A Game of Pretend

Question
"I was wondering what you thought of Santa Claus
If it's a healthy thing for parents to practice
What's the psychological impact of lying to your child."

Look
I think lying
Is the wrong way of thinking about this
Santa Claus is a game
It's a game of
Pretend
And children play games of pretend all the time
You know, so
I don't see any harm in it at all
Now, ya know, ya don't wanna
Prolong that belief beyond its natural end point
But it's a, it's a massive game, and it's a lovely game
And I don't believe that there's anything harmful in it
In the least

[Chorus]
Santa Claus is a game
It's a game of
Pretend
Santa Claus is a game
It's a game of
Pretend

Now, what's the psychological impact of lying to your child
We can think about that more generally
Don't lie to your children
Don't lie, period
Lying is a really bad idea
It's a really bad idea
It never works
You might think it works
But that's only because you're blind to the consequences
And probably willfully blind
Plus, it's a terrible weight, ya know If you
If ya don't lie There's a lot fewer things to keep track of
Your life is a lot more pristine
And crystalline
Crystalline

And then, things that come your way, maybe, you deserve
In some small measure, and
It's a bad idea to lie
But I don't think it's a bad idea
To play pretend games with your children
I think that's okay

[Chorus]
Santa Claus is a game
It's a game of
Pretend
Santa Claus is a game
It's a game of
Pretend

[Chorus]
Santa Claus is a game
It's a game of
Pretend
Santa Claus is a game
It's a game of
Pretend