Parents have been warned that telling your children Santa is real could cause long-term harm
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A group of Australian academics are telling parents that perpetuating the idea of Santa Claus may cause long term trauma for their kids.
We don't know about you, but if we could get the magic of being a kid at Christmas back we would.
A massive part of that comes from the incredible being that is Kris Kringle.
However, developmental psychologist Ameneh Shahaeian has told The Conversation that there may be serious harm involved in telling our children that a magical man in a red suit brings Christmas gifts to all of the children across the globe.
"Adults should not lie to children about Santa. When a child asks the question as to whether Santa is real or not, they're already at a developmental stage to distinguish between reality and fictional characters," she said.
"When children reach this developmental stage, it's not helpful if we lie to them about a fictional character such as Santa."
Well, we know who is off our Christmas card list.
Senior education lecturer at the Queensland University of Technology Rebecca English put forward a more practical view and echoed Dr Shahaeian's comments.
"You shouldn't lie about Santa because you are encouraging your children, usually with made-up proof, to believe a morally ambiguous lie," she added, as per The Conversation.
"I'm not alone in being devastated learning of my parents' elaborate deceit about Santa, leaving me to wonder what other lies they had told."
Well, one of the most remarkable things about the holidays is the magic of Santa and his epic journey to deliver gifts, so to each their own, we guess.
English added: "Santa supposedly encourages imagination but, you’re really asking children to suspend criticality and believe a fiction.
"Why defer your authority to an omniscient North-Poler, an interloping elf and colour changing baubles? You bought those presents; you should take the kudos!"
Psychologist Kelly-Ann Allen disagreed.
"People who engage in rituals around Santa and Christmas are literally memory-making with their children," she said.
"They're marking distinct occasions in time to be remembered in the future in a way that helps aid trans-generational family traditions and shared social experiences. Christmas rituals offer an opportunity for social belonging, which builds our social support networks and may even make us feel less lonely."
Featured Image Credit: D. Hurst / Alamy. Tatiana Syrtseva / Alamy.
