If your children are reaching 7 or 8 years old, they will ask you the question, is the man in red real? Don’t lie, they probably already figured it out for themselves.
Many children today know Santa Claus like the man in red with the white beard who delivers presents at Christmas. But the legend goes back much further, when there was no red suit or the characteristic laugh (ho, ho, ho), but a monk named Saint Nicholas.
Popular legend says that Saint Nicholas gave away his inheritance and traveled the countryside to help the poor and sick. He became known as the protector of children and was admired for his kindness.
From how he became a man who lives at the North Pole and circles the world on a sleigh driven by flying reindeer… This is a much more modern creation. For many families, Santa Claus and traditions around him (writing letters, leaving shoes, socks, boots, cookies and milk, even if there is no fireplace), are ways to create fun and joyful experiences for children, a time when parents and children enter into a game in which the former recall their childhood and the latter create memories for adult life.
Believing in something like Santa Claus, when you are very young, is part of the fantasy that characterizes childhood, a channel of creativity, imagination and play. The time will come when, however, they will question it. How to answer them when they start to have doubts? With sensitivity, and honesty, of course. Your questions are not uncomfortable, they are signs of intelligence.
During childhood, imagination blurs the difference between fantasy and reality, and children believe almost anything. As they get older, they are more aware of the difference, but they voluntarily decide to ‘keep believing’, as part of imaginary play, or as a kind gesture towards younger children who still believe in Santa Claus (or the tooth mouse ), or also as a gesture towards adults (parents and grandparents) who, clearly, want to play with them that this is real. Children are sensitive and do not want to disappoint the people they love. Much less in a game that ends with a gift.
The idea of believing without seeing is fundamental to the human being, far beyond the moment in which one stops believing in Santa Claus. Our brains are configured to connect the dots and explain why things happen for which we have no explanation, as the author Michael Shermer says in his book The believing brain. “From ghosts to gods, politicians and conspiracies, we build beliefs and reinforce them as truths ”. If the adult does, how much more does the child?
Fantasy is normal and healthy, part of a child’s development. Most of them start playing with invented worlds from the age of two. The time a child spends playing with his imaginary increases during the preschool years and then falls between the ages of five and eight, which coincides with the end of the belief in Santa Claus. Joshua Woolley, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, has written on this topic, and states that adults and children have a similar ability to distinguish between fantasy and reality (magical thinking). They just have moments when it is strongest, and this happens between the ages of three and eight, a really short period of time.
Through imagination, children are developing emotional and psychological capacities that help them understand the world. Imagination, play and fantasy help them focus, think about hypothetical situations (what if …?), Strengthen their reasoning, solve problems, develop theories about others, practice their social skills, collaborate, negotiate … Without the limitations of their environment, which is sometimes very limited, according to child psychologist Sally Goddard Blythe, director of the Institute for Neurophysiological Psychology.
For many families, if Santa Claus was part of their childhood, chances are they will carry it on to the next generation. Family traditions are important to children. They create closer ties, give a sense of belonging, and teach them about the importance of living as a family. Incorporating family stories gives them a stronger base to adjust, to build their confidence and self-esteem.
The tradition can start with writing letters or visiting Santa Claus in a mall. But in the current situation, many parents have decided on applications that allow you to personalize a video greeting from Santa Claus and share it on social networks. For sample, the Santa Tracker app, which allows you to follow the character’s journey through the hemispheres.
And if the family does not like the idea of reinforcing the belief in Santa Claus, that does not diminish the importance of having their own traditions for the benefit of the children.
What is not right in any way is lying to children about the existence of Santa Claus, or of any character. When a child asks the question of whether Santa Claus exists or not, it is because he is already in the developmental phase where he begins to separate between fact and fiction, and we are not helping them if we lie to them, says Amelia Shay, a clinical psychologist at the Australian Catholic University. It is not about denying it to all children of all ages, but about speaking the truth with the child who is ready to ask for it.
Nor is it okay to use Santa Claus as an authority figure charged with rewarding or punishing children. “Why give up your (paternal) authority to a man from the North Pole?” Asks Peter Ellerton, a critical thinking educator at the University of Queensland. “You buy the gifts, you reap the merits.”
Basically As long as the child wants to believe, do not censor him, and when he no longer wants to, do not lie to him. Many guys have a positive reaction to discovering that Santa Claus is not real. It is part of growing up, and a sign that you are developing your critical thinking. And after all, gifts and festivities don’t stop simply because reality has been discovered.
The psychologist Jean Piaget, pioneer of cognitive development, I had the theory that between the ages of four and eight, children enter the phase of concrete operational thinking: they begin to progressively question all things, they become skeptical of real and imaginary things (they will raise their eyebrows when Dad assures them that he is working , If they see it on the phone or on the computer!), And ironically they use their own imagination to find answers that convince them.
This, again, is healthy. They are learning to think for themselves and will use their skills, immature though they may be, to solve mysteries, sometimes without help from adults.
And so It is important that they are not lied to, so that they do not lose trust in their parents. You may find that they have known for a long time, and may even agree to uphold the family tradition for other younger children.
Those who have stopped believing tend to maintain a positive attitude, once they see that their parents are sincere. The saddest for fiction to end are usually adults, who see it as the end of the child’s innocence, when it does not, say Drs Carl J. Anderson and Norman M. Prentice, authors of a study published in the US. magazine Child Psychiatry and Human Development. (F)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
