It's an important lesson for children to learn to question what they're told - even good things. To rob your children of the chance to do their own thinking and piece the puzzle together does their development some minor harm.
I think it's a great way to help raise intelligent individuals while doing them no harm.
It's also a wonderful way to help children enjoy their vivid imaginations while they still have them. But the practicality of Santamas goes further.
Most parents want to give their children gifts. They like to make sure that their children are entertained, but buying them gifts throughout the year is a good way to teach your child the wrong things. You want them to learn to earn their gifts - but you also want them to behave for less tangible reasons than gifts.
Santamas is a convenient way to give your children the toys you want them to have while preventing them from becoming whiny beggars, or constantly angling you for a kickback for everything they do right.
Agreed, that's the way I look at Christmas for children.
I stopped believing in it when I was about 3 or 4. I wasn't told or anything, I just couldn't believe it at all.
Sorry but that sounds like quite the exaggeration. 3 or 4? Such rational thinking at the age of 3 is very low on the spectrum of potabilities, your fairly mature for your age but I have strong doubts that you made this logical connection yourself at the age of 3 or even 4. Having pretty intelligent young siblings 5 and 7 who haven't developed sufficient logical thinking to reject the idea of Santa Clause. At a fairly young age I decided that Santa Claus didn't seem plausible, I challenged my friends on their belief in santa, they told me I was an idiot
While I would like to think this was at a very young age, it actually probably was around the age of,7 and 8 maybe even 9, of course that might be due to the fact that my mum is good at making pretty convincing arguments and at that age I didn't have the logical capacity to override this.
I am going off topic here; You seem relatively mature for your age, although statements like this make it less hard to believe that. This mainly stems from some of your posts in the 'annoying social habits of people you have met' thread, seem to me like you are desperate for people to notice you are mature, which in itself is actually is a sign of immaturity
Not a personal attack, rather advice actually. You appeared very mature for your age until those posts. A sign of maturity would be taking this advice on the chin and moving on. You shouldn't need anyone to tell you are mature. People will notice even if they don't comment on it.
The ends dont justify the means though
I dont think I can be convinced that its ever okay to lie to ones children. Lying to them just because other people will do the same isnt the way to teach them to be skeptical and critical.
Your right, deceiving your children doesn't seem like the moral choice to take, however I think teaching children that they can be tricked by everyone around them (including family) is an invaluable skill. If I hadn't have realised that my parents where deceiving me about Santa (harsh way to put it) I may have never questioned my Christian upbringing in the way that I did, to the extent that I am now a strong atheist. Not that i think my parents where actively trying to deceive me about Christianity.
