Hello everyone, my question has several parts. My son will be 8 eight days after Christmas. To all you mothers out there who have older children, what age were they when you finally told them about Santa Claus? My son is starting to hint around about him but I don't know if I should tell him. He's also asking about still taking a picture with him at the mall. Somedays he questions whether he is real and then some days he is a die hard believer! And how did you tell your children the truth? I would like to break it to him the least traumatic way. Thank you in advance.
What do you mean Santa doesn't exist???? =).
Certain traditions are great and, IMO, Santa is one of them. Soon enough he will figure it out but for now, I would let him bask in wonderment.
I NEVER had anyone tell me (other than friends at school) that there was no Santa. I am almost 30 and my 4 brothers range in age from 40-28. To this very day, my parents have never said it. In our home the saying goes "If you don't believe you won't receive." At Christmas time when the whole family gathers, the grand-kids and great-grand-kids get gifts from grandma and grandpa, but us "kids" still get our gifts from "santa." When my (almost) 10 year old daughter started hinting and asking questions, I posed the same saying to her. I'm pretty sure she knows, but she will always have that litte wonder in her mind and that will keep the spirit alive for her (and my other 3 kids as they get older) just as it has for myself and my brothers.
My son will be 8 in March and when he starts hinting ariund that Sata doesn't exist, I say "Shhhhhhhh! I hope he doesn't hear you saying that!" Because I still believe....in the magic and love of Christmas....and that's Santa!
IMO it depends on how you define "truth about Santa". And the "truth" about Santa that I want my kids to know is that Santa is based on a historical figure known for his kindness and generosity and that "Santa" is real whenever and wherever people show the kindness and generosity that he represents. And that part of growing up means that they can "graduate" from being little kids who just receive things from Santa to big kids who can help BE Santa to kids who are less fortunate than them.
I (stress .. I, me) would never be the one to break this fantasy. If he believes in you, there is a Santa. When our children would ask me if Santa was real, I would ask what they thought after hearing other classmates talk about what they do or don't believe. Mostly they wanted to believe and I didn't want to discourage this believing. They knew people who didn't believe in God, so why in the world would they believe in Santa. When they were convinced of their feelings and realized that me and their dad were actually fulfilling the Santa ritual, we told them it was a loving tradition that they too would do with their children one day. They LOVED that we let them continue with this fun time in their lives.
