Why do we teach our kids not to lie but lie to them every year about Santa?

Santa ... or Father Christmas, Saint Nick, Sinterklaas etc. - is based on a legend which itself is rotted in fact from the Middle Ages.

I believe there is a Santa anyway - no matter how broke you are the rest of the year, there's always enough money for some presents at Christmas - thank God for the Visa card!

I think we tell kids these lies, in preparation for life.

Finding out that Santa/the Easter bunny doesn't exist and that all their belief has been for nothing. Is a small scale trial run of the shock they have the first time they realise that their faith in GOD is for nothing. And that no amount of prayers will end war and famine.

It is also a good trial run for learning that they should not blindly believe what people say, even if the are loved ones (i.e. mum&dad) All teenagers become acutely aware that they're parents aren't perfect and don't know everything and begining to question their authority is a normal part of growing up. Finding out that their parents have been lying to them for years is a useful tool in helping them come to terms with some of the realities that they will face as teens.

Otherwise, they would be so shocked when their faith in everything they've been taught is proved unfounded that they might never recover!

I think there are time's when a lie is acceptable because as we get older we are told the truth about Santa Claus.

Why take away the innocence of being young so early.the child within us soon becomes an adult full of synergism and knowing that they must not lie,in truth we all do.

The Easter Bunny was 18th century and delivered eggs to children who had made Easter bonnets,it was the arrival of spring

and the end of Winter.

I think a child would be less excited if they knew that wasnt a santa or easter bunny plus many kids would put extra pressure on parents to find the right and perfect present.

So, tell your babies that there is no santa, no tooth fairy, no easter bunny...see how they grow up...

It is a fantasy for kids to believe in a little magic...they grow out of it so quickly, & don't seem to be harmed.

My boy figured it out all by himself by the time he was 6...I had the same wrapping paper as Santa!

Whats all this about Santa and The Easter Bunny then?Are you trying to tell us something?Whats this lie then?Come clean.Are they having an affair or something like that?Waiting.

Those are not lies. They are stories that have been told for hundreds of years. Tell your child the truth and take it all away from them and see how much they have learned from this lesson. I'm sure they will make you mommy of the century.

there was a st. nicholas.... so, that's not a lie. You're on your own w/ the easter bunny.

Its part of growing up, our parents lie to protect us and to keep us believing in something they were taught at the same age, there just fairy tales and not downright horrible lies, its just one of those things.

It's about the innocence of childhood. Good grief, are they not allowed to have any fun?