Skeptics and Santa Claus

[JamesDillon]

My first poll on the forum! Although I don't have children, I've been thinking about the Santa Claus issue for years and find myself wondering whether self-identified skeptics who celebrate Christmas teach their kids to believe in him or not. If you do, do you find that inconsistent with skepticism, or is it just harmless fun? If you don't, do you find that this causes any problems for your kids, or do you feel like they're missing out on something?

Personally I don't think I would teach my kids to believe in Santa, but I'm curious how actual parent skeptics have resolved this.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

I have 2 boys, ages 8 and 5. I leave it as a mystery, for them to work out whether he is real or fictional. Same with the tooth fairy. And god.

 

[saraban]

I don't remember ever believing in Santa. Seeing mother wrapping presents for other relatives and seeing your own at the back of the wardrobe. Meant Santa was never in the frame.

But I'd never tell a kid he doesn't exist, cause they tend to grow out of it on their own.

 

[angrysoba]

I think if you wanted to be consistent with "skepticism" then you would want to give your children the tools for inquiring rather than to simply tell your children that there is no Santa Claus, or Tooth Fairy or God and that they shouldn't believe in such nonsense. That would seem to be blunting their inquisitiveness which is, I think, antithetical to genuine skepticism.

That said, if my hypothetical children came up to me and asked if Father Christmas (for that is who Santa Claus is known as in England) existed I most certainly wouldn't say that he does.

 

[JamesDillon]

I think if you wanted to be consistent with "skepticism" then you would want to give your children the tools for inquiring rather than to simply tell your children that there is no Santa Claus, or Tooth Fairy or God and that they shouldn't believe in such nonsense. That would seem to be blunting their inquisitiveness which is, I think, antithetical to genuine skepticism.

That said, if my hypothetical children came up to me and asked if Father Christmas (for that is who Santa Claus is known as in England) existed I most certainly wouldn't say that he does.

That sounds good but, though I don't have kids myself, it doesn't sound entirely realistic that with young kids you're going to be able to give them a framework for critical thinking and expect them to work it out on their own without any kind of guidance. I'm also not sure how it would benefit anyone for the parent to hide the ball on what s/he believes for fear of contaminating their three-year-old's critical thinking process. I don't see why skeptical parenting should require a feigned agnosticism about questions that really do have right or wrong answers (and if any question falls in that category, it's Santa).

 

[Matthew Best]

It's a good opportunity for them to learn that people tell lies, therefore they shouldn't just take what anyone (even their parents) says as the truth without confirming it themselves.

 

[lionking]

All of our seven kids believed in Santa. They are all quite skeptical, and certainly atheist. I don't see the incompatibility with skepticism.

 

[Ray Brady]

It seems to me that Santa Claus is the perfect case study for teaching critical thinking skills to children. If a child comes to you asking if there is a Santa Claus, I think the ideal response might be "what do you think?"

 

[RedRatSnake]

I have 2 boys, ages 8 and 5. I leave it as a mystery, for them to work out whether he is real or fictional. Same with the tooth fairy. And god.

I did pretty much the same with my kids.

 

[steve s]

I don't remember ever believing in Santa. Seeing mother wrapping presents for other relatives and seeing your own at the back of the wardrobe. Meant Santa was never in the frame.

Ditto. I must have figured it out pretty early because I can't remember ever believing in him. Part of it was that I could always hear my parents putting presents under the tree late on Christmas Eve. My father was hard of hearing and was never really aware of how much noise he was making.

Steve S

 

[Thorax]

I agree with saraban. Children do grow out of it. I personally did believe in Santa when I was little. It's great to think critically, but developing an imagination is also very important in young children.

I remember crying (6-7 years old?) when I realized Santa wasn't real. But I'll always cherish my childhood memories of excitement on Christmas Eve--having such a hard time falling asleep thinking about Santa and his sleigh, his elves, his workshop, etc. I'm glad I lived through it, and I am skeptical of those who discourage belief in him for children.

 

[Tsukasa Buddha]

The whole Santa Claus thing kinda annoys me. Like adults are getting off on kids' gullibility and we all need to play along or else we will ruin Christmas forever. It's a bizarre game that serves no purpose except for adults to go "Dawww".

If a child comes to you asking if there is a Santa Claus, I think the ideal response might be "what do you think?"

See, that's the kind of answer I always hated. Because I knew the adults were just screwing with me.

Now I'm going to go tell my cousin that the real Santa is a Vulcan who is preparing Earth for First Contact. And none of you ******s had better ruin his childhood innocence by saying anything to the contrary!

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

The wording of your question is not how I woud word it. I didn't "teach" my son Santa was real any more than one teaches a child Cinderella existed because you read them the fairly tale. Young kids live in a fantasy world that is enjoyable to them and enjoying the fantasies with your kids does not make them believe in fantasies once they outgrow that stage of child development.

 

[JamesDillon]

The wording of your question is not how I woud word it. I didn't "teach" my son Santa was real any more than one teaches a child Cinderella existed because you read them the fairly tale. Young kids live in a fantasy world that is enjoyable to them and enjoying the fantasies with your kids does not make them believe in fantasies once they outgrow that stage of child development.

I'm not sure I understand your objection. I don't know what you personally did or didn't do, but certainly a lot of parents take affirmative steps to lead their children to believe that Santa Claus actually exists. Do you really see no difference between reading a story about Cinderella and saying, "Be sure to leave some milk and cookies out tonight for the magic elf from the North Pole who will be bringing you toys?" The latter is clearly calculated to inculcate a belief in the literal existence of a non-existent supernatural entity in a way that the former is not.

 

[angrysoba]

That sounds good but, though I don't have kids myself, it doesn't sound entirely realistic that with young kids you're going to be able to give them a framework for critical thinking and expect them to work it out on their own without any kind of guidance. I'm also not sure how it would benefit anyone for the parent to hide the ball on what s/he believes for fear of contaminating their three-year-old's critical thinking process. I don't see why skeptical parenting should require a feigned agnosticism about questions that really do have right or wrong answers (and if any question falls in that category, it's Santa).

That's fair enough and I think you might be right.

Perhaps my hypothetical children would start to really hate Dad if he could never give a straight answer but always posed it back at them.

Perhaps it would be better to treat Santa Claus/Father Christmas as simply a character, like Kermit the Frog or Mickey Mouse. Somebody who inhabits the same "realm", if that makes sense.

 

[Legend]

I made a thread on this here, if you want some other results. It was a while ago so I'll be interested to see the results here.

 

[caniswalensis]

Eh, it's a fun game.

i don;t see it as being incompatable with skepticism. Children who are of an age to beleive in the jolly old elf are supposed to have fun and play make-believe. Its part of learning.

The best part of the Santa game is that adults get to play along too. It's a way for us to steal back some of that childhood innocence & fun from Father Time.

 

[Tsukasa Buddha]

The best part of the Santa game is that adults get to play along too. It's a way for us to steal back some of that childhood innocence & fun from Father Time.

I think that is the BS reason it sticks around. Children aren't innocent, and gullibility does not equal innocence in the first place. There is plenty of imaginary fun kids can have without adults enforcing bizarre world views for their selfish enjoyment.

 

[Chris L]

Eh, it's a fun game.

i don;t see it as being incompatable with skepticism. Children who are of an age to beleive in the jolly old elf are supposed to have fun and play make-believe. Its part of learning.

The best part of the Santa game is that adults get to play along too. It's a way for us to steal back some of that childhood innocence & fun from Father Time.

There is that. It's a harmless enough game. It allows kids to believe (at least for a few years) that there is magic in the world and that they can be a part of that magic. They'll learn soon enough about what the real world is like (if said world hasn't already made that clear to them), so let them enjoy it.

 

[caniswalensis]

I think that is the BS reason it sticks around. Children aren't innocent, and gullibility does not equal innocence in the first place. There is plenty of imaginary fun kids can have without adults enforcing bizarre world views for their selfish enjoyment.

Somebody needs a hug, I think.