Santa’s little Big Brothers

Parents don’t need additional stress at this juncture of fun and festive, but we thought you should know that hosting Elf on the Shelf is akin to waltzing your sweet darling into Big Brother’s embrace — at least according to two Ontario academics.

At the risk of choking on your eggnog, read on. This is a genuine position published in mid-December by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in a paper called Who’s the Boss: The Elf on the Shelf and the normalization of surveillance.

The Elf on the Shelf juggernaut is a children’s book and doll combination pack that spins a yarn about elves who help Santa track who’s naughty or nice. Each elf spies from a hidden location in the house throughout the day, then magically flies at night to report to Santa (a.k.a. “The Boss”). The elf returns home from the North Pole to a new hiding place.

Innocent fun? Authors Laura Pinto and Selena Nemorin beg to differ.

“What is troubling is what The Elf on the Shelf represents and normalizes: anecdotal evidence reveals that children perform an identity that is not only for caretakers, but for an external authority (The Elf on the Shelf), similar to the dynamic between citizen and authority in the context of the surveillance state,” the paper said. “Further to this, The Elf on the Shelf website offers teacher resources, integrating into both home and school not only the brand but also tacit acceptance of being monitored and always being on one’s best behaviour — without question.”

Teacher resources? The horror. A sleight of hand to help parents cajole youngsters into good behaviour? Umm, isn’t that the entire foundation upon which Santa lore is built?

And oddly, Pinto told the Toronto Star she does not object to the elf’s Jewish counterpart, The Mensch on a Bench, since it just watches over the Hanukkah menorah and doesn’t spy on the children.

This paper is the gift that keeps on giving.