It's the most wonderful time of year, meaning both children and their parents are getting ready for Christmas Day. From decorating the tree to hanging stockings above the fireplace, everyone is planning, in their own special way, for the holiday season. However, this past decade has introduced a new holiday tradition, popular amongst raising the generation of the Millennials, called the Elf on the Shelf.

"The Elf on the Shelf is watching you, what you say and what you do. The Elf on the Shelf is watching you, each and every Christmas."

This new tradition involves a story called "The Elf on the Shelf," and it's told by parents to their children. It also includes an elf figure to go along with the story, and parents place the elf in various places and positions throughout the house. Each day the kids wake up in the morning, the elf will be in a different position or place than it was previously. The children are told that the elf is always there, watching them, in order to report to Santa Claus if they have been naughty or nice this year.

But, ATTENTION, PARENTS! The Elf on the Shelf, is the WORST holiday tradition, and here's why:

It's EXTREMELY creepy. I would never want my children to come down stairs each morning and see this toy placed in different positions, as if it's been moving around in the middle of the night. Everywhere my child goes, it's like the elf is there. That's terrifying. In addition, why is it placed in such odd positions doing weird things a toy would never be doing? How does that make any sense?!

It doesn't teach the kids DISCIPLINE. Attention, parents: It's your job to do that, not a toy elf.

Since the Elf on the Shelf is watching the kids every two seconds, kids feel as if they always need to be on their best behavior in order to receive presents on Christmas Day. If they're not good, the elf will tell Santa not to bring them anything this year. But why can't kids just be good on their own all year-round, based on the morals that parents teach their kids? Children shouldn't be acting "good" just because someone is watching them and they know they will get something out of it.

And what happens when the kids aren't in the same room as the elf? They learn to be sneaky. When away from the elf, kids will have the urge to misbehave because they know the elf isn't watching, and thus, won't tell Santa about them being naughty. Sneaking around with such misbehavior will lead to dishonesty and the habit of doing something "not so nice" in a situation where they just won't get caught.

So hopefully, we can all agree that putting out a creepy little toy elf every year isn't the greatest method to determine whether our children are being naughty or nice. What ever happened to just good, old-fashioned values and traditions? Our children don't need this "Big Brother" figure peering over their every move and give them the fear of doing something wrong. Instead, let's stick with imagination, good morals, and the true gift of believing this holiday season.

Sincerely and Uncomfortably,

Everyone