CHAOS BEFORE PREDICTABILITY

Santa Claus is coming, you’ll get square eyes and yes, those are mummy and daddy balloons: the stories parents tell theirs kids. These are commonly also known as lies. Pure parental lies dreamt up to maintain control of the little ones through fear, confusion and excitement.

Such actions, seemingly based on the tactics of politicians and PR companies, led me to believe that if I pulled that face once more the wind really would make it stay there. Do you think a child of seven really needs that pressure? There’s a world of shiny things and bubbles to get distracted by. But no, here is a boy that’s stuck pondering the very (seemingly) real possibility that his appearance could be changed forever by the slightest gust of wind.

It’s lucky I was a reasonably honest child, else I would have lived in constant turmoil thinking a wolf was soon to consume me. At least that particular tale had a moral stand point.

So, yes, there are positives to lying on an almost constant basis to children. In a way, it could be said to constantly feed and nurture their imagination. For example, the thought that fairies might live down the garden or that cash machines contain little elves that fetch your money. A nice idea – until they learn the truth.

I’m sure we all wish there really were elves in the ATM. The world would probably be a bit better. But there aren’t. So imagine going from truly believing such a fact and then having it shattered with the banal truth. Whilst these tales have helps build a wild imagination, they can also set the innocent mind up for inevitable disappointment.