Santa, The Tooth Fairy and the Fantabulous Fabularium of Innocent Myths
October 20, 2011 at 7:00 am
So was just talking to aleia about Santa, and whether or not it's a good thing for kids etc., and I wanted to get some thoughts on whether letting kids believe in stuff like Santa is any different to religion, if we should be teaching them to think critically about this kind of stuff, whether there is a risk of harm with such things and so on.
So to parents, I guess: What do your kids believe about these things, and what do you want them to believe about it?
To everyone else: Did the discovery that Santa wasn't real leave you with any feelings with mistrust towards your parents? Would you rather they had told you the truth? What do you think is the best way to approach these things?
For my part, I don't think they do much harm. I found out it wasn't real when I was maybe 8 or 9, and it never bothered me. The presents kept coming anyway, after all. If and when I have kids, I'll let them believe it, and when they find out the truth, as kids tend to do organically enough, I'll probably try to use it as a way to teach them about myths and how to distinguish them from fact.
Nor do I really believe that belief in this kind of thing is likely to result in kids being susceptible to things like religion. After all, I'm not religious, I only believe in things that are real, like bears, DNA and the Easter Bunny.
So to parents, I guess: What do your kids believe about these things, and what do you want them to believe about it?
To everyone else: Did the discovery that Santa wasn't real leave you with any feelings with mistrust towards your parents? Would you rather they had told you the truth? What do you think is the best way to approach these things?
For my part, I don't think they do much harm. I found out it wasn't real when I was maybe 8 or 9, and it never bothered me. The presents kept coming anyway, after all. If and when I have kids, I'll let them believe it, and when they find out the truth, as kids tend to do organically enough, I'll probably try to use it as a way to teach them about myths and how to distinguish them from fact.
Nor do I really believe that belief in this kind of thing is likely to result in kids being susceptible to things like religion. After all, I'm not religious, I only believe in things that are real, like bears, DNA and the Easter Bunny.
