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Babies and toddlers do not understand the concept of a fictional character, but most children become developmentally able to "believe in" Santa Claus around age three or four. [150] [146] The prevalence of belief in Santa Claus is high at age five, and declines precipitously when children are seven or eight years old.
First, Santa spoiler alert! And, parents, you know what we mean. When Melissa Marion's 8-year-old son, Johnny, came home from school saying that a classmate had said Santa wasn’t real, she knew ...
The effort parents put into promoting the myth really does seem to influence how deeply their kids believe, but the discovery that Santa isn’t real may be harder on parents than on their kids.
For David Kyle Johnson, a professor of philosophy at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the concern is the lengths some parents go to in order to eke out the last bits of belief from their kids, such as denying their dawning suspicions as they get older over how Santa Claus could logically do what he's supposed to.
Social scientists have been studying the effects of the Santa myth for more than a century, but the question of whether the legend is a hurtful lie or just harmless fun is still up for debate.
The real Santa Claus was selfless and had a heart for helping others. Since he was especially kind to children and was a giver of gifts, kids will see the similarities to the mythical Santa.
Modern dictionaries consider the terms Father Christmas and Santa Claus to be synonymous. [98] [99] The respective characters are now to all intents and purposes indistinguishable, although some people are still said to prefer the term 'Father Christmas' over 'Santa Claus', nearly 150 years after Santa Claus's arrival in England. [1]
These parents may feel like they are lying to their children, therefore signaling that the behavior is okay if they allow their kids to believe in Santa or participate in activities like Elf on ...