Neighbour just told Dd Father Christmas doesn’t exist

Yes that's really daft. Your beliefs are your beliefs. You can't police what other children say and make others feel bad. So how old were you when you found out? 11? Did you not know about basic physics? You are all insane in my opinion. This whole thing is completely bonkers, and the fact you are all trying so hard to lie to your children and make fools of them in the name of 'magic' I find really strange. Shame people think Christmas magic can't exist without lying to kids faces for your own gratification.

When I was younger a problematic classmate said the same to me. I went home and told my mum and she said “he doesn’t come to her because he doesn’t give presents to horrid kids” and it kept me content for another couple of years 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I’m so envious that you were able to keep the magic going for so long! My 4 year old has recently figured it out by himself - he came to me and said „mama, I think Santa is just a human in a costume and not real”.

Mind you, we went to several Santa themed events this December and it was almost like a „worst dressed fake Santa” competition. Perhaps that didn’t help, he’s very perceptive. As we are a „no lies household” I didn’t try to persuade him otherwise 🤣🤣🤣

He’s home educated so he didn’t pick it up anywhere.

Yeah, there are always little shits who cannot wait to tell their classmates that Santa doesn't exist and I remember really hating her and her rodent face for ruining Christmas for me. I still remember the name of the classmate who told me Santa didn't exist and for years I wished for plague and pestilence to rain down upon her and her shitty family. I did finally come to terms with it when I was in my early fifties, and I got rid of the wax doll.

Sad that they had to ruin it just before Christmas. Though neither of my kids made it to 8, eldest was just too intelligent and worked it out, youngest developed a phobia of the big red man and refused to go to sleep in fear he would enter our house, so I told her the truth (I think she was 6/7. Christmas has been just as special, if not more since because we all pretend Santa is real whilst appreciating that I do all the hard work.

You read that as a threat; says more about you than me.

Can you not do magic without the threats?

What a nice gift from the NDN 3 days before Christmas, little git. I’d honestly be fuming, it’s either his parents don’t know he doesn’t believe or they haven’t explained he can’t ruin the magic for younger children.

I tell mine "if you don't believe, you don't receive." My older one certainly knows, but is happy to play along. The younger was told at school when he was 6 or 7, wasn't fully convinced now 9, but he may still believe. We'll keep playing.

I've never met any in real life but to be honest once you get to school there's always one bonkers parent in the class whatsapp group 😂Might not be a Santa fanatic though, could be meltdowns about party invites or getting too invested in playground fall outs.

It's entirely a mumsnet thing. In real like most people are normal

All this chat about naughty lists, spiteful 8yos and all that stuff seems very contrary to any sort of Christmas ‘magic’! Maybe if your reaction to this kind of thing is to tell your child their friend is naughty, won’t get any gifts, etc then you’ve possibly missed the whole spirit of Christmas thing somewhere along the way?

Is this a Mumsnet thing or are parents really this militant about the Santa myth in real life? I'm still in the nursery years so it's still parents trying out the Santa talk and smiling at each other when we hear the toddlers talk about reindeer.

Does it really get so venomous about kids who tell the truth to other kids when they go to school?

I had one of the mean kids say this to DD when she was quite young.

I just told her that it obviously means mean kid is on the naughty list and Santa doesn't come to his house so his parents have to do it all instead.

DD was happy with this answer and we kept the Christmas magic going for quite a few more years.

So a child is being reviled for telling the truth?

Some children just are dislikeable little shitbags though and will take any opportunity going to prove it.

I said his parents will give him gifts this year so it's not like he won't get any. Otherwise my ds would have been sad for him obviously. It did help that the boy was known to be naugthy in order for him to believe it.

Yes me too, it's just such a no brainer isn't it!

Some people believe in x, some believe in y, here's my beliefs and hopes and wishes, what are hours?

There is absolutely no need to tell your kid that their friends are naughty because they believe in something different than you

Is it really such an elaborate lie to say that if a child doesn't believe, of course the only way they will get presents is if the parents buy them? Especially since many children receive presents from their parents and Santa anyway?

Parents lie all of the time and not just about Santa.

The toy shop is closed today
The sweets are all gone
The food is spicy so unfortunately I can't share it
If you sit too close to the TV, your eyes will turn square
If the wind changes, your face will stay like that
The music from the ice cream van means that the ice cream has ran out

Yet the vast, vast majority of children grow up and trust their parents unless they have actual reasons not to trust them which is very unlikely to include ''You told me an extra lie about Santa 3 days before Christmas''.

Yes that would be daft! Kids find out from the older kids at primary school. Mine were 8/9 when they discovered the truth! My friend's daughter was 12 when she was told! She got bullied a little for saying , "Santa's real, I've met him in the North Pole!" (she did to be fair!)

Well, is telling your child that their friend is naughty/bad/undeserving of presents really in the spirit of Christmas?? I mean, come on, you are an adult yourself, you know better than that

Bonkers isn’t it. Even today dd asked do I believe in heaven. I said well I’m not sure but some people do.

My standard answer to Santa / Easter bunny / religious things is pretty much some people do and some people don’t.

I literally got a text like this from a mum of my son's friend. I rolled my eyes and ignored it .