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At Christmas time, almost every parent reaches the point where their child wants to know if there really is a Santa Claus. Parents regularly lie to their kids with the best of intentions: Is this the right thing to do?

Child psychologist Charles Smith notes that while Santa may not be a flesh-and-blood person, the cultural truth of St. Nicholas is key to a child’s developing imagination. He says, “Santa Claus is a shared cultural image of benevolence and kindness and you don’t want to undermine that. With Santa Claus, you are trying to enrich the child’s life by sharing something that you both enjoy. Santa Claus embodies the whole idea of the Christmas season as the time of caring, togetherness and magic.”
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Too much light at night! – If you find yourself staying up late waiting for Santa, here’s something you should know: Too much light at night can lead to symptoms of depression. Most intensive care units are brightly lit all night long, which researchers have learned leads to depression, the last thing these patients need. If you’re feeling blue and your bedroom looks out on a row of streetlights, maybe you should take a cue from this study.
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Here’s why – You’ll need your voice to sing to your baby after he or she is born, but if you’re having trouble singing Christmas carols while pregnant, don’t be surprised.

One of the most dramatic hormonal fluctuations occurs during pregnancy, and many professional singers have experienced difficulty singing while pregnant. However, scientists do not know if this effect is due to hormones or to some other cause, such as decreased lung capacity as the baby grows.
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Don’t try so hard so hard to be happy – It may sound crazy, but it’s true: It’s the pressure to be happy that often leads to sadness and even depression during the holidays.

Psychologist Samuel Gladding is on a mission to redefine what it means to be “happy” during the holidays, which is why he’s challenging the traditional view of happy holidays by pointing out that the higher our expectations, the less likely we are to actually be happy. His advice: Don’t idealize the holidays. Nobody has a family that’s like a Norman Rockwell painting.
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