How much do you go along with magic and fantasy in children’s lives - Father Christmas and Harry Potter, for example?

How much do you go along with magic and fantasy in children’s lives - Father Christmas and Harry Potter, for example?

"W e went through the fun of Father Christmas and other fantasies without fear that it would harm them. Today they are both useful adult members of society without a belief in dogma of any sort.”

“We completely enjoy all fantasy and magic stories and films, while making it clear they are just fictional. I remember saying to my daughter (once she was old enough to be fully aware Father Christmas was a human invention), ‘God is a bit like Father Christmas - you can choose to believe in him if you wish’!”

"The whole family enjoys fantasy. I think it harmless fun, and would not have deprived my children of it. We had Father Christmas, the tooth fairy, imaginary friends, the lot. They are all complete sceptics and probably always were, but still enjoy fantasy.”

"These things are fun! It is important for all parents to keep communicating with children and check what is really going on in their minds. Simple questions like: 'Is that real or pretend?'; 'Could someone really do that or not?'; 'Could that person be exaggerating or making up a story?'; 'How can you find out whether that is true or not?'

"I certainly hope that magic and fantasy are valid, because I spend a ridiculously large amount of time writing stories that aren't true. (If someone decides they're also magical, one might even be published one day.)
I used to embellish the truth sometimes when I was younger, and, now I'm older, I'm aware there are things about my life that I'm not sure of as factually correct.
As long as I'm not using 'fiction' to mislead or mistreat others, fantasy can be effective in highlighting issues, and I often resort to storytelling in the long discussions about life I have with my fourteen year-old daughter. She's now begun to return the compliment - one that tells the other they matter enough to take the trouble to talk to.
Fantasy and a sense of magic are powerful tools of the human brain, and, when truth gets rather hard to take, are also useful to relaxation."