How long is it ok to lie to a child once they figure out the ruse though? Her mother tells the rest of the story much better and how she tried to dance around

How long is it ok to lie to a child once they figure out the ruse though? Her mother tells the rest of the story much better and how she tried to dance around it without lying to her kid, but ultimately she caved, and despite telling her daughter to keep it quiet.. kids with secrets are dying to share them. It also isn't a matter of belief. If you show me a grown parent that legitimately believes Santa will bring presents to their kids, they'll only be disappointed once. It's a marketing gimmick convenient for parents because it encourages good behaviour. It would be far more useful to not put them through the eventual trauma of realizing it later in life and instead focus on gifting gifts to each other in the spirit of some holiday because they care about each other. Instead we all play a stupid game that involves lying because we're too afraid to be the one who isn't. What if another family is foreign, and has not such myth or custom? How does that child feel in an environment where the people teaching them are telling them their own parents are lying to them? Respecting a belief is one thing. Pretending it is true is another.