what is the purpose of elf on the shelf

The purpose of Elf on the Shelf is to encourage children to behave well and behave better during the holiday season. The Elf on the Shelf is a fictional character, a small toy elf, that is placed in a child's home by Santa Claus. The Elf on the Shelf is supposed to watch the child's behavior and report back to Santa on how well the child has behaved during the past day. The child is told that if they misbehave, the Elf on the Shelf will report this to Santa and Santa will not bring them presents.