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20th December 2016
12:18am GMT
Send those presents back. Don't bother buying a tree. Throw away that festive recipe book. Christmas is officially cancelled.
That's if these naysayers get their way. According to The Telegraph, boffins reckon that parents are damaging their children by "lying" to them about Santa Claus.
Psychologist Professor Christopher Boyle and social scientist Dr Kathy McKay also suggest that the idea of a supposedly terrifying North Pole intelligence agency which judges children for being nice or naughty could be dangerous.
In a piece written in medical journal, The Lancet Psychiatry, they argue:
If parents are capable of lying about something so special and magical, can they be relied upon to continue as the guardians of wisdom and truth?
Sorry, what? Are we missing something? Because we were under the impression that scientists were supposed to be smart.
"If parents are expected to lie about something so special and magical?"
Isn't that the very essence of things that are are special and magical? That they aren't true?
Let's apply the logic of Professor Boyle and Dr. McKay to similar situations to the Santa Claus one that parents have also allegedly LIED about. Because kids are clearly traumatised by these too:
1) Thomas The Tank Engine - "Mummy why is that train talking? I feel like this is going to warp my perception of public transport for the rest of my life."
2) Peter Pan - "Why is that boy flying? How come I can't fly? Is he better than me?"
3) Beauty and the Beast - "How come our kettle isn't talking?"
4) The Incredible Hulk - "I'm so angry you lied to me about this. And I'm not even going to turn all green and massive 'cos it was all a lie."
The magic of Santa Claus is one of the best things about Christmas as a child. Writing your list, leaving carrots out for the reindeer, craning your little neck to the sky to see if you can spot his sleigh jingling past. The excitement of going to bed on Christmas Eve.
Now parents are supposed to scrap all that to prevent the risk of their children not trusting them in later life for 'lying' about a fat man flying through the air delivering presents to children all over the world.
Santa Claus is one of the greatest stories ever told. Using imagination is so important to a child's development and while we're no child psychologists we reckon we should let them have this one!
With people like these experts and the Kay Burley controversy from earlier this week giving the game away, it's up to rest of us to protect this cherished secret!
What do you think? Do you agree that children should be told that Santa isn't real? Or is it a harmless lie which only serves to nurture their imagination? Let us know in the comments.
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