mmfwmc

I don't have kids yet. Maybe I won't. But if I do, this seems like the season to ask the question:

Should I teach them to believe in Santa?

It seems that, while religious people sometimes deplore the commericalisation of Christmas, Santa is the best thing they could hope for in terms of indoctrination.

A kid spends several years believing that there is a big beard in the north pole who will give you what you want if you are well behaved and ask nicely. How hard is it to move from there to believing in a big beard in the sky who will give you what you want if you are well behaved and ask nicely?

The parallels run deeper. While kids spend the entire year believing in Santa, they don't really worry about being good until about a month before Christmas. This prepares them for religious adulthood where they lie, cheat and steal like anyone else, then try to be honest on Sundays. (Yes, that's a generalisation. Poetic licence.)

All in all, it would seem to be better not to give kids this brainwashing to start their lives.

On the other hand, I really liked believing in Santa. What do you guys think?