海角大神

It鈥檚 that time of year again when families deck the halls, trim the tree, and pick sides in the perennial battle between believers and non-believers 鈥� in Santa Claus that is.

Among believer families, parents prime their kids for Christmas morning with stories of toymaking elves, flying reindeer, and an omniscient old man in a red suit, while non-believers urge their children not to burst their friends鈥� Santa-bubble quite yet.

In some cases, the fault line runs right through families.

Erin McLaughlin of Watertown, Mass. wants her 7-year-old daughter to believe in Santa Claus 鈥渇or as long as possible,鈥� while her husband Eric 鈥渢hinks we are doing her a disservice by perpetuating this untruth.鈥�

Eric is not the only parent who is uncomfortable with what he thinks amounts to lying to children.

David Kyle Johnson, a philosophy professor at King鈥檚 College, a Catholic college in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., has written numerous blog posts, articles, and book chapters denouncing the 鈥淪anta lie.鈥�

鈥淟ying is wrong,鈥� Prof. Johnson says. 鈥淭here are certain reasons when lying becomes acceptable, but being amused by your kids鈥� na茂vet茅 is not one of the justifiable reasons to lie.鈥�

For that very reason, some parents opt to skip the Santa myth entirely or to present it as a fictional story. Others avoid the Santa tale in an effort to maintain the religious significance of the holiday.

However, the majority of American parents apparently do encourage their children to believe in Santa. In 2011, 57 percent of families reported that Santa played an important role in their holiday tradition, according to an AP-GfK poll, 29 percent said that Santa played a 鈥渧ery important鈥� role. (It is not clear whether that amounts to literal belief in Santa Claus or celebration of the fictional character.)

For many parents, Santa Claus is a joyful part of childhood that enhances the fun of Christmas, encourages imagination, and later, as kids start to get wise to the myth, promotes critical thinking, says Karl Rosengren. The developmental psychologist and fellow researchers at Northwestern University, in Evanston, Ill., has conducted a series of studies and surveys of parents鈥� attitudes towards belief in fantasy.

鈥淥ne of the things that struck us is that most parents hadn鈥檛 ever thought too deeply about why they encourage these beliefs, but they continue to do it because that鈥檚 how they were raised,鈥� Prof. Rosengren says. 鈥淧arents talk about encouraging fantasy helping with cognitive development and creativity, and, as a developmental psychologist, I really can鈥檛 see anything wrong with it.鈥�

鈥淚 think I like the idea of the magic in childhood,鈥� one parent responded to Rosengren鈥檚 survey. 鈥淲e鈥檒l let it go as long as she鈥檚 willing to believe.鈥�

Johnson sees that moment when kids鈥� belief begins to fade as a critical point in the formation of children鈥檚 ability to think critically and maintain trust.

A real problem arises when parents 鈥渆ncourage kids to keep believing even after they express doubts," he says.

鈥淚n general we have a critical thinking problem in this country,鈥� he says. 鈥淎 good portion of my students believes that Chris Angel [an illusionist] really can walk on water. Many believe in ghosts. I鈥檓 not saying that the Santa myth is to blame, but perpetuating the myth and encouraging kids to ignore their intuition about what鈥檚 real and what鈥檚 not is a real problem.鈥�

On the other hand, parenting experts and psychologists suggest that helping to guide children through the process of realizing that Santa is not real can lay the foundation for critical thinking skills.

The Santa myth 鈥渋s a way to have kids engage in a harmless cultural myth and to think their way out of it,鈥� says Dale McGowan, a former critical thinking professor and author of 鈥淧arenting Without Belief鈥� and 鈥淩aising Free Thinkers.鈥�

When Mr. McGowan鈥檚 son was young, he was careful to couch the Santa tale with phrases such as, 鈥渟ome people say鈥� and encourage his son to share what he thought.

鈥淲hen he looked at me and asked, 鈥業s Santa real?鈥� I asked, 鈥榃hat do you think?鈥� and he replied, 鈥業 think it鈥檚 the moms and dads!鈥� He was so excited that he had this idea. I said, 鈥楪ood for you, you figured it out.' 鈥�

While some adults worry that children will be traumatized when they learn that Santa 鈥� and all the various props and lore that support the myth 鈥� is nothing but a ruse, McGowan maintains that such distress really comes from parents attempting to sustain the myth beyond its natural course.

For most children, the pivotal age seems to be around 7- or 8-years-old, psychologists at the University of Montreal and the University of Ottawa have found.

鈥淐hildren start to ask questions at around 5- or 6-years-old, but they will invent [or accept] excuses that let them continue to believe,鈥� says Carole S茅n茅chal, a psychologist at the University of Ottawa who has studied belief in Santa Claus. 鈥淏ut when they reach 7- or 8-years-old, they start to notice that Santa is at the mall at the same time as in a parade and recognize that there cannot be 2000 Santa鈥檚 all over the world at the same time.鈥�

At that point, parents have a responsibility to guide their children through the realization process and should not attempt to prolong belief any longer, Prof. S茅n茅chal says.

Until then, 鈥淔or some kids the only good thing they have is Christmas,鈥� she says. No matter what life is like at home, 鈥測ou have a moment during the year when somebody is nice and is a good example.鈥澛�