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i'm weirded out by the fact ppl just openly lie to their children about santa? and this is just a widespread cultural agreement? and people get mad at you if you tell kids the truth? So fucked up. Im gonna start santa-truther activism, hold signs in front of elementary schools

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I thought about this a lot & concluded a fairly inconsequential conceptual rug pull from under a child is a good thing. To live in a false reality with others & then be confronted with another reality in a safe way seems potentially beneficial on top of the joy/magic of the lie.

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yeah but it also teaches your kids that you will in fact lie to them if you think it's good for them

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which i mean, i guess is probably a good thing to learn if you are in fact someone who would lie to them when you think it's good for them, so they can figure out they should trust you less

2:45 AM · May 10, 2022

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the replies make it seem like telling kids the truth about santa needs to be about ruining their childhood no - just explain to them the concept and why some people believe in it when they ask you can make them feel smarter than their friends.

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It's literally the most socially acceptable social event in which children mature into thinking by themselves, contrasting what they see (evidence) with what they are told, in an antagonistic scenario (adults actively trying to mislead), possibly even discussing with their peers

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Theres a reason snopes published a small number of intentionally incorrect articles. snopes.com/glossary/false Learning to not treat any one information source as gospel is an important life skill.

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It's better, for a child to have at least one trustworthy source of information. I had one and three quarters. My mother always told me the truth (or refused to answer), and my father told me the truth too (except where sex or money was involved).

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This is a black and white fallacy. The choice isn't just "figure out trust less." Children can't evaluate the world like you or I. They need a variety of experience, and some of that needs to be a discovery they make themselves. Better to do those in a controlled way

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People have already quoted Pratchett's Hogfather. I'll quote Doctor Who (The Ghost Monument):

— When I was four, my mum told me to climb a tree. She made me climb until I was too scared to climb any higher. Then she told me to jump into her arms. “Don't worry,” she said. “I'm your mum. I'm here for you. I'll catch you.” So I jumped. And she moved out of the way.
— What? Sorry, did you say your mum did this to you?
— Smashed into the ground, broke this arm, shattered that ankle. She stood over me and she said, “Now you've learned. You can never trust anyone in this life.”
— That is messed up.
— Best thing she ever did for me. I love my mum.

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