The Santa Clause Lie.

There are certain things that parents are willing to lie about: Yes, Santa's real and gets you presents wrapped in mummy's wrapping paper. Yes, the tooth fairy's real, but don't lose anymore because daddy's run out of spare change. Of course God is real, honey.

Perhaps the last isn't a lie - maybe someone more enlightened then me (or, perhaps, more deluded) who can 'see' it. But I can't. So for me, it's a lie.

And if you don't believe God is real, or if you're not definite about either God or the God-fearing lifestyle, why do we tell our children there's a man upstairs, definitely, when you don't believe that? 

But there is definite proof that there is no Santa, no tooth fairy, no Easter bunny - so why do we pull wool around our children's eyes? They have to grow up, one day.

When I was younger I got into a lot of trouble for having the 'cheek' to say that God didn't exist, Santa didn't exist, etc. As time passed I grew a little more tactful, but I've never lost my sense of how ridiculous it is that we feed twisted tales to children who cannot fully process the difference between fact and fiction. You can have fun with fairytales; you can play along, make a game out of it. But it's wrong to say that it's real. 

I grew up in a very pragmatic household, where I was expected to understand that there was no God, no Santa, and the like. Of course I still got money for my teeth and a roast for Christmas and chocolate at Easter, but it was more of a novelty, and it was very very clear that there was nothing paranormal about it. I don't think it's deprived me of anything; it's made me a stronger, a wiser, a more mature person. I mean, if I still believed in Santa Clause when I moved out and married my parents would have failed dismally indeed.

The primary role of a parent is not to comfort to the detriment of preparing your child for the world. The world is not going to be as indulgent, as sympathetic, as understanding towards your child as you are. There are better things you can give your children than the Santa Clause lie.