Comment by Daniel on December 7, 2011 at 9:55am

Wow this is a tough call. I think erring on the side of happiness is always better. :D Strip the stories down to basic lessons that the child can learn. Christmas is about a man a long time ago he did some good things, people thought he was a god because of his deeds and ideas. So in the spirit of joy and appreciation Santa Claus gives gifts for people that behave morally. Not quite so robotic but you know lol.

Comment by Becca on December 7, 2011 at 10:17am

Children will create their own 'magic' no adults are necessary for this. Not doing Santa or the Easter bunny or explaining how things really are to your child when they ask is not going to ruin your child's childhood. Not letting your child use their imagination would be a travesty though. Every child knows the box they are sitting in isn't a rocket ship for reals they know they are pretending (a child who doesn't know this should be professionally evaluated.) There's a big difference between concepts like Santa (which aren't necessary) and a child using their own imagination (which is necessary.)

Comment by Becca on December 7, 2011 at 10:20am

Also I'd like to add... friendly teasing like telling your child there's a goblin in the washing machine I think is part of a healthy childhood. Most kids know there really isn't a goblin in the washing machine but their imaginations allow them to think, "well what if there was?" and that's where the fun is.

Comment by Cody Robinson on December 7, 2011 at 12:57pm

Well, I know that if I ever have children I will be teaching them that Santa and the rest are fake but that there are lots of other kids who will believe in them and that it should be our little secret. I would still encourage the celebration of them, I think Santa is an especially nice idea but I wouldn't want to disillusion them at all while they are developing. The "magic" of the world and universe are beautiful enough to leave both you and your kid spellbound. Teach them critical thinking and science and not magic like our schools so frequently do...

However, this is just my view, when it comes to kids, only the parent has the final call.

Comment by Dale Headley on December 7, 2011 at 4:05pm

  It boggles my mind that any true atheist would defend setting up their children to accept myths, however comforting they might be.  I fail to discern an iota of difference between making a child happy with a Santa Claus loaded with presents for "nice" children, and making an adult happy with a god toting a sackful of eternal life.  Both myths are equally preposterous LIES. Once you have been conditioned as a child by one false paradigm, your mind is forever attuned to acceptance of any other that you might find convenient or pleasing.   In essence, religion is nothing more than a congegation of myth-ready children who failed to grow up with the courage to face the inevitable truth: we ALL die...FOREVER!          

   If you believe that telling a lie to children is a good thing just because it makes them feel good, what is wrong with doing the same with adults?  If they find that the only way they can face life's vicissitudes is with a magic man in the sky watching over them, why not, so long as they keep it to themselves?  Unfortunately, though, they usually don't; but that is another story. 

    The basic question for an atheist is whether telling lies is ever good in any context.  I don't know, but I wouldnt do it in any but the most extreme, exigent circumstances.  In any event, my childen will never hear about Santa Claus from my lips.  My children will be encouraged to be rational, reasoning, and skeptical.  I want them to have a sense of wonder; but I am confident they can get more of that that simply through the profundity of nature as revealed by science than they can by wallowing in childish poppycock.  

     

Comment by Unseen on December 7, 2011 at 7:29pm

I would go along with Santa Claus. The Easter Bunny is another matter entirely, though you could tell your kid "Hunting for Easter eggs is fun. We don't celebrate Easter the way some people do, but it's still fun to hunt for the eggs, which is the fun part."

Comment by Kevin Strong on December 7, 2011 at 7:34pm

Once you have been conditioned as a child by one false paradigm, your mind is forever attuned to acceptance of any other that you might find convenient or pleasing.

This simply isn't true. We, all of us, at some point recognize that there isn't a Santa Claus or Easter Bunny. We dismiss these things as relics of our childhood and move on. I had Santa, I had an Easter Bunny, I'm an atheist. I was never religious. Never. By the time I was old enough for a choice to be made I had made up my mind. 

I understand you not wanting to lie to your kids, but telling stories about a magic man who comes down the chimney or a tiny winged female with a tooth fetish isn't going to do irrevocable harm to a child's prospects as a skeptic.

Comment by Unseen on December 7, 2011 at 7:35pm

"Once you have been conditioned as a child by one false paradigm, your mind is forever attuned to acceptance of any other that you might find convenient or pleasing."

Then explain all the ex-Christian atheists here.

Comment by Unseen on December 7, 2011 at 8:11pm

I'm sorry your childhood affected you that way, but I'm sure I speak for most of us here in saying that exposure to the tooth fairy, Santa Claus, or the Easter bunny did us no harm at all, much less harm that was irrevocable. In particular, I doubt if many of us hold a grudge against our parents for whatever harmless fun may have ensued.

Comment by Kevin Strong on December 7, 2011 at 8:20pm

I'm with unseen Kir, my parents description of these entities didn't harm their credibility with me at all, by the time I realized they were lying I understood it was all in good fun. No harm, no foul.

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