Photo credit: www.claus.com.  

For children who are old enough to understand the concept of Santa but not too old to stop believing in jolly old St. Nick, parents have a unique behavior modification tool up their sleeves, one that I refer to as “playing the Santa card,” as in, “Stop bothering your sister or I’m going to report that to Santa!” or “Do your chores now or else it’s ending up in the Santa Report!”

The question is: does enticing children to avoid naughty behavior just to appease Santa Claus really work?

The jury is still out on this one. It depends on the child, and how much emphasis parents want to place on a fictional character, versus the real “reason for the season.” As secular as Christmas has become in many parts of the world, it has always been a religious holiday for practicing Christians. For those families who celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, emphasizing Christmas as the annual celebration of Christ’s birth will lay down a good foundation for children.

Taking away the focus on “what do you want from Santa?” will also spare parents the pressure, real or imagined, to deliver the goods on Christmas morning. In this economy, even Santa can’t afford to fulfill everything on every child’s wish list.

And if your child still wants to check out if he is on Santa’s naughty or nice list, you can enter his or her name on the Naughty or Nice-o-meter at www.santaclaus.net.