How many of you who currently parent younger children use Elf on the Shelf?
If you do use it, do you tell your children it's watching their behavior, or do you just hide it around the house as part of the lead up to xmas?

For those who don't parent young children, but know what it is, would you use this, and would you tell your children that the elf is monitoring their behavior?

I just read the Washington Post article on this, but I have to say, even last year I felt pretty iffy about using it with my daughter. My theory is that more of us here on RFM would be more against using the Elf on the Shelf because of what I perceive to be our general aversion to 'big brother watching' - the church coercing people into certain types of behavior...

Nope, totally not into the whole elf on the shelf as a surveillance drone, that's just not the way we live. Now I do know some folks that do the elf just for fun hijinks with no spying but that is way too much work for me. I do like the adult themed elf on the shelf posts on facebook, they are hilarious.

give them a taste of the North Pole surveillance state.

We don't have Elf on the Shelf at home. It's kind of creepy/too much work for us. My kindergartner's class has it, though. And, yes, he's always watching their behavior at school.

My daughter is extremely well-behaved at school anyway. But Elf has made her work even harder. That should make me proud of her. However, the end result is that when she arrives home, she's emotionally drained. We all pay for her good behavior at school. It's not pretty!

She asked if we can have an Elf at home. Beyond the creepy factor, I refuse to buy one now. I told her she needs a place to be herself without the pressure of the Elf watching. I think she'd have a nervous breakdown if there were no break from that nosy creature watching her!!

My kids are teen but I definitely would not have used it as a surveillance tool. We never held Christmas presents over their heads as an incentive for good behavior.

Nah. Too worn out for another gimmick.

dinah Wrote:
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> Nah. Too worn out for another gimmick.


+1

That's why I haven't bought one...I don't like these store-bought "traditions." I hadn't realized the elf was a discipline tool, though. I just had some vague idea that it was a cute decoration with a story attached to it.

Wife tried it for one day to my dismay. The whole thing smells of moral control tools which reminds me to much of other big orginizations that think their morals are best? Plus , isn't xmas already over the top, who wants one more thing.


Wife explains it to my kids, they just laugh and make fun of the thing:) next day the kids are tossing it around the kitchen making jokes about the stupid thing. Even five year olds can spot the manipulation a mile away.

Nope. Never would have gone for it.

For high brow mormons I noticed that Lladro has a numbered elf for a shelf.
Seems quite popular this time of year.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LLADRO-Prince-of-the-Elves-2001-Privilege-Piece-MIB-Rare-7690-/171579733592?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27f2f2f658

Just a fun game. Most of us were told of Santa's constant spying. What is the difference?

Coercing children into a certain behavior is expected and good, and not in the same league as the church doing it.

If it makes kids behave then why not?

Cause I don't believe people (children are people) are inherently bad so they don't need to be coerced into being good.

Depending on the family and the personalities involved, it might not be so bad. But I don't like it.

I believe in the spirit of Santa. I don't like using him or other imaginary beings as spies or enforcers.

Yes. But I'm tired of the game. I do keep it up because she likes it. I do not use the part of the story where the elf spies on behavior. It is only there in a positive way to be a fun thing, no strings attached. I write my daughter letters and leave little gifts pretending the elf wrote to her. I have the elf thank her for the cozy bed she made her and I'll leave cocoa or some other gesture of thanks. This morning she made me a cocoa from what the elf gave, and put whipped cream and sprinkles on it.

I lie year after year that Santa is real and the whole shebang but I think she has finally figured it all out yet not ready to give up the game.

Throw marshmallows at me if you wish, but there you have it. Elf on a shelf.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 12/17/2014 03:56AM by snuckafoodberry.

I'm sure you don't punish your child for showing doubt or using logic. That's what Mormons do when kiddies don't want to believe in Joe Smith or Book of Mormon stories.

My Jack-Mormon brother had that at his house. It probably was not his idea though. Stupid. Big Brother is watching you.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/17/2014 04:21AM by Anon Dunn.

We play the Elf on the Shelf game, and our elf has done some pretty funny things, such as arrange a dinner date on the doll house balcony with a teen vampire doll his size, ride a reindeer through the living room, get into our cookies, try to finish our snowflake chain and made a mess and some silly snowflakes, attempt to fly wearing a super hero doll's mask and cape and got stuck in the chandelier. Last night he wrote with toothpaste on the bathroom mirror, "9 more days until Christmas!" No gifts, no spying, just fun and mischief.

I didn't know there was that side to the elf--we would never want to give anyone nightmares--and I'm the least perfect one in the house. I'd like to change the story, so that the elf is spying on the parents, instead.

I love Elf on the Shelf. We bought one a couple of years ago and our youngest grandchild gets up every morning to find where Elf has moved to during the night.

Last year after Christmas be slept with Elf every night until Elf took off to be with Santa Claus. The problem this year was his parents forgot where Elf had gone to. But Elf showed up again this year and moves around the house every night.

He loves it, I love it. It is a family thing with his older brother, uncles, parents etc picking out the new spot for tomorrow.

I had to look this up. Apparently, not knowing about the "Elf on a Shelf" means I've been pretty disconnected from new Christmas gimmicks. I found it creepy and sort of stupid. But we were never ones to over-indulge the kids with Santa stories. (I am still in a penitent phase over taking my kids to "Santa Claus, the Movie" [Dudley Moore] back in the 1980s. Mea culpa, godammit! Mea culpa!!) Still, some kids are going to love it. I can see one of my grandkids loving it.

cludgie Wrote:
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> I had to look this up. Apparently, not knowing
> about the "Elf on a Shelf" means I've been pretty
> disconnected from new Christmas gimmicks. I found
> it creepy and sort of stupid.

I agree.
A co-worker gave my wife an "Elf on the Shelf" a few weeks ago. I'd never heard of it (our kids are 18 and 14). This co-worker told my wife, "It's a fun tradition!"
Yeah. It's a marketing scheme concocted a few years ago to sell Elf dolls, and intimidate ignorant little kids into behaving. Very creepy.

I don't have a shelf to put it on anyway -- mine collapsed 30+ years ago. :) We never did "Santa" with my kids, growing up I had enough made-up fantasy lies foisted on me in the church. We surprised our kids with presents on Christmas morning, whether they'd been "good" or not (they always were "good"). They knew they came from us, not from an imaginary man who watches them all the time to see if they're good or bad, which is just like imaginary god-things (only the presents are better).

My sister does it as a lead up to Christmas.

No, I always thought it was creepy. I do enjoy the pictures of the elf and his antics on my friends' Facebook pages.

Wow, talk about being out of the loop, I have never heard of Elf on the Shelf until just now.

I googled it and I suppose if you have the right kind of fun family the kids would enjoy it.

But for some families it is just another way to control the kids and not fun at all.

I think it's one of the stupidest traditions ever created, but to each their own. I'm not a fan of using bribery and fear as a control for children's behaviour.

don't have any kidlets at home, but thought you would enjoy this picture of GI Joe and the elf:

https://www.facebook.com/hoffmannshow/photos/a.192927110907995.1073741827.191021524431887/313547318845973/?type=1&theater

Creepy if the little bastard is watching people. Amusing if it is just a game to find where it is hidden.

If this was out when I was in college....oh my, the fun we would have had with the other toys in the house, Gumby and Pokey and the elf and acrobatic poses of the porn star variety.

We have an elf on the shelf at home. We don't use it as a threatening tool though, rather as a fun way to keep my child entertained up until Christmas. Our elf has been rather naughty this year. He went fishing in our fish bowl and tried to catch our pet Betta. He copied himself on the printer. He made sugar angels (instead of snow angels) on the countertop. He has a crush on one of the angels and frequently flirts with her.

My son loves having the elf come out. He knows the elf is watching him, but the elf is so naughty that he doesn't worry about it.

My only problem with the elf is half way through December I run out of ideas and the energy to hide him each night.

I have a great money-making idea. Someone should come up with Thomas Monson On A Shelf. Parents could put it in the bathroom or the kids' bedrooms and tell them that the profit can see them when they masturbate.

And when Monson dies everyone will have to replace him with the new Profit On A Shelf. So we'd make even more money.

We have the elf at our house. We use it as a lead up to Christmas. She does some pretty crazy things! The other day, my daughter found the elf "pooping" peppermint candies into a doll toilet. She thought that was hysterical! She brings little gifts for her, and others. I've found that this gets all in the house together for just a little longer before our days get crazy. Two thumbs up for our elf.

BKP probably keeps one or two in various locations like the bathroom or bedroom.

I think it's creepy myself, but to each their own. There's no way my niece would like it, since she's still afraid of Santa in the first place, so the idea of one of his spies would really traumatize her. Basically, she's reassured that she doesn't have to sit on Santa's lap if she doesn't want to.

While I think the fad is creepy, I do laugh at the adult only stuff people do with that elf on Facebook.

When the great grands were living with us the elf was a Christmas staple. Since they now live with their mother, the elf resides in a box with the other unused Christmas decorations in the garage.

I'd like to propose a clown doll on a shelf that watches you during the night and moves around each day. That would get me to behave.

Nope, don't have one... not planning on doing one with my child.

I've been tempted, just to be alternative, to buy the Mensch on a Bench.

(we're not Jewish, though... so it won't translate as it should).

http://themenschonabench.com/

I have a four year old at home and refuse to buy the Elf. I don't perpetuate the myth of Santa, so the Elf reporting back on his behavior wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. I want him to behave because he feels it's the right thing to do, not because his Christmas presents might be affected.