Is it acceptable for parents to lie about the existence of Santa Claus? Options

[Joanne]

Last year in my Academic Reading & Writing class, we had a debate about whether it is acceptable or appropriate for parents to lie to their children about the existence of Santa Claus. I found it really interesting... so why not bring the debate here?

We were each given a 1897 New York Sun article as 'background information' Okay, so she gave this to us because she found it interesting and it's related to the topic. = ='':

Dear Editor: I am 8 years old.

Some of my little friends say, there is no Santa Claus.

Papa says "If you see it in the Sun it's so."

Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would they prove? Nobody sees Sanata Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see.

No Santa Claus! Thank God, he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

So... yes or no?

[Joanne]

Wow, this thread got a lot of responses!

coconutter (Alexandra, is it?) - You presented a lot of good points and factors, most of which my 'against' classmates brought up.

It's a bit cruel tricking children like that, when you know in the long run they're going to find out and their spirits will be crushed. [...] Sometimes it can mess up children. I don't think we should lie to our children anymore. Santa Claus can still be there to advocate happiness and joy during the holidays, but he shouldn't advocate trickiness and lies.

While I do understand that lying is 'wrong' and that the children will get upset when they learn the truth about Santa... would it really make that huge of an affect? I mean, sure those kids might be crushed when they find out, but I personally have never heard any stories of kids suffering in the long term from discovering that Santa is fake. And so you suggest that people should just flat out tell your children that Santa Claus, in fact, does not exist? Wouldn't taking away the image of a magical being be even more crushing?

Lying to your children isn't ever acceptable, even if you're trying to protect them. In Santa's case, you're not protecting them, just crushing their spirits in the future. When I was told Santa didn't exist, I cried for a while. I'd rather spare children that disappointment.

Children will get disappointed if you tell them right off the bat. They'll have to go to school and face all the other children and all their ideas of Santa - they could feel left out and alone, or even ruin the other children's images of Santa.


I want to read and quote more, but my eyes are getting tired LOL so I'll just give some of my own points:

The idea of a Santa Claus promotes imagination for children. Taking away Santa right from the beginning would be erasing an essential stage of imagination. When they do find out he's not actually real, it's just a step from distinguishing the differences between reality and fantasy - they're going from one stage to another in terms of maturity. Plus, some kids grow to realize (on their own) that Santa is a game on some level - even though they know he's not real, they still act like he is because it's fun. It's the same concept as fairy tales... most children know they're just stories, but enjoy acting them out and going along with them.

Some people in my class argued that using Santa Claus is a cheap way for parents to get their children to behave all year long. I don't at all think it's a way to avoid responsibility - Santa Claus is simply a smart parenting device/technique.