The "Elf on the Shelf"

So this mama has a question about the Elf on the Shelf. We don't have one, and probably won't get one, because if I'm being honest that thing creeps me out! (Look at his eyes. There's something there that isn't quite right.) According to their website, "The Elf on the Shelf® is a special scout elf sent from the North Pole to help Santa Claus manage his naughty and nice lists." When I was a child, I was simply told that if I were a good girl, I would be put on Santa's nice list. If I wasn't good, well I would be on the bad. It's like the carol says, "He knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake." It's plain and simple.

I wasn't a model child. I had temper tantrums just like everyone else. I was scolded, spanked (my parents were "old school"), and as a teenager, grounded. I'm not one to try and start controversy. I have, in the past, been slammed by others when expressing my opinion, and I will probably be slammed again. But, if we bring out this elf during the month of December, place him in different areas of the house at night (if one actually remembers), and ask that our children be good or the Elf will go tell Santa, what are we doing the remaining eleven months out of the year? Does your Elf sit out all year long? If so, that's a whole lot of remembering to move him. And, do we really need an Elf to discipline our children?

I will admit, McKinley is a pretty amazing kid most of the time. He's learning to say "please" and "thank you" unprompted. He's helping more and more when it comes to putting his toys away at night or when moving on to something else when playing. He's hanging up his jacket and placing his hats in their designated spot. And, above all, he's brushing his teeth twice a day with little or no fight. But, we also have our days. The long Thanksgiving weekend was very trying in our house. There were lots of "nos", thrown toys, battles over brushing his teeth, and a broken antique tree topper when he wasn't allowed to play with it. There was lots of rug time (he sits on the rug during "time out"), tears from both McKinley and myself, and lots of hugs to show that there were no hard feelings. 

We didn't threaten him with Santa's naughty or nice list. We didn't have "the elf" watching his every move. We simply disciplined him in the manner in which we always do. And, it worked. By the following week, things were back to normal somewhat normal. No's were replaced with his "okay" response. Please and thank you were back on the menu. Teeth were getting brushed before bed. (Granddaddy takes care of the teeth during the day.) And as for the tree topper, I finally had to break down and order a new one as I couldn't find time to head to my favorite antique store.

Again, I'm not looking for a fight. I'm not looking for comments telling me why I should buy the "Elf on the Shelf". This is a blog written by me and everything written is my opinion. I just don't understand why an elf replaced good ole fashion discipline.

The End