Some might argue that the childhood belief in Santa Claus can be beneficial. The belief in Santa can serve as a vaccine to protect children from believing other (more harmful) false ideas.

Parents can experiment with the Santa belief by asking the child:

1. How did you learn about Santa for the first time?
2. Where did Santa come from?
3. Has Santa always existed?
4. What is Santa's goal in life?
5. Does Santa have any other goal in life?
6. Where does Santa live?
7. Can you visit Santa?
8. How old is Santa?
9. Can Santa grow older or is he always stuck at being X years old?
10. What powers do you think Santa has?
11. How does Santa know if you were good or bad?
12. Does Santa have any helpers?
13. Why would Santa need helpers?
14. How does Santa travel all over the world?
15. How does Santa take all the presents with him (on his sleigh)?
16. Is there only one Santa or are there multiple Santa's?
17. Have you ever seen (the real) Santa?
18. How do you think Santa is able to deliver all the presents for children across the globe in one night?
19. How do you think Santa can deliver the presents without being seen?
20. Do you think there might be another explanation for children all over the world receiving their Christmas presents in one night, other than Santa delivering them?

The belief in Santa can teach the following:

• Appeal to popularity (fallacy): You should not automatically believe something just because it's popular. If your whole class believes it, it doesn't mean that you should believe it too. You need to have good reasons for your belief
• Appeal to authority (fallacy): You should not automatically believe anything because an authority figure (your parents or teachers) believe it, that person might be wrong about it. If your parents or teachers believe Santa exists, it doesn't automatically mean that he actually exists. You need to research this yourself, you can start by asking (good) questions
• One of the reason parents and teachers don't want children to be (too) critical thinkers is because the children can undermine the credibility of their elders. A child who questions everything can be seen as a big hassle to deal with (for the parents and the teachers), they might prefer obedient children that don't ask too many difficult questions. Children should be wary of people (authority figures) that care more about obedience than discovering the truth
• Burden of proof: If someone makes a claim, they have the burden to provide the evidence for that claim. If someone can't prove to you that Santa does exist then you don't have to believe them
• Try to find other explanations for the things you believe. Your reasons for believing may be incorrect
• Keep asking (good) questions, especially for things you don't understand

Can the belief in Santa Claus increase skepticism or critical thinking in children?

If yes, how does it improve skepticism or critical thinking?
If not, why does it not improve skepticism or critical thinking?