“The Tooth Fairy and Santa made the holidays more magical and just gave me something to look forward to. With the Tooth Fairy, if I lost a tooth it wasn’t sad, I got money and looked forward to it,” Jr. Kelsey Foy said.
Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny add a magical element to the holidays and increase excitement for young kids. Many children around the world believe in holiday myths. However, to create a spark for the holidays, parents must lie to their children. Lying to children at a young age may seem like a cause of distrust, although benefits exist. The benefits outweigh the downfalls of misleading children about the holidays. So parents, go ahead and tell those lies. Don’t let a misguided fear of damaging your kid’s trust ruin the fun.
There’s a curiosity if lying to children about holidays can lead to distrust or strained relationships. A local social worker who specializes in working with children shared her insights about holiday myths.
Although arguable, when we grow up, it’s important to question and find curiosity. “The more questions they ask the better, helps them learn how to communicate and figure things out with the grown-ups they trust and will still love no matter what,” the social worker said.
Hence, children can create a possible bond in the end with their parents. Children can learn how to improve their communication and navigate through their emotions with authority figures.
As shown, there can be benefits to questioning the truth. That’s how children start to build trust with authority figures.
“But that is usually when there’s a lot of other unhealthy and negative patterns happening in the relationships,” the social worker said. Distrust in parents’ relationships is more likely caused by unhealthy patterns, and not lying about holiday myths. None of these kids would blame their parents for deceiving the truth. Children understand the purpose of these lies.
Holiday myths have a deeper purpose than simple deception. They create magic and enduring memories during the holiday seasons. Without these, a part of the holidays would be missing. There’s more to holiday myths than just the people in the costumes. “Here is the thing about Santa. Santa might have not been a man with a white beard, but there were always lots of people in my life who made Santa’s presents special. My mom, my sisters, and my friends,” 5th grade instructor Lisa Foy said.
The magic behind Santa and other holiday figures comes from a community of people and continues to grow even after finding out the truth about holiday myths. “Santa was real in spirit and we all treasure the memories of those special, magical moments on Christmas morning when the cookies were gone and presents appeared. Today, my older children embrace this spirit of giving and they know the joy you feel when you give those special things to the people you care about,” Foy said.
Magic of the holidays goes beyond just creating fun for children, it grows with us as we get older. We remember how we felt when we were kids, and want that for others. Holiday myths have more to what shows on the surface.
Even though benefits always appear, there is also a gray area to know the truth about these holiday myths.“I generally don’t have arguments. If I hear conversations, I just remind students that we all have our customs and beliefs about a lot of things in life. We don’t have to agree with each other, but we always need to respect each other,” Foy said.
Despite the fact students want to find out the truth of these holiday myths, letting students be curious about the truths of holidays is the best outcome. Even though these are lies, as we grow up we understand the difference between lying about a significant topic, as opposed to lying about holiday myths. There is a reason why parents lie about holiday myths: to keep the holiday spirit intact.
Traditions are an essence of holidays that will be around for years to come. The magic and pleasure of holidays makes up for the “lies” that come with these myths. Even though Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy aren’t physically real, in our hearts they always will be!
