[![](/santa-prefers-1.png)](https://www.bmj.com/content/355/bmj.i6355.abstract)

[![](/santa-prefers-3.png)](https://www.bmj.com/content/355/bmj.i6355.abstract)

[![](/santa-prefers-4.png)](https://www.bmj.com/content/355/bmj.i6355.abstract)

# Santa Prefers Wealthy Sick Children

I recently found a lovely paper:
[_Dispelling the nice or naughty myth_](https://www.bmj.com/content/355/bmj.i6355.abstract).
I recommend reading the entire paper, but here are its main findings:

> It has long been thought that Santa Claus gives presents to nice but not
> naughty children. This is the first study, to our knowledge, to dispel the
> myth that Santa visits children based on behaviour and suggests socioeconomic
> deprivation plays a greater role in determining a visit. It raises important
> ethical dilemmas, such as whether children should be told and what should be
> done about Santa.
>
> Santa Claus has an incredibly tough job to ensure that all the nice children
> receive presents. Undoubtedly deeper socioeconomic factors are at play, even
> impacting Santa Claus’s abilities to reach out to every child. Whether his
> contract needs to be reviewed or local Santas employed in “hard to reach”
> areas, all we want is for every child to be happy this Christmas.

I noticed that the paper cited
[a deleted reddit comment](https://web.archive.org/web/20221224032055/https://www.reddit.com/r/AskScienceFiction/comments/3xzgur/christmas_why_does_santa_give_rich_kids_more/),
so I went and dug it up:

> Santa is contractually forbidden from altering the socioeconomic status of any
> individual. On a grand scale, the ability to alter the status of particular
> groups would allow Santa too much influence over political decisions. This
> would eventually be noticed and cause discontent which runs contrary to the
> primary mission of the North Pole: the deliverance of Cheer™. As such he can
> only provide presents that are appropriate for the environment the child is
> in.

Here are some highlights from
[the paper's BMJ comment section](https://www.bmj.com/content/355/bmj.i6355/rapid-responses):

> First, we find issue with the measurement of "naughty": as determined by the
> average number of school days missed and aggregate criminal activity. Average
> school days missed as a proxy is inappropriate as this metric does not
> adequately capture the attitude of the children missing school. In a
> population with a larger hospital system and more sick children, the days
> missed are likely inflated due to illness rather than nautiness. Additionally,
> the authors use average criminal activity for adolescents aged 10-17 as their
> proxy for naughtiness. However, this age group is not reflective of the
> population in paediatric hospital wards in its entirety. Transition from
> paediatric to adult care typically occurs between 15 and 20 years of age or at
> the end of formal schooling. ...
>
> Secondly, in a sample of American mall Santas (n=15), each reported their
> first question to children was whether they had been naughty or nice this
> year. Therefore, self-reporting should not be excluded from the study, as
> these reputable Santas take children’s self reflection into primary
> consideration.

> The assertion that Santa Claus delivers gifts across the globe within a 24
> hour period is not entirely true. In the Netherlands, e.g., Santa
> traditionally brings his presents on December 6th, in Russia (as "Father
> Frost") on January 6th, and in Germany on December 24th (Christmas Eve). The
> arrival of Santa in Germany on Christmas Eve is well documented since 1835
> (1). Given the short period from Christmas Eve to Christmas and given that
> Santa has a two bases in North Germany (2), it is likely that he approaches
> the UK from the East and not from the North. The authors should re-analyse the
> flying distances under this aspect.
>
> Santa's reluctance to fly to the UK may date back to Christmas 1940 ff. when
> flying obects coming from across the North Sea were hailed with an unfriendly
> welcome. The surprising finding that Santa thereby skips socioeconomic weak
> areas could have produced a feeling of being left behind in these regions.
> These regions to some extent match the regions that voted for the brexit (3).
> Hence, the authors should include the brexit voting data in the analysis.
> Protectionism, however, could add to the unwillingness of Santa to reliably
> come to the UK. The British government would therefore be wise to invite Santa
> Claus to the brexit negotiations.
>
> Yours sincerly, Gunther Weitz
>
> Competing interests: I do drink Coca-Cola from time to time.

> Children are never 'naughty' - they sometimes misbehave for perfectly good
> reason, of course, and even for not very good reason, buy there is always a
> reason of sorts, and medical professionals should be made to realise that. The
> paper's short title does go a little way to dispelling the myth, but not
> nearly far enough

> I call for the emergency extraordinary meeting of the guarantors/directors of
> the BMJ to review the serious lapse in the judgement of BMJ editors in their
> decision to publish this libelous article and consider the necessary action
> required to defend themselves from the legal representatives of Claus & Elfs
> Limited (incorporated in Magnetic North)