Why you should NEVER tell kids that iPads are a present from Santa on Christmas Day 

A social worker has pleaded with parents to stop telling their children that expensive gifts come ‘from Santa’, after consoling heartbroken families who can’t afford big ticket items this Christmas.

Writing anonymously in an Australian household group on Facebook, the care worker revealed they comfort crying parents every year, who are devastated when their kids ask if they ‘aren’t good enough’ because they received less than their friends.

They told people to ‘take credit’ for larger gifts by explaining they are bought with hard-earned money, and encouraged parents to ‘leave the smaller things from Santa’.

The plea prompted parents to share different approaches to Christmas and suggestions for managing children’s expectations of Santa.

‘Stop telling your “Santa age” kids their iPads, iPhones and $200 toys are from Santa, because some families can’t afford that,’ they wrote.

‘This is the second year I’ve had a parent cry to me telling me their kid asked if they weren’t good enough, or if Santa didn’t like them as much. 

‘Little kids wonder why they got socks or a coat, or hand-me-down toys from Santa, and other kids got an iPad. It breaks my heart for the parents and kids.’

Encouraging parents to ‘take credit’ for the gifts they buy, they continued: ‘Santa didn’t buy that iPad, Mum did, or Dad did.

‘Leave the less expensive gifts from Santa. Be blessed you can afford what others cannot.’

The post received hundreds of comments, with many offering suggestions on managing children’s expectations of Santa.

One 48-year-old woman said she grew up getting small stocking fillers ‘from Santa’ and big ticket items from her parents, a tradition she has continued with her own children.

‘Mum used to say, ‘No way is Santa taking credit for the stuff I’ve saved up to buy you!” I’ve continued that with my own kids,’ she wrote. 

Many suggested taking credit for expensive presents, leaving stocking fillers and small items ‘from Santa’ (stock image)

While some noted Australian children are less likely to compare their gifts than kids from overseas, because Christmas falls during summer holidays, many said they still face difficult situations over the festive season.

‘One year, we had to give our son his iPad for school for the following year as a Christmas present,’ one woman said.

‘It certainly wasn’t a fun Christmas, but there simply wasn’t budget for gifts and the iPad. I felt like I was wrapping his textbook to give to him.’