Letters to the Editor
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I have problems with the whole Santa Claus thing
None of my friends really pushed a belief in Santa on their kids, though my sister did with hers. Sometimes I wonder if instilling a belief in Santa is a mistake, but it's a hard issue for me to come to a conclusion about.
Yes, I remember the magic of Chistmas as a kid, and it is different when Santa leaves the picture. But there's just something innately wrong about instilling in your child an idea that is a complete fabrication, knowing that at some point they are going to find out. For some reason it was no real blow for me to find out the whole thing was imaginary. I wasn't upset or traumatized. My my oldest niece, who just found out last year (she had just turned 13), never seemed bugged, but quickly adopted an "I can't believe she thinks this is real" attitude towards her little sister. I wondered if her eye-rolling was a way to cover up feeling sad that she no longer believes herself.
I may be way overanalyzing this, but it seems to me you're setting a kid up to wonder if everything really wonderful and special is untrue, just an elaborate ruse. It strikes me that a whole lot more can be effected by discovering the truth about Santa than just Santa. As an adult, I've never been sure this tradition is sound.