A Florida mother was touched by Santa’s response to encouraging her three-year-old daughter to respect her boundaries after she refused to sit on his lap last week.
“Thank you Santa for respecting my daughter’s choices, and even applauding her for it,” Katie Love, mother of three-year-old Adley, said last week on TikTok, reported The Independent Monday.
It was at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne in Miami, Florida that the mother was surprised by Santa’s response early last week, when her little daughter allegedly refused to sit on his lap after making the queue to meet him.
“It’s her body and she controls her body. I asked her if she wanted to sit on my lap and she said no, and I said, ‘A great way to stand up for yourself and a way to say what you believe to be true’.” replied Santa Claus straight away, we can see in the video which had reached more than 275,000 views on Tuesday.
For the mother, who wants to teach her daughter to respect herself in all situations, even in front of Santa Claus or a family member who asks for hugs or kisses, this “outdated” trend of sitting on Father’s lap Christmas “doesn’t have to be the norm.”
“I was so proud of her. Children have so little control over their lives, and Adley has taken control of the situation (…) We can celebrate the joy of Christmas and Santa Claus without making them feel like they have to sit on your lap from a foreign man to receive gifts,” continued the mother, in an interview with the British media.
“Growing up, I was always taught to be polite and do what I was told, even if it meant making unwanted physical contact with someone. (She) doesn’t have to be uncomfortable to make someone else feel comfortable,” added Katie Love.
Under the video, encouraging comments flooded in while many Internet users applauded Santa Claus in turn.
“Here’s the REAL Santa Claus,” pointed out one of them, with more than 3,400 likes in support.
