Why do people think they should tell there kids 'the truth' about santa?

Do they want their children to have no dreams?
What is the point they can find out 'the truth' themselves when they get older.

Answer:
I have a two year old and I'm loving building up the story of Santa and getting her all excited her little face lights up when she see's him on shopping centers or on tv etc. I believe in Santa until I was 8 and a friend told me th truth but I think at 8 i was old enough to know and it didn't devestate me. I still feel the mgic of xmas when i remember the days when i thought he was real n instilling that in my own daughter is something i wouldn't dream of not doing! A friend of mine has a two year old and she is bringing him up not to believe from the srat because she thinks its blatent lying and that is very very wrong I just don't think it counts as lying really. Santa exists in the minds of little children an that is very special and part of the pleasure of being young!
Chances are they never believed in Santa, or, they have no Christmas spirit.
it was kids at school that burst the bubble for my oldest one but my 2 little ones still believe
idk maybe to get credit for the gifts they spent a lot of money on.
When they ask ... give them ONE MORE YEAR. then when they ask again... tell them the truth so they aren't a FOOL in SCHOOL.
I couldnt agree more!! There is so much for children to have to deal with as they get older, why not let them have this?! Let them figure it out themselves, dont ruin it for them.let that little bit of magic they have as a child last as long as it can! I personally figured it out on my own when I was 10 yrs old and I wouldnt have it any other way. I felt like I was smarter than my mom by figuring it out and still getting extra gifts as a child LOL I intend on letting my children figure it out themselves, I wont ruin it for them.
its kinda stupid (the thing about Santa). It just messes with the kids and when they get older, or course, they figure out he isn't real. We should stop the Santa thing.
I never tell my kids my oldest didn't find out til she was 11 and I tell her you better not spoil it for the other ones here's what I tell them maybe because I want them to believe the moment you don't believe is when you only get presents from mom and dad none of the extra stuff and I'd be pissed off if someone told my kids.
Thinking that children will not have dreams without hearing about Santa Clauds is just plain stupid, especially since most little ones who are of Santa-believing age CANNOT SEPARATE FACT FROM FANTASY. Why lie to them? There's enough wonder in the world for them that it makes no sense for a parent to be dishonest; and when they find out that there is no Santa, it is very common for them to feel somewhat bothered by the fact that their parents betrayed them. This is an unnecessary feeling, and there is really no point to inflicting it.
Some parents are cruel and dont really care about things like this, sometimes parenting is more of a duty.

Another way of looking at it maybe that they dont want their children growing up to be liers!
i think the whole santa thing is great, so what if it's technically lying? everybody lies it is part of life and your kids will learn it anyway santa stories or not. I believed in Santa as a child and it made my christmas's magical, and no body told me the 'truth' I figured it out for myself when I was old enough and wasn't at all devastated. Kids are smart they will figure things out for themselves when they are ready, it will not hurt your child to let them use their imaginations it is good for them. If they had none of these kind of fairytale experiences they would grow up to be human robots.
All the adults reading this, are you really so affected by the fact you found out the 'truth'? Did it devastate your life? I think not! get over it go bah humbug somewhere else.
To each is their own.

I loved growing up thinking there was Santa.
I could hardly sleep the night before my gifts were brought.

I think it helps build imagination.

when I did find out the truth I was in no way disappointed because I new I would still get the gifts just not from Santa!
because they think that telling their kids that santa is a serial rapist will ensure that they sleep with their clothes on, which also ensures that they wont catch cold and die.
i don't know why people think that they need to tell their kids the truth about Santa. that's just wrong to me. my boys are 2 1/2 yrs old and a week old and when they start knowing about Santa, I'm not going to tell them that hes not real. its wrong. which, other people have other beliefs.
i think you are little bit got wrong about santa !!
they want their kids to have Hope with their life !!
so ...
hope this can help you =D
I think parents tell their children the truth about Santa because so the kids can tell there Mom and Dad "Thank You" so the parents can get credit for what they buy. Also children are going to have to find out the truth so when the children have kids, they can leave presents for their children on Christmas Eve by pretending their is such thing as Santa.
Because as they get older, kids at school or just kids in general will spread the word. Eventually they will find out, so it just best for the parent to tell them when they reach a certain age.
they should be told on their 16th birthday and kept in the dark about it until then.
i think that is just wrong i mean such things should have nevger began. if i kids i wud tell them the truth bt they will have a hard time dealin with it because of their friends at school and other family members...so really because of that i think they will just grow out of it...wel most of them. but i would just not talk about 'him' so they get over 'him' at a younger age nt 11!
kids grow up so quick nowadays, keep santa going for as long as we can - I say
You know, that's such a big assumption, that my kids can have no 'dreams' because they don't believe in a false santa. My kids have plenty of dreams, they just don't revolve around a man who's been dead for 1300 years.

There is still the mystery of not knowing what your presents are, wondering who drew your name, if the person you bought a present for is going to love it.it's just as exciting in our house as in any others...and probably a lot more appreciation because they don't take it for granted. Even better, they know the story of the bishop of Lycia, the real Santa Clause, and how amazing he was for saving the lives of poor children in his town. That is a miracle to them, in our modern age of selfish consumerism.

What's the point of lying to them if they are going to find the truth out later, is my question. We've never said to our children, "Sorry, there's no Santa". We've just never lied to them and said "OH, Santa must have brought you that."

Why do all of the responses assume such negative reactions, why does it matter so much to YOU If my children don't believe in santa? I don't sit around and complain about people who do teach their kids that santa's real, and actually it's a lot more work for me because I have to explain to all of my kids why we don't tell other people that santa is not real.
I guess they are just cynical people who don't believe that children should be children at all.

As far as the answer above saying that the parents should get credit for buying presents...is that what giving is about?? Getting credit for it? If so..what a sad, sad world.
Knowing the truth about Santa Clause does not diminish but enhance the Christmas spirit. Children can and do have dreams without having to perceive Santa Clause as a physical being. Childrens dreams do not hinge on whether Santa Clause exists or not.There is no drama involved in telling kids "the truth" when they grow up in the truth. Kids still wake up in the morning surpised at the gifts sitting under the tree from mom and dad. Santa is not needed to give gifts. I can not find anything positive that would come from lying to my children.
I sure wouldn't want my parents to tell me santa wasn't real when I was young. It is a tradition and I have yet to hear someone get angry for telling them santa was real when they were kids. It isn't like it is a mean lie.
so that their children don't get their butts kicked in school for being dumb enough to still believe in santa. and it's meaner to let your children go on believing a LIE... they will say "how could you mummy?" if you carry on lying to them so blatantly.. be a good mother
ps. you spelt "their" wrong
Eventually all kids have to find out, I think personally parents should wait. But waiting until they are old enough to find out is a bit tramatizing. Some kids will keep believing no matter what anyone tells them, trust me I know I was one of those kids. I was in junior high before my mom finally told me about Santa. I cried for like a week.
Telling the truth is the right thing to do. Lying is wrong. There is nothing wrong with dreams. But our kids are capable of coming up with their own dreams- we don't have to make them up for them. My daughter and I love to read pretend stories and play pretend games. If she decides she has an imaginary friend or that her teddy bear told her something, that's fine. We make up stories. We even tell her the Santa story, but she knows it's a story. He's no more real than the Very Hungry Caterpillar or Fox in Socks. The problem with Santa is that people go out of their way to stage the elaborate lie that Santa IS real. He's not just in the story world- he crosses the line into our world. Then it has to get more elaborate as kids get smarter, with more lies as the kids ask questions, and then they do figure out that you lied to them.

Why should we tell our kids the truth about anything? We as parents bring them into the world and are responsible for teaching them about the world. I believe in being honest. That doesn't mean giving her more information than she can use (for example she doesn't know where hamburgers come from, but if she asked I wouldn't make up some lie about it- I would tell her the truth). Kids need to be able to trust their parents and for that to happen we need to be honest with them.
Because if you lie to them and they find out, they'll be mad at you. One question: are you calling parents who tell their children Santa's fake bad parents? because i have 6 children and i haven't told any of them that Santa's real.
my 11 year old stepson kept telling my 23 months old son that santa wasnt real but luckily he doesnt understand yet! when i explained to the eldest that he was allowed to believe so he should let his brother believe too! he agreed and now goes along with the santa stories!
i dont understand people that dont let their kids believe, they must have had unhappy memories of "santa" when they were kids!!
Because..it's...the truth?
my 7yr old ask me this year and what i told her (she caught me wrapping) was that there was so many children in the world today that mom's and dad's had to help santa out with the presents but she would still get that one special present from santa
It's not about being cruel, it's not about not having dreams...it's about always telling the truth to your children, about trust and respect in the family. People caught up in the christmas and santa celebration are completely brainwashed and comply blindly to our society of consumption!

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