Expert reveals controversial reason why parents should tell their kids that Santa does exist
Everyone will remember the day they learnt that Santa Clause isn't, in fact, real.
As a kid, the highlight of your year is writing your wish list to be sent off by your parents, hoping you'll find everything you wanted under the tree on Christmas Day.
However, whether by accident or just being told outright, it's eventually revealed that the only person hard at work on Christmas Eve is your parents, and depending on how old you are, that can be a soul-crushing realisation.
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This has influenced some to not to tell their children about Father Christmas for sake of being disappointed, however, one expert has suggested that parents should continue to tell their children that Santa does exist.
Tom Whyman, a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Liverpool in the UK, made his case in an article for The Conversation, talking about the time he'd learnt the truth about Santa.
"I have a vivid memory of the moment I realised Santa didn’t exist," he began. "I was around six years old, it was the height of summer, and I was sitting on the step outside our back door, thinking about God."
According to Whyman, he came to the conclusion that God isn't real, therefore by proxy, this must mean Santa wasn't real, too.
"Our culture expects parents, basically, to lie to our children that their presents were left by a jolly fat man who flies in a sleigh pulled by reindeer through the sky." he continues.
"And so of course one might ask, is this OK? We all surely want our children to grow up to be honest people. Shouldn’t we set a good example, as far as possible, by telling them the truth?"
In his opinion, it is still okay for parents to 'participate in the grand Santa lie', adding: "We shouldn’t be honest about Santa – at least not at first."
Whyman then went on to question what the magical time of Christmas would be like for children without the 'Santa myth' - it would be pretty boring.
"Without that sweet embellishment, there would be no ritual of writing to him, of leaving out sherry and mince pies, of waiting desperately to see if 'he’s been' on Christmas morning," he said.
"Without the Santa myth, what would Christmas for the average child even be?
"An arbitrary date when they are finally allowed to play with presents their parents maybe bought months in advance – what would be the point?"
Tom then went on to discuss being 'fully honest' with children and whether that is sure a good thing in the grand scheme of things.
"If I felt compelled to tell my children everything, I would pull no punches in relating the wretched state of the world," the lecturer added.
He went on to say that when children eventually put two-and-two together, parents should tell them the truth.
"Ultimately in raising children, our concern should always be with how we are shaping them." Whyman explained. "If we want to raise critical citizens, with a powerful sense that the world can be improved – and with a healthy suspicion of those in charge – the Santa myth is surely one mechanism through which this might possibly be achieved."
Callum Jones