American children grow up believing in numerous traditional fictional stories.  For example, most parents perpetuate the myth of Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. The fictional stories provide kids with the best of both worlds- an imaginary archetype to celebrate common holidays and common rituals associated with the stories like gift giving and mysterious night time visits.  Yet, most people consider it is unethical for parents to lie to their children. Do these stories count as untruths?

These are pros and cons to debate if going along with these iconic holiday and childhood concepts is unethical or not.

Telling children the truth

Going along with the myths

Fictional characters can be a valuable tool in guiding behavior and reinforcing good conduct.

"Fictional characters like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy provide a valuable asset in teaching children good behavior. Telling children that Santa Claus rewards good children provides a means of guiding conduct that parents wish to reinforce. The Tooth Fairy provides a means of teaching about dental care. These can be of valuable assistance in teaching children and encouraging good behavior. As such, they are completely ethical in and of themselves, and provide a valuable social function." -N3r0nkrool

Children love holidays, even when there is no mythical creature or person used as a part of it.

"These figures are such a huge part of every childhood. Many kids are devastated when they discover that they do not exist. As parents, we want honesty from our children, and we try to teach them to always tell the truth. Why should they be expected to do that when we lied to them for so long about something that was such a huge part of their growing up? It's a huge betrayal, in my opinion."- TownNoam