My eyes were opened to the fact that this type of behavior is not Christ-like. I am repenting of this behavior. I ask God to forgive and assist me in helping my children and others to see that we must be truthful. Character Does Count!

Can I tell you how VERY disappointed I am that in your ultimate wisdom, you chose to steal from me and my child the magic and beauty of Santa Claus when you blurted out one morning this week as we laid in bed, having a moment of quiet bonding before the start of the harried day, listening to your radio commentary... "parents lie to their kids when they tell them Santa and the tooth fairy exist?" What WERE you thinking? I have liked your commentaries in the past but that was heartless and insensitive. The very least you could have done was provide a spoiler alert so I could have turned the radio off. You ruined my daughter's trust in me and her magic in Christmas. I am VERY disappointed.

Your commentary lacked depth....where's the rest of it?

Mr. Josephson: I remember how angry I felt when my little son was told in his grammar school class by his teacher that Santa Claus did not exist. She undoubtedly considered herself to be an ethical person, yet was careless in trampling on parents' traditions for their families because she did not share their religious background. I see in your six pillars of character you say: be tolerant of differences and considerate of the feelings of others, think before you act, consider the consequences, and be a good neighbor. You have been granted the gift of a wide and diverse audience for your thoughts, but can you really say that in the choice of the words "lies concerning fantasies about the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus" you truly lived up to your responsibilities?

To Beth and Bob -
I am mortified that it never occurred to me that very young children would be listening to my commentaries. I am so very sorry. It was careless and thoughtless of me.

Great job, Mr. Josephson,

The very fact that parents are uptight means you have hit a nerve.
People need to learn that if something is bothering them, it's indicative that they are guilty and need to change. I am a character education instructor myself and use these very examples of how we lie to our children and expect them to be honest and trustworthy. I remember my parents lying to me about an Easter bunny laying colored eggs. When I was a teenager, I saw a rabbit give birth and when I asked my friends where the egss were they laughed me to scorn. I had honestly thought they laid eggs. Why?
Because the lie had been planted in my mind, and my parents never came to me later to clean their lie up. Also, to Lee Ann, tolerance does not mean you go along with negative behavior. You can hate abortion or homosexuality, yet still treat an individual who engages in that sort of behavior with tolerance and respect. How? By not shooting the abortion doctor and becoming a murderer yourself and not calling homosexuals derogatory names, etc. Treat others with the same care and concern you want shown to yourself. This does not mean you have to condone this sort of behavior or hang out with people who do it. If you do, you are approving of their behavior. Bad company will corrupt you.

Many parents lie to make other people feel better, but not all their lies make it better. Sometimes you may lose the trust of your friends or relatives for lying. Sometimes people will say that Santa Clause is real but he isn't but let the little kids believe in him because what you say they'll believe in what you say. But don't get too carried away by lying to your own children because you might regret all the lies that you said to your own child. I'm 12 years old and people might say I'm too old to believe in Santa, but I pretend to believe in Santa for my brother. Grown-ups only tell lies because they know what they are doing.

Bob - What does Santa Claus have to do with any religious background? You missed the mark - please be more thoughtful in your accusations. There are differences between secular and religious traditions.

This has always been a tough one. I feel lying is used to deceive; sharing the tradition with young kids about Santa and the Easter Bunny is not an intent to deceive, but to spur the imagination. This isn't a black or white situation, thus making discretion the rule when lying to kids. When they are old enough to grasp the concept of not being brutally honest at every turn, I think they can understand the nuance. An example I like to use is if a good friend excitedly asks how they look in what would commonly be viewed as a hideous outfit, I wouldn't say, "You look ridiculous" as to spare the friend's feelings. I am not trying to deceive her, yet I might say, "That color shirt really brings out the color in your eyes." Am I lying? The attempt to spare her feelings is noble. Like I said, this is a tough one. I do think we as parents need to revisit the Santa issue once kids get it and share our motives. Manipulating kid's behavior through "monster's will get you if you don't...." is misguided; challenging kids to brush their teeth, eat veggies, etc. should be based on the real merits of the action--stop tooth decay, good nutrition, etc. and not tricking them. Natural consequences along with ones we place on them work much better than manipulation.

JimmyG is 100% correct. The one thing he didn’t mention is that kids aren’t stupid. When they outgrow the Santa/Easter Bunny stories, they understand why these characters exist and appreciate the sentiment behind them. Besides, Santa is based upon a real person, so the fact that he is no longer alive does not diminish the charitable message he carries. No child ever resented their parents for telling these fables. If they resent their parents, it is for other reasons – they may just use these stories as a convenient excuse. (Kind of like their ridiculous “I didn’t ask to be born” statements.) And as 12-year-old Gabriel Benitez demonstrates, it teaches kids about tact and sensitivity to others. Out of the mouths of babes...