Father Christmas' dirty secret

[ditzychick34]

AIBU to think my friend should tell her 11 year old DD Father Christmas' dirty little secret before all her school friends laugh at her when she gets excited in December? And how old is too old to really believe?
(for the record I'm a 34 year old believer)

[EastMidsMummy]

Yes. It's ridiculous for an 11-year old to believe in Santa.

[user1474816749]

34 and still believing. Santa must give you something special each year... Are you sure she still believes? Our child and her little "group" kidded us on for years, she revealed at about 10 or 11.

[ALemonyPea]

Ridiculous? I've an 11 yrs old DS who very firmly believes in FC. He has autism and is a few years behind his peers, but still 11 years old.

[pieceofpurplesky]

I had the discussion with DS the summer before he went to high school - he suspected it wasn't as he thought but was still a little shocked.

[DramaInPyjamas]

My 11 and 12 year olds pretend and play along that they do still believe. I think it's a mixture of fear of not getting anything for Christmas and not wanting to hurt my feelings!

[PepsiPenguin]

What did he do now?

[NerrSnerr]

Are you sure she's not playing along? That's what I did from a young age.

[ditzychick34]

She's not playing along, older brother knows the truth and is adamant that she still believes. They have a much younger sister as well so it can't be too obvious

[blueturtle6]

Let her believe. Otherwise the magic is gone.

[BartholinsSister]

Come on, what is his secret?

[EdmundCleverClogs]

I know someone who believed until they were 12. They were angry (and quite embarrassed) that their parents hadn't told them the truth at a younger age. A child half that age should know that a fairytale, whilst fun and magical, is just that - a story. It doesn't stop Christmas being a special time of year!

[Ineedwineplease]

I found out the truth by my friends when i was about 11 and was heartbroken! But then all those years that I did beleive were so magical! Wouldn't change it for the world even if I was pretty sad and shocked when my friends told me - i dont wish my mum had told me earlier at all. My dhs mum has just told his little sisters that Father Christmas doesn't come when they go to high school wich I think is a good idea.

[BarefootCuntessa]

My very innocent 11 yr old ds still believes as do several of his friends .I don't find it 'ridiculous' in the slightest Many of his friends/school friends are aware that he and a few others still believe and are respectful of it.He is a happy sweet innocent boy and is already getting excited about Christmas.Each to their own eh?

[Jaimx86]

I had a Year 7 student tell me they'd seen Santa!

[eyebrowsonfleek]

11 and in primary or 11 and in secondary?

My 10 year old is in y6 and there are many who believe. If my son still believed, I'd tell him after Xmas rather than before.

[BarefootCuntessa]

Mine is 11 and in primary

[Mybeardeddragonjustdied2016]

My Dd is 11today and still believes in Santa and the tooth fairy!!

[Eyeslikesheepsfannys1]

Why spoil the fun, you only get one childhood.

[Stressedout1980]

My dd stopped believing in the tooth fairy and Easter bunny at about 7 but carried on believing in Santa until 10. I was very greatful for those extra years

[user1474816749]

Eh? What? The Tooth Fairy isn't real... Noooooooooooooooooo.......

[nooka]

I had two questioning children and I really don't think we would have managed to maintain a Santa myth for very many years without a lot of effort (we aren't a Santa believing household so it didn't come up). Parents of older children surely must be doing a lot of misdirection at the least to keep up the fantasy? It's all so very unlikely - fat bloke breaks into everyone's houses in one night with presents for all. An eleven year old is surely aware that lots of children don't get presents and has had at least a few 'why' conversations surely.

[bloodyteenagers]

My 10 year still believes in everything. He doesn't know who to believe. The older sisters who like winding him up. Or the older brother who actually still does believe, so maybe he plays along for his older brother, just like your mates dc might ply along for the younger sibling.

[MissClarke86]

I work in an inner city school where the children are so street wise and our Year 6s act about 18.

I teach year 2s, and always have a few who know he doesn't exist each year. It's a nightmare keeping them from spoiling it for those that do!

Breaks my heart a little bit that there's no magic there for them from such a young age.

That said, I wouldn't want a child to go to secondary school still believing - it's a harsh place. Could you "accidentally" drop a few hints this year (e.g let him see you wrapping gifts etc) so he gets the picture himself? Or is that meaner than just outright telling him?

[MistressMolecules]

God your a miserable sod. If she wants to let her child believe then so be it. Why purposely spoil the magic and innocence?!?!

[HeCantBeSerious]

Breaks my heart a little bit that there's no magic there for them from such a young age.

My two have never believed in Santa. Ever. Plenty of magic in their lives despite teachers, relatives and random fucking strangers trying to force feed them all this Santa bollocks.

It's not magic. It's deliberate untruths and pretence and frankly if parents insist on introducing it to their kids they should bloody well take responsibility for telling them the truth at an appropriate age.