[dudleypippin]

My daughter checked the existence of the tooth fairy by not telling us when she lost a tooth and putting it under her pillow. The pride on her face when she informed of of the results of her experiment the next morning made my heart sing.

[maximus-decimus]

Was your answer "I expect a full scientitic report by tomorrow."?

Hypothesis : Parents are fat liars"

Methodology : Put teeth under pillow without telling parents.

Result : Where's my money?

Analysis : The results show that the tooth fairy is fake and my parents are liars."

Conclusion : The current results tend to show that parents are liars, but we need more experiments to know the extent. To expend on the results, I should also be as evil as possible for the incoming year and verify if Santa Claus indeed does give me coal.

[jonhohle]

I never had Santa or the tooth fairy growing up, and neither do my children for the same reason. Why deceive children with something so obviously fake and not let them enjoy the story along with you?

We still talk about the tooth fairy, but there’s never been a question that it’s mom or dad (which stinks when we screw up and forget).

[torbTurret]

It seems exactly like you’re NOT letting them enjoy the story, just because you didn’t.

This seems like an easy way to rob their childhood of fun memories, interest (watch how much more they care about Christmas movies when they think it’s real),curb creativity, and produce a child who’s overly skeptical.

Kid will also probably ruin Christmas for other children/parents, garnering a reputation as a know-it-all and possibly alienating themselves socially.

[maximus-decimus]

For my parents, it's the social pressure caused by the fact you don't want all the other parents to be pissed at you for spoiling it for everyone.

[ianhawes]

This seems to be the most common method by which children determine that fantasy characters are in fact fantasy.