Why I choose to lie to my kids about Santa Claus

Well, Ho Ho Hello there! 

The recent "movement" on social media surrounding the topic of telling our kids the "truth" about Santa has really been nagging at me.  I've seen countless people share via Facebook that they chose to spill the beans to their young children, as well as multiple articles on the topic floating around, insinuating that we should all tell our kids the truth, that Santa does not exist.  This will in turn, spare our children long term psychological harm.

So, what's any respectable blogger to do, other than to take their thoughts to their own URL to share their two cents on the subject.

Today, let's dive into why I fully intend to LIE my ass off to my children about Santa Claus' existence, for as long as I possibly can.  And believe it or not, that will not sabotage my future relationship with my children, as one article so articulately states. 

"According to psychologist Christopher Boyle, of the University of Exeter, U.K., and mental health researcher Kathy McKay, of the University of New England, Australia, lying to children about Saint Nick can undermine the trust in the parent-child relationship, with the pair commenting in their article that, "If they are capable of lying about something so special and magical, can they be relied upon to continue as the guardians of wisdom and truth?"

Listen, if lying to my girls by telling them Santa exists is the biggest thing I have to worry about when it comes to damaging our relationship, then I have bigger problems to worry about with regard to the way I parent.

I was raised in a home that did believe in Santa Claus, and while I'm screwed up on some levels (aren't we all?), I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's NOT because I grew up believing in Santa.  All kids are going to experience some kind of trauma in their young lives.  For me, it was losing my father, however, what was always a bright spot in my childhood was the thought of a magical, compassionate man never forgetting about my brothers and I, even when money was extremely tight.  Those gifts under our tree were a miracle some years, and whether it was Santa or a wonderful Angel from our community, did not matter to me then or now.  

As an adult, I obviously understand that there were Angels God placed in our lives those years to make sure we were provided for each Christmas.  However as a child, I wouldn't have understood the depth of what that meant, so why not allow me to believe in something magical and happy, when everything around me wasn't full of much happiness during that time?

Here's my honest thoughts about parents that spill the beans to their kids too soon...it's inconsiderate.  

Our children will end up riding the bus together someday, and play together on their school playgrounds.  I'll be damned if those kids are going to ruin it for mine, simply because their parents chose to eliminate that magic from their kids Christmas experience.  

My kids are going to grow up witnessing experts at the Santa game by watching their Dad and I's actions, and I'm totally at peace with that.  That ensures that our grand kids will get to experience the true magic of Santa Claus.  This in turn will allow our daughters to see their own child's eyes light up someday when they first hear the story of the North Pole, and how
Santa's sleigh is pulled by magical reindeer.

So here at the Xenos house, we'll continue to make fake Santa footprints in our living room, from the fireplace to the tree, from where Santa tracks snow in every Christmas Eve.  We'll continue to throw corn in our front yard to ensure the Reindeer have something to eat when they swing by our home.  We'll continue to ensure Santa calls our toddler everyday to tell her to eat the breakfast Mommy & Daddy made for her, and ensure she puts her 8 million horses away as well as take a bath, because if she doesn't, we've got the man on SPEED DIAL.  

Listen, we're going to milk this new found personal friendship we have with Santa, and use it with our strong willed child, for as many years as we can and believe me, every toddler parent is nodding their head in agreement right now.

Lastly, we'll continue drinking the milk and eating Santa's cookies every Christmas Eve to ensure our children know that Santa stopped by....and as far as I'm concerned, every parent in America should too.

And if you don't like milk, I hear Pinot Noir is a good substitute.  Our Santa seems to really enjoy it!