With the holiday of Christmas coming around again, many parents who celebrate feel conflicted about telling their children the truth about the beloved Santa Claus. On one side, parents feel as though without the harmless tradition, the magic of Christmas would cease to exist, while on the other side, parents feel as though this tradition could traumatize their children when they figure out, and they will, that Santa Claus is only a fictional character that is centered around Christmas to give that otherworldly feeling on Christmas day.
Research has been done on this very topic, where two studies done by Psycnet, examined the process and aftermath of coming to disbelieve in
the myth of Santa Claus. Some major findings of this were that even when the truth was told about Santa, there was disappointment and the negative feelings like anger and sadness were fleeting. The children still enjoyed the aspects of the holiday, such as gift-giving. Half the children done research on felt good about the truth finally being told to them. Some children find out about Santa through logical reasoning, like questioning how Santa is able to deliver presents to everyone in one night and how dears could fly.
The truth coming forward to these children has only put an end to their persistent questioning of Santa and his validity. Parents should not be afraid that telling their kids that Santa Claus would cause detrimental harm, because kids have very fleeting feelings about things of this nature. As long as they continue receiving gifts, they will be pleased!
