With the winter holidays upon us, I thought I’d grapple with a question that concerns quite a few parents during this festive time of year—is it okay to lie to children about the physical existence of Santa Claus? On the surface it seems like a harmless enough practice, but how many of us actually question the psychological underpinnings and consequences of such unqualified advocacy of a fairytale?

Before I get too far, I must confess that I very much enjoy Christmas and I put a lot of effort into making it a special holiday for my two kids. I do not however, lie to them about the existence of Santa Claus. I approach parenting with an attitude of zero tolerance for dishonesty and, while I believe that there are rare instances when deception is appropriate, I cannot think of any good reason to educate my children about dishonesty through example. I also abstain from teaching my children that there is anything magical about the physical world or about acquiring human knowledge.  That said, I find the Santa Claus myth very captivating and I promote it to my children with as much enthusiasm as I would any great work of literature. What I find interesting is that they are no less excited about Christmas with their awareness that parents fill the stockings than if they had been deceived.

There are lies that adults tell children for seemingly rational reasons—to keep them from knowing something that they might make a bad decision about, for example, or to keep them from learning too much about something upsetting. And then, of course, there are the lies that adults tell for personal reasons, and these need not have a rational foundation. There are some lies of a personal nature that adults tell themselves, as well as children, but Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny are  deceptions of a different sort. These are known lies with trivial objectives and yet they are told anyway.

Sometimes it is more moral to lie than to tell the truth. For example, if someone in a homicidal rage is searching for the object of their ire, it would clearly be immoral to tell them where to locate that person. Incidentally, such deceptions—those compelled by a moral hierarchy—are the only ones I find justifiable. While personal high-roads are less traveled by many, society generally frowns on lies told for no good reason, so when people question the rationale for lying to children about Santa Claus it sparks an eagerness to find good justifications. It is my aim here to examine these justifications, expose them as inadequate and suggest a more enlightened explanation for why parents deceive children about Father Christmas.