Ever since it came out, I have told my children that he is cute, but he's a spy. He is not allowed in our house. I tell them that I would never tell Santa about their mistakes so they can be assured of getting presents under the tree. What kind of pressure is that for a young child?! One of the rules is that you aren't supposed to touch the doll. I tell my children that if they see that subversive bastard (I don't use those words to them), they should grab him with both hands and throw him out of our house. My daughter was worried he would run back to Santa and tell what she had done, so she decided that if she found him she would throw him in the fireplace. I settled on putting him in a box until after Christmas. I can't condone violence, even to a doll. We named him Google.
We have C. Popinkins appear on the holidays. He has no effect on the children's behavior. It is more like where is Waldo? They like the story too.
The experience is a good yearly reminder to me just how differently my children perceive and understand the world than I do. At Christmas time, we and many other families make a special effort to bend the world a bit towards their way of thinking.
Even before the doll there was the whole "Santa knows who was naughty" routine, which I consider "black parenting" (don't know the proper English word).
