Podcast Summary: The Matt Walsh Show

Episode: Why Letting Kids Believe In Santa Is A GOOD Thing (Despite The Santa Haters)
Date: December 23, 2025
Host: Matt Walsh (The Daily Wire)

Overview

In this spirited pre-Christmas episode, Matt Walsh dives into the annual debate surrounding whether parents should encourage their children to believe in Santa Claus. He counters the growing chorus of "Santa skeptics" who claim the tradition is dishonest, arguing passionately that allowing children to live in a magical world—even if only temporarily—is both healthy and natural. Walsh blends personal anecdotes, cultural observations, and a touch of wry humor to make his case for letting kids believe.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Annual "Santa Discourse"

• Matt opens with his take on the recurring social media debate about “lying” to kids regarding Santa, highlighting posts that equate the practice with bad or even harmful parenting.

  • [01:11] “If you tell your kids there’s a Santa, you’re lying to them.... It’s a good indicator of bad parenting in my book.”

• Walsh's Stand: He proudly declares his household is pro-Santa:

  • [02:00] “We are a Santa household. We are Santa believers. We are Santa maxing, as the kids might say, every Christmas.”

Are Parents "Lying"? Understanding Children's Minds

• Young Children’s Perception of Reality:

  • Walsh challenges the premise that parents are deceiving their kids, emphasizing that young children don't distinguish fantasy from reality—Santa feels real to them because everything feels real.
  • [02:32] “They don’t understand what ‘not real’ even means…. Every character they see on TV is real. Paw Patrol is a documentary for your 4-year-old.”
  • He humorously compares “Paw Patrol” to “Cops” from a child’s perspective.

• Magical Thinking Is Natural:

  • Children routinely believe in fairies, monsters, and superheroes.
  • [03:29] “They’re actually worried about a monster in their closet. That’s like a real thing that a five-year-old is concerned about... Even if it did exist, it’s not in your closet. Look at the closet. There’s nothing in here, I promise you. But it doesn’t matter. They don’t understand that because they have it in their imagination.”

Hypocrisy of the “Honesty at All Costs” Parents

• Selective Skepticism:

  • Walsh points out the absurdity of parents who refuse to play along with Santa while indulging other childish fantasies.
  • [05:10] “If your 5-year-old daughter came up to you and said, ‘Hey, daddy, I saw a fairy in the garden,’ would you bend down and look her in the eyes and say, ‘Fairies aren’t real. I know you’re lying.... I’ll show you the Snopes. It’s been debunked’?”

• The Importance of Play:

  • He argues that parents generally “play the game” with their kids’ fantasies, and Santa should be no different.

  • [06:00] “You know it’s not [lying]. It’s playing a game. That’s what it is. When you tell your kids about Santa, you’re not lying. You’re playing a game.”

Dangers of Killing Childhood Magic

• Caution Against Rushing Kids Out of Fantasy:
  • Walsh says deliberately shattering the magical worldview of a child is “ridiculous.”
  • [06:30] “Why take it from them?... Your kids get to live in a world for a short amount of time where there’s actually a magical fat guy who flies through the air on reindeer and comes down a chimney…. Why not let them?”

When and How Should Kids "Find Out"?

• Natural Progression:

  • Kids outgrow Santa on their own; no “trauma” is required.
  • [07:19] “You tell them at precisely the moment when they grow out of it anyway. Kids grow out of it, eventually they kind of figure it out. And when that happens, you tell them that Santa was just a game.”
  • Shares his own family’s experience: when he told his older kids, their reaction was simply, “Yeah, Dad, we know.”

• Transition to “Playing Santa”:

  • Older siblings can enjoy “being Santa” for younger ones.
  • [08:09] “They were excited because now they get to play the game on the other side with their younger siblings…. Now they get to help with some of that stuff.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Your 4-year-old is not watching a cartoon show. Your 4-year-old is watching like the real life adventures live…. Paw Patrol is Cops.”
  Matt Walsh, [03:01]

• “If telling your kids about Santa is lying, that would be lying too [about fairies]. Is it lying? But you know it’s not. It’s playing a game.”
  Matt Walsh, [06:00]

• “Going out of your way to kill this kind of magical thinking in a five year old is ridiculous to me. Let them live in that world, they’re children. Why take it from them?”
  Matt Walsh, [06:30]

• “What should have happened, what happened with me is … I just kind of got to an age and I’m like, well, this obviously isn’t real. You just see it because you lose some of the innocence of childhood….”
  Matt Walsh, [07:33]

• On “Santa trauma” claims:

  • “OK, well then get a grip. Okay? That’s a you problem. Really?”
    Matt Walsh, [07:27]

Concluding Statement

Walsh wraps up asserting that the debate should end—letting kids believe is harmless and even beneficial, provided parents frame it as playful storytelling, not strict deceit. He encourages listeners to let children savor their magical years, supporting the tradition of Santa (and all other wondrous tales) as a joyful, formative part of childhood.

“So I would hope that that would just be the final statement on Santa. And I have decreed it as so and hopefully we can all leave it there. You heard it here. And that’s the end of the conversation.”
[08:26]