Do New Scientist: The surprising truth about why adults make children believe in Santa Children are savvier than we thought, so why do so many of them believe in Father Christmas? Answering that question reveals a lot about child psychology, and even more about adults MIND 16 December 2020 By David Robson The rituals we build around Santa may be more for our benefit than for our children’s ©Martin Parr/Magnum Photos ROHAN KAPITÁNY was 7 when he started to question the existence of Santa Claus. Every Christmas, like many Australian kids, he had left out an apple and a carrot for the reindeer and a cold beer for the man himself – and every year, he found half-eaten snacks and an empty glass alongside a pile of presents the next day. But Kapitány had started having doubts. With his scepticism growing, he even hatched a plan to check his parents’ ATM receipts. “That was the beginning of the end, or the end of the beginning, of my belief in Santa,” he says. Two decades later, Kapitány –
