I only tell my kids the truth.

The great thing about Santa is that he is not real! It takes people and kids away from the lie of Jesus. Many Christians teach Santa to their children also and therefore are guilty of lying to their own kids and breaking their own commandments! As for me I tell my children the truth that Santa is fake but that they can still celebrate this holiday. The fact is that kids want gifts for themselves and they embrace the natural human instinct of loving thyself! There is nothing wrong with that and I teach my kids to do so! bring on the gifts from Santa even if Santa is dad! lol

My daughter has grown up believing in the other holy trinity of Santa, Easter Bunny, and Tooth Fairy. She’s 8, so I’m pretty sure she’s faking her belief for the goodies now. But I have a standing rule that until she’s old enough to know that ?? ? ?‍ aren’t real, she’s not old enough to go to church.

I am okay with it I'd be a bit surprised if my children hadnt twigged by the time they were 6 or 7.
My kids played along with the joke when they did catch themselves on. And they were hilarious pretending to believe so they;d still get a stocking I think it was good for us as a family all knowing that we were all pretending but going along with it for the laughs and jokes.

I love the idea of Santa, and what it represents. and so, I didn't have a problem with kids believing in Santa. As the years go by, they start to figure it out and question it all, and then I explain that while Santa isn't a real person, the "spirit" that Santa represents is wonderful, and the celebrations around family, community, and life are what make being human divine.

I love to follow Santa on Norad's SantaTracker each year too.

Infants and very young children don't start differentiating between fact and fiction until they're about six or seven so I suppose it's OK to play along with the Santa story for fun and for the sake of letting them conform with their peers.
At no point should one lie. I think a straight answer to a straight question should be given.

In the field of religion, many (most?) adults don't seem to be able to differentiate between fact and fiction, because from an early age, they were subjected to continuous lying and indoctrination from parents and teachers.

OK, a different angle, why tell, suggest, imply that there is a Santa Clause to begin with?

I'm against it. I'm an atheist FFS! Lol.

Both Santa and the Tooth Fairy went in a moment of critical thinking when our kid was six. There's a story behind that which I've told before, and it was a necessary thing to calm down an upset child who thought that a magical being had left her out. I'd always been uncomfortable with encouraging belief, but my wife was all for the 'magic' of fairies and suchlike.

Personally, I believe that kids should be encouraged to enjoy IMAGINING these things all they like, but should also be let in on the secret. Knowing the reality doesn't deprive them of any of the fun and wonderment of childhood and it inoculates against magical thinking and all the insidious stuff that comes with it.

My entire family was all for pushing Santa Claus to the kids at Christmas time. So my son believed until he was probably around 5. After that Christmas, he came to me at one point and asked me, "Mom, do you believe in Santa Claus?"

I answered him like this: "What I believe in is the spirit of Christmas. I believe in the way that it makes me feel better about myself when I do things for others and give to others and I think that Santa Claus represents the spirit of Christmas for us, like St Nick does for other people and there are others like Father Christmas in other places." He looked at me for a while and then said - "Oooh - I get it.... so other people can buy the presents but everybody gets to be nice like a Santa would be?"

From the mouths of babes.

I think it's probably OK and harmless for very little children but once they get to about five or six, if they haven't figured it out for themselves, it might be time to start speaking a bit more honestly about the "santa" that people play along with, wink wink, nudge nudge. I suppose that was my tactic from the get go, santa was just something that everyone plays along with, it just takes a while for children to understand the tongue in cheek nature of santa. It can still be fun, not being real, but being a little in joke that everyone is in on.

when she was little, I explained to my daughter that Santa was the 'spirit of christmas' - and as a spirit, he could turn the hearts of others into being loving and giving. But so strong was this power (and so shortlived the affects) that he chose to do this to all the world, but only once a year.

It turned out to be a good way to 'de-christianize' the holiday, but still allow it to have meaning.

I take credit for this post entirely.

During Christmas time I like to go to the mall and stand with a sign reading "$5 or the truth comes out" it only takes one cheap parent to ruin it for everyone.

If I have to tell children that Santa and the Tooth Fairy are real I will throw in parts form time to time about heaven and crucifixion. By the time the child realizes this is not true they will also see that god and Jesus are not true as well. They might outgrow god and Santa at the same time instead of trading one for the other.

Against

I'm against it. Back when I was 4 or 5 I can remember my brother taking me to the burn barrel behind our house and showing me all of the cartons the toy trucks and so on came in before I unwrapped them as presents believing the BS that Santa gave me these things because I was a good boy. I was devastated because even at that young age I realized that the adults in my life had failed me and now the only thing I believed in turned out to be BS too.

I taught my kids to understand that the spirit of the holiday was about giving - without expecting anything in return. We give because it makes that person feel better, it makes them feel like they matter and that they're important. The benefit is seeing their smiles and that should make them feel better too.

I found out the santa wasn't real by the vicar at church when I was a little boy. Seems ironic back them I believed something silly was real and he didn't

It's useful lesson to not trust authority. It's great for so many reasons from the childish magic and wonder to the deductive process and growing realisation that challenges their world view. Also hopefully a lesson for later life when they get to decide for themselves if other holiday characters are real... Encourage skepticism - tell lies.

I think the Santa Claus delusion is worse than the god delusion.

Why am I lying to a kid for x number of years, knowing damn well it will only end in tears?

Let them be children... eventually money will be their god. Making Money and saving money for retirement. Sad....

I never told them either way. Its father christmas for us and he existed until then kinda worked it out for themselves, which was very young. My Mum said I never believed it and my kids were all rather cynical too. I was a bit cross when my oldest son told my youngest son's mate when they were about 10. His answer was 'ffs mum he's 10 he can go to war in a few years' (Isaac was 12 at the time). My children are unusually bright and cynical. I do not think it creates a trust issue if you are all in on the fantasy.

Tiny children cannot distinguish fantasy from reality.

Little children are going to believe all kinds of fanciful things, no matter what you do or do not tell them. Just ask a three-year-old what they did at preschool/daycare today--and buckle up.

I see no harm in engaging in a structured, fun, participatory cultural fantasy for a child of an appropriate age. As we've heard recently, you can't stop them from thinking Spiderman is real, at least for a minute, so...

The Santa Claus discussion is a great jumping off point for not only atheism, but anti-capitalism as well. If you lean that way.