Santa Claus: Innocent Fantasy or Harmful Lie?

Think back to the moment when you found out Santa Claus wasn't real. Did you feel heart broken, betrayed, or hurt? Did you feel like it was impossible to trust your parents ever again? Many children in their early years of age believe in Santa Claus, and for a few days out of a year they get extremely excited.

Children are over joyed when they know that Santa Claus is coming; they immediately get on their best behavior, bake cookies, write letters, and sing holiday songs to a man that that they believe can, and will grant all of their Christmas wishes. It may seem like it's all fun and games, but what about the children who can't separate real life and fantasy? Parents shouldn't lie to their children about Santa Claus being real. Why? Because children at young ages are fragile, and too hopeful. At an early age, the only people a child can truly trust is their mother and father, and once that trust between parents and children are broken, the child's innocence is also broken. For instance, Chaley-Ann Scott does a wonderful job of giving an giving an example of what breaking your children's trust can do. She states that lying to young children about Santa Claus can send them down a dangerous pathway, and that the lies can deeply affects a child's capacity to trust any adults from the point that they find out the truth about Santa Clause. She states how she still remembers the horrifying look on her sons face when he found out the truth about Santa Clause. She quotes, "He looked directly at me with such sad, tear-filled eyes and said, “I will never trust you again.”

Imagine you being a parent, and hearing your child say to you that they will never trust you again. Do you think that it is worth it? Do you think that a few years of lying to your little girl or boy about a fictional character is worth their trust, their hope, their love? I don't. Some children may even take the feeling of betrayal, confusion, and hurt into their adulthood lives. Lying to children about Santa Claus could also lead to long lasting effects on the parent-child relationship. Children may also feel unloved or unwanted when they are lied to about Santa Clause. For example, there are many families who can not afford gifts, candy, or toys for their children during the Christmas holidays. A young child will not know the true reason of why they are not receiving cool gifts like the other children.

At that age, all they know is that Santa is supposed to be this awesome man who brings them anything that they want. Society often tells children that if they don't receive presents from Santa, it is because they have been a bad child. So, what is a child in a low income family supposed to believe? Are they supposed to believe they are bad, or that they are unloved? Should they grow up to believe that something they did was wrong? Should they be left to wonder why they don't have perfectly wrapped gifts under their tree?  The answer to all of these questions are no. It should be a parent's duty to tell their children the truth about Santa Clause, so that no child grows up with trust issues or believing that they aren't a good person. Everyone deserves the truth.