Is Santa Real?
Lets talk about Santa …
At some point in time, parents will be faced with the dreaded question, ‘Is Santa real?’. It often feels like you have two choices when asked this question: you can lie to your children about Santa existing as a chimney jumping, reindeer riding man who flys through the sky delivering presents to all the children across the world, or, you can tell them the truth and destroy the magic of christmas. But ultimately, how you decide to broach this topic with your children is an entirely personal choice based upon what works best for your family.
If you choose to tell your children the traditional stories of Santa there is a very slim chance of it actually doing any harm. The only thing to bare in mind is that some children may feel upset and lied to by their parents when they do eventually find out the truth about Santa Claus. On the contrary, being honest with your children about Santa not being real brings a worry that you are stripping away the magic of christmas. We believe there is a way to be honest with your children about Santa whilst maintaining the magic of the man in the North Pole building presents for all the children. When your children ask ‘Is Santa real?’, you could answer by explaining how Santa isn’t a real person like you or I, but is instead an idea that brings magic and joy to people at christmas time. This conversation can open many opportunities for imaginative play with your child. Explain to your child that things don’t need to be real for people to enjoy them. Use examples such as dragons or fairies or other mythical ideas they indulge in. You can also explain Santa as a representation of generosity and magic at christmas time. Knowing that Santa isn’t real doesn’t stop children from reading books about Santa in the North Pole or imagining the elves making every kind of toy imaginable. Let your child lead the story to encourage their indulgence in the magic of christmas. For the magic to live on, it is important to allow your child to decide how far the narrative goes.
This isn’t to say that telling your children that Santa is real is the wrong thing to do. Children often wholeheartedly believe in magical creatures. It isn’t because they are told they are real, but that their imaginations hold no boundaries and are not confined to reality. Immersing your children in the fantasy of Santa bringing them gifts is fun and exciting for them. But, it is important to think about how you are going to handle the possible question of why Santa didn’t bring them as many presents as he did their friends or cousins. A simple solution would be for everyone to just give one gift from Santa and a stocking. In reality, you can’t control what other people choose to do for their children! If this issue does occur with your child but you don’t want to spoil the magic of Santa’s existence, you could tell them a story about how their weren’t enough elves working in the factory this year to make all the toys they wanted, or that sometimes Santa just chooses what he thinks is the best present for each child, you can use this as an opportunity to highlight all the wonderful gifts they did receive. This can also be a valuable lesson for teaching your children to be grateful for the gifts that they did receive and highlight that some children are less fortunate than they are. It can start an important conversation on giving to those less fortunate and helping everyone in our communities. If you are in the fortunate position to afford gifts for children charities this can be an incredible activity to do with your children to teach them about charity and thinking of others.
Parents often threaten children’s bad behaviour with the ‘naughty list’, an imaginary list held by Santa that depicts which children have misbehaved throughout the year and therefore won’t be receiving any parents. If we are being completely honest, we do not agree with this being used as a warning or punishment to children who are misbehaving. When children are misbehaving there is often a reason, whether that be attention-seeking, attempting to communicate emotion or experiencing sensory challenges. Helping children to identify and communicate the reasoning behind their actions is an essential part of their learning. As a parent or caregiver it is important to aid your child in the development of their skills in communicating their needs. Simply threatening a made up ‘naughty list’ shames the child and their behaviour and is ultimately ineffective in achieving behavioural improvements and developmental growth in your child.
