Experts say you should never lie to your kids. I see why they would say that. Lying is no good. It sets a bad example. It is not the right thing to do, and can ultimately lead to an unfortunate set of circumstances. I’ve never been a big liar myself, so most of the time I agree with that.  But then again, there are those times when lying may just be the way to go. With today being Christmas and all, Santa Claus is the immediate example that comes to mind. Should I just flat out tell my kids that he doesn't exist, or should I let them believe? And what about telling them that somebody is in a better place when they die Vs just telling them that, truth be told, they're just 6 feet under ground?


See? Sometimes it is not as easy as black and white, which brings me to the story of the day:


This year Sofia wanted 3 things from Santa: A ballerina American girl doll, a skating American girl doll, and a sleeping beauty American girl doll. If you don't know what an American girl doll is, then you must know that they are big dolls, probably 20 inches tall or so. You must also know that they are not cheap at all. The price range is between 100 and 150 dollars each. That of course only includes the one outfit they come with. Although you are always welcome - and encouraged - to buy them more.

As the good mom I am, I helped Sofia write her list a few weeks back.  When she told me what she wanted I told her she could definitely ask, but that Santa had to bring presents for all the kids in the world, so you may not always get what you want. I clearly had no intention to buy her those dolls. Sure, I could have decided to splurge, but in my opinion no kid needs a $150 doll, especially a 5 year old. It just seemed obscene to spend that much, especially when there are so many needy people in the world. However, I did understand that she probably just wanted a big doll, so I did my best to go online and find her some beautiful knock offs.

This morning Sofia was happy to discover her brand new dolls: A pretty ballerina in pink, and a girl with long brown hair, in a black and white plaid dress, a red headband, and red shoes.

"Santa brought me my American girl dolls", she said, smiling from ear to ear.

"You like them?” we said, without clarifying they were not necessarily American dolls. After all, why would we if she liked them and said that is exactly what she was hoping for?

"Are those American girl dolls?” asked Lionel's mom.

"Yes, mom", said Lionel quickly, hoping she would get the hint and stop asking about it in front of the girl. We also made sure we threw the boxes away. We would have done that anyway, and we did not want any more questioning from Sofia, his mom, or anybody else.

Later on, we were in the car when Sofia said: "My friend Meg only has one American girl doll, but now I have two".

Lionel and I looked at each other: Uh-oh, here we go.

"That is not very nice Sofia. We don't talk to others about how many toys we have. We don't compare", we said.

"I am just saying", she replied.

"And please stop calling them American girl Dolls. You already gave them a name, so you need to call them that", Lionel said.

"Ok, Dad. I will stop calling them that", said Sofia. And that was that.

Now we are hoping that not clarifying that small detail won't come back and bite us in the butt.