Santa Claus is coming to town — and he’s teaching kids about consent.
A woke Saint Nick in Miami, Fla. praised a young girl for standing up for herself and refusing to sit on his lap for a holiday photo-op.
Adley, the daughter of Katie Love, CEO and founder of the agency Love Social Media, can be seen in a viral TikTok video standing next to Santa, who praised her for saying “no” to sitting on his lap.
“I said, this is her body and she’s in control of her body,” Kris Kringle said in the clip, which has been viewed 2 million times. “I asked if she wanted to sit on my lap and she said no, and I said, ‘Way to stand up for yourself and way to say what you believe is true.'”
While the youngster still looked a bit bewildered by the bearded stranger, Love cheered on Santa from behind the camera.
“You can’t let even Santa Claus — if Santa Claus says, ‘Do you wanna sit in my lap,’ and if you don’t want to, you say, ‘no,'” the man said.
Love told The Post that little Adley was “nervous” to meet Mr. Claus after seeing other kids sitting on his lap, but was reassured by her mom that she “didn’t have to sit on Santa’s lap if she didn’t want to.”
“I was so surprised Santa took the time to tell my daughter it was her body and her choice whether she wanted to sit on Santa’s lap,” Love said in an email. “He could have brushed her off or even made her feel bad!”
Love said she was “so proud” of her daughter for taking “control of the situation” and using her voice.
“It’s never too early to start talking to your children about boundaries,” she said. “You can be gentle and affirming without making them feel like the world is a scary place. We talk openly with Adley about control and body autonomy from a place of empowerment so she feels like can conquer the world even at 3 years old!”
Viewers applauded Santa’s progressive message — a stark contrast from the days of forcing wailing toddlers to pose for a picture perched on Saint Nick’s lap — while others couldn’t help but notice how uneasy the youngster appeared.
“We love an educated Santa,” championed one person.
“Yes I love this. My in-laws hate that we don’t force our kids to kiss them. Sorry, they said no!” commented another.
“Now that’s the REAL santa!” praised one viewer.
“I love this. No reason to pressure her to be uncomfortable for a picture,” wrote someone else.
“She is like ‘about that… can we lose the hand on my shoulder too? Thank you,'” quipped one user.
“She’s like I came here to ask for a Squishmallow not a press conference,” joked another.
“She’s like, ‘Ok, BUT I WAS SAYING about that Barbie dream house…'” someone else chimed in.
Saint Nicholas championed the little girl for saying “no.”
Viewers were impressed by the respectful Santa Claus.
“I think part of that had to do with the fact that she had just told Santa she wanted a purple bike, and she was worried she wouldn’t get the bike after she didn’t sit on his lap,” Love explained to Today, referring to her daughter’s facial expression.
“But you can see her start to smile when he reaffirmed her reaction and told her that it was OK to say no.”
The on-camera Santa, Steve Lantz — who is also a Presbyterian minister — told Today he was “very impressed” with Adley as a father-of-two himself.
“There are times I will ask my daughter, ‘Do you want a hug?’ And if she says ‘No,’ I honor that. I don’t push. I never ask twice,” he said.
Now, Love hopes that parents end the “antiquated trend of sitting on Santa’s lap,” despite older generations encouraging “unwanted physical touch” for the sake of a photo-op.
“We can still celebrate the joy of Christmas and Santa without making children feel in order to get presents they have to sit on a strange man’s lap,” she told The Post.
“We always tell Adley it’s her choice whether she wants to hug or kiss someone, even a family member. She should feel in complete control of her body and her choices. She doesn’t need to be uncomfortable to make someone else comfortable.”
