Have you been naughty or nice?

Children all over the world are counting the days until Santa Claus makes his big appearance. But more importantly, they all know he is watching. Santa sees everything.

We recently interviewed a group of children in the KMC to find out a little more about what they consider naughty and what is nice. They gave us the insider scoop on good and bad behavior and the best ways to get what you want for Christmas.
So what is naughty?

“Pinching!” said Josh, 7.

“Punchin’ people in the face,” said Rex, 8.

“Saying you’re going to kick somebody in the eye,” said June, 5.

“Sometimes I choke people in the car,” said Cole, 4. “That’s really naughty.”

The group agreed that hurting other people in any way is a sure fire way to get yourself on Santa’s naughty list. It seems children had better watch out and keep their hands to themselves or Santa probably won’t deliver.

Shayla, 7, said, “Not doing my chores at home.”

“And disobeying your parents,” Josh said. The children agreed that during the month of December it’s best to follow directions at home and do what your mom or dad ask without causing problems.

“One time when I was little at Christmas I opened everybody’s presents,” June added. “Santa thought that was pretty bad, so I don’t do that anymore.”

Right behind chores and disobeying their parents came not eating their dinner.

“Like, when you don’t eat your vegetables, like broccoli, fruit, all that kind of food,” said Jake, 10.

They all agreed eating healthy food is important to Santa, and children should try hard to eat their dinner every night.

“You should eat Thanksgiving turkey,” Rex added. “That’s good. But don’t eat it when it’s cold or you’ll get worms.”

Worms can really ruin Christmas.

Santa doesn’t just want children to avoid being naughty during the year; he wants them to practice being nice. So, we asked, what does a kid have to do to get on Santa’s nice list?

The first suggestion was looking out for others who are sad.

“If you’re at the playground and somebody is sad that nobody wants to play with him or her,” June said, “you could, like, go over and say, ‘Do you want to play with me? What games do you want to play?’”

Santa likes everyone to have friends, and he does not like bullying. The children all agreed being friends with children who are lonely would definitely get you on Santa’s good side.

“Sharing your school supplies is nice,” Josh said.

Toys, treats and school supplies — they all said it’s important to Santa that they take turns and share with others. Helping out at home and school was another popular suggestion.

“I do the silverware,” Cole said.

The children thought going above and beyond what your parents ask will put you right at the top of Santa’s list.

“Making breakfast on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day is nice,” said Harrison, 10.

“Or Veterans Day,” Jake added.

“I help my mom with the dog,” Shayla said. The entire group agreed that taking care of pets was very important.

“When your parents aren’t home or they’re asleep, you could wash the dog for them,” Harrison said.

“And if they’re not in your family, you can still wash their dog,” added Cole. (It’s probably best to ask an adult for help or permission before attempting to wash anyone’s dog.)

Helping people with dogs was definitely at the top of the nice suggestion list.

This is the time of year to remember that Santa is paying close attention to how children treat others and behave at home, so you’d better watch out! The countdown has begun, and he is coming this way!