To Santa Clause…or Not?

09 Dec To Santa Clause…or Not?

Tis the season to be jolly, to deck the halls with bells of holly and to….lie to our children about Santa? Ouch. Now that’s a tough decision that all parents will have  to face once their children begin to think for themselves and socially engage in the world.
But what’s so bad about passing a cultural myth down from generation to generation? We’ve certainly benefited enormously from other mythologies.
While I never encourage parents to lie to their kids about anything, I don’t see anything wrong with celebrating Santa to teach our children valuable cultural lessons.
The most important of these lessons include:
–Selflessness: Santa, Ms. Clause and the elves give for the pure joy of giving. They expect nothing in return.
–Team work: Santa requires the support of others. He could never pull off his holiday duties without the love of help of a team.
–Responsibility: Santa shows up and gets it done- even in the worst of blizzards.
– Compassion: Santa loves everyone equally. And while he prefers nice over naughty, no one is ignored or overlooked.
So while children will certainly outgrow the literal notion of Santa, they should be taught that the mythical notion of him lives on and will serve them well through out their lives. To read more about how to talk to your kids about the existence of Santa, click on the following article at CNN.com