the screaming frog asked:


Our daughter is 3yrs and 8 months now. I was telling her the story about Santa Claus and she was getting real excited. But then my wife starts telling me that she doesn’t think it’s a good idea to give her false incentives to be good. She also gives the old “I never believed in Santa Claus as a child and I turned out fine” routine. As for me, I just don’t see the harm in it- sure, one day we’ll tell her the truth when she’s old enough to understand that her parents are just doing it to give her a special experience once a year. For now, I’m just enjoying her excitement about Christmas.

So my question is: do you think there’s any disadvantages to teaching your children the Santa Claus myth? Do you think children would be affected negatively because you told them blatant mistruths?

Celia

Owen Newitt’s duck asked:


When I was a kid, it was obvious that there was nobody who was going to give me anything that wasn’t unpleasant. Does the modern santa claus cause kids to expect that they are entitled to things without having earned them?

Quentin