Should parents lie to “children for Santa?

St. Nicholas' Old Myth lasts more than 1500 years and includes a calyidoscopic mixture of Christian saints, literature and paganism. But the modern concept of Santa Claus (Santa Claus) was crystallized only over the last 200 years, through stories like 1823 poems, “A visit by St. Nikola”, more known as “Nata before Christmas”.

Santa Rituals have spread widely in American secular culture and not alone. In 2017, 85 percent of four - year - olds in the United States claimed to believe his existence. But despite his acceptance, experts are divided over the benefits of mythology, or, as David Kyle Johnson says, a professor of philosophy in Pennsylvania and author of the book “Mines that stole Christmas” calls it the “liar of Santa Claus”.

And what I object to is promoting common faith in Santaie”, he told me during a telephone conversation just before Thanksgiving.

In his book The Efficient Diagnosis presents an ethical argument against the indoctrination of children with this character.

His greatest concern is that these myths discourage critical thinking. If children start asking questions or express scepticism about Santa Claus, many parents leave the field of “prove”. It is very beautiful, but Johnson believes such tactics promote a weak opinion.

When we say that despite the evidence they have to believe anyway, this is a very dangerous precedent”, He stresses.

Instead, the philosopher supports the story of Santa simply what is a story.

Last year, my child was four years old and I said, We'll see Santa, he's just a guy dressed in a suit, but this is the fun game we're gonna play”, he says.

Johnson said that they did very well, even without having to cheat. In his view, critical thinking skills are not the only thing at stake. Most Santa's lovers have no problems growing up, but the myths that stole Christmas revolve around a dozen annexes and when they discover the truth when they grow up risk not believing in their parents and even experiencing painful psychological trauma.

No one is arguing that your children will be irreparably damaged when they grow up. It is only fair to say, though, that some youths will be dissatisfied with the truth.

Children “are curious about the world, want to know about it and trust their parents to provide accurate information”, Johnson writes. When we tell them Santa's lie, we betray that belief”

But Cindyo Scheibe sees the matter differently. Professor of psychology has studied the children's faith in Santa Claus for over 30 years. She remains an ardent supporter of these characters.

Very few children fear Santa. Most, until the age of seven, are content with it. But there were children, usually between the age of 7 and nine, who had doubts: they were there to collect information about whether this character was real or not. The expression of their faces was so different”, she says.

In three data collection campaigns over several decades, she has discovered that children are very similar throughout generations.

“We always found out the same thing: that the average age is between 7-8, when children go from trust to distrust, but it's a transition that probably lasts several years”, she adds.

Even the coming of the Internet, where you can theoretically find the truth with just one click, has not interrupted this cycle. The turning point between trust and distrust in children seems to be linked to something called the <x0... concrete operational thought”, an essential phase in Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget's area development theory. As children grow older, theorize Pyage becomes more organized. As they used to enjoy toys, they now want close, logical relationships. Santa does not resist such a sophisticated examination.

I call them little scientists. Young children say only imagine, but older children want something more concrete”, she says.

Data suggests that placing trust in Santa is a sure bet as long as you sincerely answer the honest questions of the adult child. It is an excellent story to tell the truth, if you must choose, but you should be prepared to abandon this game gradually so that your children do not lose faith in you. /Popular Science/Bota.al/