My daughter is already leaving magical thinking behind and is also at that age where she asks thousands of questions a day, which has resulted in her doubts about these magical and mythological beings. It's completely normal for her to start doubting and trying to make sense of all those fairy tale stories. For some reason I don't understand, children's favorite time to ask questions is right before bed, and my daughter is no exception. I sleep with my daughter, so you can imagine what went through my mind as I was almost asleep when my daughter decided to ask me: "Does Santa Claus commit labor exploitation?" I immediately lost sleep; I knew an intense session of existential questions was coming. I asked her the reason for her question and she thinks that the elves have a lot of work to do, more than Santa Claus does. He later asked, "How does Santa Claus have magic, if magic doesn't exist?". Very good question, I thought quickly and told him that maybe it wasn't magic but advanced technology that is not available to the public. The questions continued..
- She: Does Santa Claus bring gifts to children whose religions don't celebrate Christmas?
- I: No, Santa Claus cannot enter houses without permission.
- She: And how can Santa Claus have authorization?
- I: We parents communicate with him by email.
The conversation became funnier when he asked me the following question:
"Santa Claus and the tooth fairy have Bitcoin, so they don't need to print money?"
- I: It's a great possibility
- She: Yes, because I don't think they ask the bank for money. Could Santa Claus's wife be the tooth fairy? I don't think she's actually a little creature with wings and a wand. I think she might be Mrs. Claus.
- I: Sure, that makes sense. Maybe they're just saying she's a fairy to make it more exciting? (I was just trying to figure out what was going through her mind).
- She: I just know that someone has been bringing me money.
It was a pleasant moment. The questions continued with questions like, "How do they get into the house? And how do they lift my pillow?" I have a feeling that sooner rather than later my daughter will stop believing, and rationality will dominate her thoughts. I don't feel ready for that. I want to keep playing Santa Claus and the tooth fairy and seeing her excited and magical little face in the mornings.