Do you tell children that Santa is real?

[Mr Orange]

Personally when i was a kid i believed in santa. It did me no harm yet with my religious believes if i had children i dought i'd tell my kids about santa claus...

I have a very close friend that has two kids a boy and a girl. The boy is the eldist he will be seven in January and the girl is 19 months. The boy goes to a Church of England school where he is brought up with christian teachings- his parents are not christian (they're pagan and agnostic) when the boy returns home from school at times he would explain to his parents about santa/jesus etc... where he is then told not to believe in such things.

Yet he believes them no matter what his parents say. He is performing his nativity play today with his school -very proud of him.

I guess what im trying to say is no matter what you tell you kids they will believe what ever they wish to. No matter their age. And when he asks me about Buddhism i tell him. I've asked him if he is looking forward to santa for christmas day, in which he replys 'yes but lets not forget jesus.'

The belif in santa is ok i guess

 

[sandandfoam]

Funny, I don't tell my kids any of those things.

I put up a good deliberate fight against those odds.

Sorry Vi, I just can't believe any claim not to lie

 

[blackout]

Sorry Vi, I just can't believe any claim not to lie

I said I put up a good fight.

Really, I do.

There are so many ways to tell the truth.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

I never told my kids that Santa was real.
As for other people's kids, I don't burst bubbles.

I don't burst bubbles, either.

I don't have kids, so I don't know. My parents still do Santa and it's still fun. This year my brother and I bought them a Wii and we're going to give it how our family does Santa (a first for us).

And we have all the other imaginary characters - the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and the Boogey Man (for camping trips and Halloween).

The thing is, most kids will lose most of their baby teeth and become disinterested in Easter at a younger age than losing their enjoyment of Santa.

It seems to me that most of the other kids will be participating in the Santa myth - I won't want to spoil the fun, and learning that Santa isn't "real" is a right of passage in elementary school.

 

[linwood]

I tell my kids deliberate lies all the time.
If they fall I and get cut I tell them a kiss will make it better. I tell them if they work hard they can do anything they want.
I tell them that dead pets and relatives are in heaven and that good behaviour is rewarded.

Most definitely not.
I`m trying to teach my kid how to succeed in the real world.
Telling her lies would do nothing but hinder my goal.

You don`t need to lie to make a kid feel better.
Give them more credit than that.

Fact of the matter is that everyone lies all of the time. Lies are the glue that holds society together and the odds are massively, overwhelmingly against anyone who claims not to lie.

True, I lie to society constantly.
I don`t lie to my kids.

If I don`t know an answer I simply say so and point them in a direction that will lead them to an answer.
If I don`t want to give them the information they ask for I simply say so.

Puritans of the secular variety are as much fun as those of the religious variety.

Those of a secular variety aren`t basing their worldview on a lie to begin with.
Maybe that makes a difference.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Countless unintentional lies < Countless unintentional lies + 1 deliberate lie

Sure - inconsequentially so.

Not really the point anyway. If people have such a bug up their *** that they have emotional issues about engaging in some make-believe with their kids, then they probably shouldn't do so anyway. Dealer's choice.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I tell my kids deliberate lies all the time.
If they fall I and get cut I tell them a kiss will make it better.

If it makes them feel better, then it's true.

I tell them if they work hard they can do anything they want.

You could tweak that a bit so that it's true while still being just as encouraging.

I tell them that dead pets and relatives are in heaven and that good behaviour is rewarded.

Why would you do that?

I can understand in the case of someone who sincerely believes in an afterlife in Heaven and God's justice. However, you say it's a lie, which implies you don't believe it... so why say it?

Fact of the matter is that everyone lies all of the time. Lies are the glue that holds society together and the odds are massively, overwhelmingly against anyone who claims not to lie.

Even if someone lies all the time, we can still recognize that one more lie doesn't make things better.

Sure - inconsequentially so.

Compared to a sunk cost, which isn't a rational basis for decision-making anyhow.

Not really the point anyway. If people have such a bug up their *** that they have emotional issues about engaging in some make-believe with their kids, then they probably shouldn't do so anyway. Dealer's choice.

It's only "engaging in some make-believe" if everyone knows that it's make-believe.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Compared to a sunk cost, which isn't a rational basis for decision-making anyhow.

It's only "engaging in some make-believe" if everyone knows that it's make-believe.

Wow, you sound like you'd be a really fun dad.

 

[bobhikes]

Most definitely not.

True, I lie to society constantly.
I don`t lie to my kids.

If I don`t know an answer I simply say so and point them in a direction that will lead them to an answer.
If I don`t want to give them the information they ask for I simply say so.

I would have to agree. I don't lie to my kids. I am creative in how I tell them the truth and may not disclose all the truth.

I do say I don't know when I don't and may point them in a direction to find the answer even if I know the answer.

But I don't like lying at all and typically refrain from it even socially. I will refuse to answer, change the topic, ignore the question at times or answer with another question.