In the popular Christmas carol “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” children are told that Santa Claus “knows when you’ve been bad or good,” and urges them to “be good for good’s sake.”
But scientists are rewriting the rules, claiming the prospect of Santa not leaving presents doesn’t actually make children better behaved.
In their study, the team examined the behavior of more than 500 children over three Christmases to find out who was naughty and nice.
Although believing in Santa Claus did not make children behave more kindly, participating in family activities such as singing Christmas carols and putting up decorations did.
Lead author Rohan Kapitany, a psychologist at the University of Durham, believes parents should prioritize ‘expensive’ Christmas rituals – which require more effort – with their children so they can behave in the coming days.
‘It seems that the more expensive rituals are likely to have a greater influence on (children’s) behaviour,’ Professor Kapitany told MailOnline.
‘It’s one thing to wear a Christmas jumper and it’s relatively easy to do, but it’s another thing to go on an excursion in the dark and cold to listen to Christmas carols in a strange new building while holding candles.
‘The more unusual daily life is, the greater the influence.’
The prospect of Santa not leaving presents doesn’t exactly make children behave better during the holidays (file photo)
Overall, the results are somewhat surprising, as singing Christmas carols and going to church are traditionally perceived as boring for young people (file photo)
The researchers – from the universities of Oxford, Durham, Edinburgh and Leeds – wanted to see which festive factors, including belief in Santa Claus, influenced children’s moral behaviour.
The team recruited 533 children between the ages of four and nine, who were followed over three Christmases: 2019, 2021 and 2022.
Experts asked parents to report on their child’s behavior at two times: up to six weeks before Christmas and in the week leading up to Christmas Day.
Behavior was assessed using six measures – including ‘generosity’ (sharing with others and inviting others to play), ‘respect’ (respect for authority and rules) and ‘help’ (helping others with chores and household chores).
There was also ‘comfort’ (comforting those in need), ‘outburst’ (being aggressive towards others) and ‘selfishness’ (taking things that are not their own, lying and throwing fits of rage).
Parents were also asked about their children’s belief in Santa Claus and their involvement in festive activities such as putting up a tree, singing carols, listening to Christmas music, eating Christmas food such as mince pies, attending Christmas church services and watching Christmas carols. Christmas movies.
Overall, the researchers found no link between belief in Santa Claus and good behavior, although good behavior did increase as December 25 approached – but only when families engaged in ‘costly’ rituals such as decorations and Christmas carols.
Parents reported several good and bad behaviors from their children in the run-up to Christmas Day, including sharing, helping and throwing tantrums (file photo)
In general, parents consider the Christmas period very important, but their child’s belief in Santa Claus is only moderate. The magic is in the time of year, so to speak, and not in the claim to the supernatural great man
“Although the effect is small, it is reliably observed and is mainly attributable to participation in Christmas rituals,” the team says in their report. preprint study.
Positive rituals that promote good behavior include putting up decorations, singing Christmas carols, and eating festive foods.
Compared to the Santa myth, these activities are better at naturally channeling the joy of Christmas and in turn get children to behave.
They provide distraction and a normal routine that brings out positive behavior in a way that believing in Santa doesn’t.
However, the team adds: ‘It should be noted that children’s behavior is neither simple nor coherent.
‘If positive behavior increases, negative behavior also increases.’
According to their own views, parents generally find the Christmas season very important, but their child’s belief in Santa Claus is only moderately important.
“The magic is in the time of year, so to speak, and not in the claim to the supernatural great man,” Professor Kapitany added.
Many parents use the threat of Santa not leaving presents at Christmas as a tactic to get children to be nice instead of naughty.
Overall, the results are somewhat surprising, as singing Christmas carols and going to church are traditionally seen as boring for young people.
For children, too, Santa Claus is “akin to a god” and his children “are worshippers,” the researchers said.
“For many children, Santa Claus is real, and a useful, perhaps indistinguishable, approximation of a God,” they conclude.
‘While the subject of a child’s belief in Santa Claus may seem superficially trivial, the implications for our understanding of moral development are potentially far-reaching.’
The study also has implications for parents deciding whether or not to tell their children about the Santa Claus myth.
Dr. Joseph Millum, a senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of St Andrews, believes parents should not tell their children that Santa Claus exists because he ‘breaches trust’, calling the cheerful gift giver a ‘ridiculous lie’.
But the academic calls the myth ‘manipulative’ and adds that ‘deception is wrong because it breaks trust’.
However, Tom Whyman, a philosophy lecturer at the University of Liverpool, has in turn argued that ‘children need Santa Claus’.