# Telling children Santa exists...right or wrong?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telling-children-santa-exists-right-or-wrong/520077>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [December 5, 2009, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telling-children-santa-exists-right-or-wrong/520077 "2009-12-05T06:29:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 6

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**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telling-children-santa-exists-right-or-wrong/520077/101 "2009-12-09T04:49:26Z")

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> [@norinew](#):
>
> Since we now seem to be posting specific “I lied to my kid and I’m not sorry about it” stories, I’ll add one…

I didn’t want to derail things but it was more that I agree with both your rational and critical thinking “what do you think?” approach and at the same time **Muffin’s** “it’s fun to play” comments.

> [@](#):
>
> I don’t think she was traumatized. She tells the story herself pretty frequently.  
> Kids’ minds are so incredibly _flexible_, it’s fun to play with them! 😉

Yeah, it seems to me that there is a large and nuanced middle ground between the harsh “Santa is fake” and the (IMO somewhat insane) “bubble-wrap the kids and lie convincingly”. (Which does seem a recipe for potential trauma – as does death denial).

My lad is sitting adjacent to me atm on the other computer so I just asked him if vampires are real. “They’re not real” he replied, complete with: :rolleyes: (Dad’s being silly again).

Easter bunny? Tooth fairy? I ask, “fake” he says (backing his assertion with the proof that his best friend observed \*his \*mother replacing tooth with coin). Santa? Still under consideration. 🙂

(Potential here for getting myself into trouble with my wife, but too good an opportunity to pass up with his answering these…) Gods? "Like [Pit?"](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kid_Icarus), he replies, continuing, “Gods have angel wings”. Is Pit real? “No he’s just a Nintendo character”. Hmmm… wife’s religious family might not like this… 🆒

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