lying about Santa isn’t the end of the world and it won’t permanently warp your kid, shatter parent-child bonds, or create atheism in small minds. For heaven’s sake, settle down and have a drink …

… I’m a terrible mother. I let my son believe in Santa. Now he is heart broken because the girl next door clued him in to the fact that it was all a lie. A big fat elaborate lie. See, they don’t “do” Santa. Santa is evil and a tool of the Devil to lure blue blooded Americans away from the true meaning of Christmas. It’s a conspiracy, right up there with Halloween according to them.

So I lied to my son and let him believe in Santa. I better add another $100 to the monthly savings account because I’ll be paying for college and therapy now.

Sure, he’s a tad miffed and not on speaking terms with the girl next door but I have the fullest confidence he’ll get over it. It’s a huge leap to think that this one incident is going to shake his faith in me and his belief in Christ. He knows I am a loving mom and would not intentionally hurt or cause him harm and he’s too smart a kid to jump to the preposterous conclusion that if I was lying about Santa I must be lying about the birth of Christ too.

In fact I’m sure most of us held a childhood belief in Santa and, as adults, we’re not any less Catholic for it. You know what, Santa isn’t the only thing I’m not forthright about with my son. He is after all a small child, and as such isn’t privy to a lot of things dealing with the adult world. Children aren’t mini adults or our peers. Adult worries, themes and issues should be kept from them… silly fairy tales should not.

It’s an unspoken rule of etiquette, do not shatter a small child’s belief in Santa. They will grow up and learn the truth when they get older, until then allow them this one small innocence and fancy. Rotten is the Grinch that robs a child of Santa. Children have fantastical little minds capable of all sorts of whimsy. To draw the conclusion that a belief in Santa will be detrimental to their spiritual well being is, in my opinion, horse feathers.

If the singular bond of trust a parent creates with their child is based solely on the existence of Santa Claus and their little faith hinges on this one childhood tradition then you’ve got bigger problems than can be solved by reading this blog.

I mean, really.

updated: Oh, never mind. It’s been confirmed, I’m a horrible mother.