It’s that time of year again. The tinsel is out, and tree is up – and the children have started asking awkward questions which you really don’t know how to answer.

当闪光纸在大街小巷里闪耀，家家户户都布置好了圣诞树，一年一度的圣诞季又来了。而你耳边响叮当的不仅有清脆的银铃，还有熊孩子们千奇百怪又让你无法招架的问题。

There was a time, not so long ago, when the kids had no qualms whatsoever with the story of Father Christmas arriving at your house down the chimney, delivering presents into stockings, then disappearing off into the night on his sleigh, pulled along by his band of devoted flying reindeers. But now the tale of Christmas is beginning to lose its appeal among your children, and their eager smiles and nods have been replaced with queries and doubt.

在过去，那个纯真美好的年代，孩子们都坚定不移地相信圣诞老人会从烟囱里进来，把礼物放进袜子里，然后驾驶着驯鹿雪橇消失在黑夜里。但是现在，机智的熊孩们显然开始对这些童话故事“不感冒”了。对圣诞故事的质问和怀疑，取代了他们从前的热切模样。

Should you shatter their childhood beliefs once and for all, and tell them it was in fact you, not Father Christmas, who put the presents under the tree? Or should you continue to elaborate on the story in order to dispel your children’s doubts?

面对这些“质询”，你是一次性摧毁他们的童年，告诉孩子们一直以来都是你在树下放礼物而不是圣诞老人呢？还是把故事继续编下去，以消解他们的疑虑呢？

“The biggest problem with Christmas is the point at which your children begin to realise it’s all a lie, and there is no such thing as Santa,” says Dr Ellie Lee, director of the Centre for Parenting Culture Studies at Kent University.

美国肯特大学家庭教育文化研究中心的负责人李埃莉（Ellie Lee）同样指出了这个矛盾：“圣诞节最大问题在于你的孩子开始意识到，世界上根本没有圣诞老人，所有的东西都是假的。”

“There is a school of thought that says you should never lie to children. But this is problematic. A really wonderful part of childhood is telling stories, and these are what make it distinct from adulthood. Stories are what give meaning to existence and allow us to make sense of the world.”

“有相当一部分的理论告诫你千万不要对孩子撒谎，但这种说法太绝对了。听大人们讲故事是童年里最美好的事，这也是与成年时期最不同的地方。儿时听的故事向我们揭示了万物存在的意义，帮助我们理解身处的世界。”

We asked Dr Rebecca Chicot, a child development expert and co-founder of The Essential Parent Company, for advice on how best to respond to our children's questions. Here are her suggested answers to the questions that parents dread the most.

为此，记者采访了儿童教育专家丽贝卡·希克博士，向她讨教应对这些棘手问题的必胜之道。针对熊孩们这些令人闻风丧胆的问题，希克博士提供了一系列的“参考答案”。