By Tiffany Gee
tiffany@newsroom.byu.edu
Children take their places in the long line that winds itself around the giant Christmas tree. They cling to the legs of their mothers and talk excitedly.
They all have their eyes fastened on one thing -- the jolly man in the red suit.
'Mommy, Mommy, there's Santa!' a toddler exclaims, clenching her small fists together and jumping up to see him over the golden railing.
One by one, they climb on his lap and stare in awe as he winks and asks them if they were a good boy or girl this year.
'I think that really is Santa,' one young girl says to the other as they walk by.
'Yeah, it sure looks like him,' the other one whispers.
He's everywhere at once, in front of the grocery store, in the mall, ringing a bell or handing out candy canes. He's portrayed thousands of ways with varying rates of jolliness and jelliness, but the common thread is that children believe in him.
Believing in something that is not real is not dangerous, said Dr. Robert Butterworth, a Los Angeles-based psychologist who has done studies on the effect of believing in Santa Claus on children.
Fantasy is not a problem because most kids do believe it, he said. As long as their peers believe and they are developing equally, it is OK for children, Butterworth said.
There are three key fantasy figures for children: the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus. Santa tends to hang around longer because of the gift aspect, he said.
The problem arises when children believe past the age of acceptability, or their parents avoid the question of whether or not Santa is real when their child approaches them.
'By the age of 7 or 8, 75 percent of children have figured it out, and if their parents don't tell them, they will find out in a cruel way,' Butterworth said.
Children after age 8 who still believe in Santa Claus are at risk of being ostracized by their peers, he said.
At age 4, belief in Santa is pretty solid, Butterworth said.
Seven or 8 is the age of reason, when children begin to question Santa going down a chimney or traveling all around the world in one night. They begin to wonder how all he can do all those things.
This is the time when parents need to be honest with their children in the gentlest way possible.
'Parents who don't confront the problem and tell the truth are chicken,' Butterworth said.
It is the parents' job to inform their kids, he said.
'A lot of kids don't tell their parents because they don't want to disappoint them,' Butterworth said.
Beyond the social aspect, it's important that children make the transition from getting to giving, he said.
Paula Henrie, a mother of three from Orem, said all her children still believe in Santa Claus.
'They asked how Santa could get down the chimney, since ours is closed. We told them we just open it up for him,' she said.
Children need to believe until they have to be Santa themselves, Henrie said.
'I'm going to make them believe until they have to otherwise,' she said.
The issue of dealing with Santa Claus extends beyond the home, and into the atmosphere of schools and daycare.
Diana Karren, a BYU clinical faculty associate in the early childhood department, said she is careful about how she approaches Santa Claus in school.
'We focus on what is important to children in their world. We look at the traditions the students have in their homes and talk about them in the classroom,' she said.
Instead of presenting the students with ideas, Karren poses the question, 'What do you think?' and allows students to record their beliefs through writing or pictures.
Although cautious, she said the subject of Santa Claus is not taboo in her classroom.
'We read all kinds of fantasy books, including ones about Santa Claus, and ask them if they think it could really happen, but we don't focus on the myth,' Karren said.
She avoids having the students make wish lists for Santa. Instead, she teaches that Santa represents peace, love and giving
Karren agrees that it is not bad to allow children to believe when they are young.
'Their play is fantasy,' she said.
The reaction to Santa depends on how it is approached from a parental and teacher standpoint, Karren said. If the message is focused on giving, then that is what will be important to the child, she said.
It's the duty of the parents to be honest with their children when they ask whether or not Santa Claus is real.
'If you're not honest then what are they going to do when they say, 'Is the Savior real?' You have to develop that trust early,' Karren said.
She suggests that once the child knows, he or she can be involved as a secret Santa for the younger children.
Heather Rockwood, a teacher at the BYU Headstart preschool, said all her 4 and 5 year olds believe in Santa Claus.
She said she sees no problem with children believing in something like Santa when they're young.
'It gives them something to look forward to, something to believe in,' Rockwood said.
Being honest with children is good. However, if the child is told the truth before he or she is ready, it will throw them off course, she said.
'They need to be left alone to figure it out for themselves,' Rockwood said.
She said her class had one parent request that they not hype up Santa as much this year. Because of this, the class has not done as many Santa projects or songs, she said.
'Parents needs come first. We'll go along with it,' Rockwood said.