When to tell dd mickey mouse not real?

[Clara35]

Hi all, my dd will be 8 in sept. Up until now she believed mickey mouse & co are real. A few times recently she is asking if I think they are real. Do I tell her the truth or string her along for as long as possible? Hate the fact this may lead to her questioning tooth fairy & then santa.

[onepieceofcremeegg]

I am sure she knows deep down. (unless she has learning difficulties or special needs that you haven't mentioned). She probably has an inkling about the other two as well.
Just smile and say nicely "what do you think?" if she brings the subject up.

[Clara35]

I think you are right! I just hate the fact shes growing up so fast! She has no special needs or anything. I'm sure I still believed at age 8!

[5inthebed]

Aww Clara, your Dd sounds sweet.

My 8 yr old DS lost a tooth last night and put it under his pillow for the tooth fairy. He still believes, although he might be a bit wise to Santa.

[MCos]

My 9 yr old DD totally believes in tooth fairy and santa. We haven't been to Disney for a while, but my kids are aware that there are several Disneys, so have probably figured out that characters aren't real. But I've no idea - and I'm not going to try find out, as like OP, I don't want to get them thinking about what/who else is not 'real'!
I'm thinking that if DD1 hasn't figured it out, I'll probably have to tell her when she is 10.

[cory]

I think it is very helpful to teach children about suspended disbelief: how you can go on enjoying something even after you know about the actor inside the costume because you choose to suspend disbelief. Otherwise it can become terribly tragic when they finally do find out: as if they had suddenly lost all their childhood sources of enjoyment.

Dd probably sussed Santa when she was about 4 (he turns up in person in Sweden, so harder for them not to recognise the person)- but she still enjoys it just as much at 14 and it's just as magical.

[superjobeespecs]

DDs 6 and knows that i buy presents but santa makes them for me to buy then delivers them [hsmile] and is well aware that mickey et al are 'pretend' she lost her first tooth 2 weeks ago and hid her tooth for the tooth fairy and thinks tinkerbell is real.. yup DD is well in the land of make believe [hgrin]

[sugarbea]

Aaaaah I think I'd Like my dcs to believe as long as possible. IMO most kids probably find out at school what's real and what isn't ESP when they start to think logically about mice being able to talk and having pet dogs etc. But I'm yet to meet anyone with long term emotional damage from finding out the truth about santa or the tooth fairy at any age plus I shook mickeys hand last year ... felt real to me.

[Clara35]

I agree with you sugarbea, I would like my dcs to believe as long as possible. At the same time I worry about dd being made fun of if she believes mickey real & classmates know the truth! My friend had to tell her 11yr old son about Santa before he started secondary school & he couldn't believe it! Suppose it just depends on the child. My dd has always seemed older than her years.

[tryingtoleave]

I don't think it is the same thing as the tooth fairy at all. DS is 4 and I've been telling him for ages that the things he sees on tv are not real, they are drawings or actors. I think it is very important for dcs to understand asap that tv is not real.

TBH, I would be quite happy to tell the dcs that the tooth fairy isn't real except I don't want it to cause problems if they go and tell their friends that. Quite a bizarre thing to want children to believe.