Santa Claus

[Bad Writer]

*shrugs* I could go either way. I didn't know at the time that 38% of kids harbored negative results from it.

Too late now for me and mine.

All's well that ends well.

[Savannahw]

I never believed in Santa. I really wanted to but, I didn't. I asked my mom at a young age questions she couldn't answer about him. So we kept up the tradition for my grandparents and cousins. I felt a little felt out not believing.
We have Santa for my sister and brother. I'm pretty sure my brother knows, but my sister is just entering the Santa age, so that is exciting.
Is mistrust of the parents the only negative side effect? Because I'm pretty sure that happens anyway at some point.

[Whateverist]

Shrugs. I did it with my two daughters, as my parents did to me and my brother.

Just get counseling .. soon.

[pocaracas]

Wasn't santa just a marketing thing?
I have no memory of ever believing there was actually a santa.... I always knew my parents bought the presents before-hand.... and even tried to find where they hid them
My kids seem to do the same... plus, there's always at least one kid in their schools/kindergarten who spoils the whole thing and blurts out: santa doesn't exist!

[Minimalist]

Wasn't santa just a marketing thing?

Pretty much.

http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/sc/..._santa.htm

[Cato]

I would love to read the study/argument resulting in the figures you present. I have yet to find anything similar. One article cites several studies and draws this conclusion from one study:

When researchers questioned children who had stopped believing in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny--a milestone they reached around the age of 7--kids reported feeling pleased.

http://www.parentingscience.com/Easter-B...Claus.html

The article cites another study that demonstrated it was the parents who had negative thoughts and emotions at the time their child quit believing.

If the mistrust of parents is the concern, then we can have the same discussion regarding the negative effects when a child learns his/her parents lied when asked the question 'Where do babies come from?'.

[Bad Writer]

There's more than just the mistrust, but I would say that's the hot ticket item at the moment. Other things include an unsubstantiated guilt (believing Santa will put a child on the naughty list), ridicule from other children (being the only child in class that firmly believes in Santa because why would his or her parents lie about such a thing, or lie about anything for that matter), and the possibility of not finding out that he doesn't exist early on, which can lead to some psychological damage, being unable to differentiate at an early age between reality and falsehood (I read in one article that some children have been known to still believe into their teens).

Here are some articles that I reviewed recently. The last one has the stats in it.

Is Santa Bad for Kids

The Santa Lie

In Our House There is no Santa

Believing in Santa may be Good for kids

I read up on the good and the bad, but I found overwhelming evidence for bad. They mostly substantiated my feeling that perhaps telling kids there is a Santa is not the best idea, but there were definitely some good arguments as to why it might not be so bad either.

[NoraBrimstone]

I think you can judge how smart a kid is by the age at which they realise Santa is real. For example, if a kid is over 5 and thinks Santa is real? You probably don't need to bother saving for them to go to uni. Just focus on their coffee-making skills and ability to offer people fries. So I suppose the lie does serve a practical purpose.

[Bad Writer]

I think you can judge how smart a kid is by the age at which they realise Santa is real. For example, if a kid is over 5 and thinks Santa is real? You probably don't need to bother saving for them to go to uni. Just focus on their coffee-making skills and ability to offer people fries. So I suppose the lie does serve a practical purpose.

And it does...if you're basing a child's perceptions of reality based on how well they discover that Santa isn't real. Why can't we use other critical thinking exercises to help foster cognitive growth in children though? Why does Santa have to play a part in this?

My in-laws use Santa as this very exercise, and it's proving to be a fruitful effort. Their child is one of the smartest, critically-thinking 5-year-olds that I know. However, though he realizes that Iron Man and the Hulk aren't real, he still thinks Santa squeezes his round belly down a skinny chimney. We're still not sure when he'll figure it out...and my wife and I are actually forbidden from talking to him about it.

More on that note, I would never outright tell a child that believes in Santa that "There is no Santa, kid." That would be cruel, and the child might react badly to the assertion. Instead, I would rather try to reason out the reality of Santa with him/her.

[Rahul]

More on that note, I would never outright tell a child that believes in Santa that "There is no Santa, kid." That would be cruel, and the child might react badly to the assertion. Instead, I would rather try to reason out the reality of Santa with him/her.

Let me guess. You never got that Red Rider BB Gun for Christmas as a kid and laid in wait one Christmas Eve to catch the fat fucker and make him pay. Only to discover your parents putting the presents under the tree.

Am I right, or amirite?

It seems like you're oddly passionate about this Santa thing.