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.

當閃光紙在大街小巷里閃耀，家家戶戶都布置好了圣誕樹，一年一度的圣誕季又來了。而你耳邊響叮當的不僅有清脆的銀鈴，還有熊孩子們千奇百怪又讓你無法招架的問題。

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.

在過去，那個純真美好的年代，孩子們都堅定不移地相信圣誕老人會從煙囪里進來，把禮物放進襪子里，然后駕駛著馴鹿雪橇消失在黑夜里。但是現在，機智的熊孩們顯然開始對這些童話故事“不感冒”了。對圣誕故事的質問和懷疑，取代了他們從前的熱切模樣。

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?

面對這些“質詢”，你是一次性摧毀他們的童年，告訴孩子們一直以來都是你在樹下放禮物而不是圣誕老人呢？還是把故事繼續編下去，以消解他們的疑慮呢？

“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.

美國肯特大學家庭教育文化研究中心的負責人李埃莉（Ellie Lee）同樣指出了這個矛盾：“圣誕節最大問題在于你的孩子開始意識到，世界上根本沒有圣誕老人，所有的東西都是假的。”

“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.”

“有相當一部分的理論告誡你千萬不要對孩子撒謊，但這種說法太絕對了。聽大人們講故事是童年里最美好的事，這也是與成年時期最不同的地方。兒時聽的故事向我們揭示了萬物存在的意義，幫助我們理解身處的世界。”

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.

為此，記者采訪了兒童教育專家麗貝卡·希克博士，向她討教應對這些棘手問題的必勝之道。針對熊孩們這些令人聞風喪膽的問題，希克博士提供了一系列的“參考答案”。