Santa Claus's Secret

For years now, the debate whether to tell the truth about Santa Clause and other fictional characters has been brought up with valid points supporting each side. Those in support of telling kids the truth have continuously claimed the lie will impact the child’s trust in the parents and make the relationship distant. There have been studies done which do claim that being a consequence, but for many children that is not the case. As children begin to come into the age of reason, they slowly begin to dismiss the idea of Santa being real because of the simple logic that one old man with eight reindeer can’t possibly deliver presents to everyone around the world in one night. But until children get to that age, the thought of Santa Clause only beings join the Christmas spirit. Dr. Benjamin Siegel, a Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at the Boston University School of Medicine, claims the ages in which children do believe in Santa are the child's prime years in developing their imagination.  The thought of Santa boost the their desire to believe in something bigger than they are. 

The way parents present Santa can have impact on how children take the truth later on. Typically parents continue the traditions they had as a kid and once their children do find out about the jolly old man, they share their stories of how when they were little they imagine all the same things. Santa is looked as more of a write a passage than way for parents to deceive their children. Of course there are those parents who use Santa Clause not bringing them any presents as a treat, but that should never be the image of Santa. The point of bringing him into Christmas is to have a positive image of someone wanting to give and share the joy of Christmas. To spread the cheer and happy times the holiday hopefully brings to people. Children should learn to appreciate what Santa meant to them and how Christmas itself wouldn’t have been the same without him. As they get older, they begin to go along with the story for their younger siblings. Sometimes, parents are the ones who feel worse when their children find out the truth about Santa Clause. They like seeing their children light up with excitement on Christmas morning, and how they had such a strong belief in all the myths about what was going on in the North Pole.  Kids don’t typically blame their parents for putting such a lie in their heads and ruining their childhood because of trying to make them believe in such a positive image. It’s an understood concept that parents are trying to make their kids happy and have a chance to believe in something they once believed in.