Neighbour just told Dd Father Christmas doesn’t exist

My youngest, aged about 7, told my boss "I know Santa isn't real, but don't tell mum coz she likes playing it and so do I". She's a teenager now, and we still enjoy the make-believe.

If it comes up, smile and say "well, you'll need to wait and see if he comes!" or suchlike. Then lean in to the NORAD stuff, just because it's a bit of fun. Like going to a film - you know it's not real, but you still cry at the sad bits.

I would say to her oh he has quite the imagination doesn't he! Thank goodness that isn't true. We wouldn't be able to afford to get you nearly the same amount of presents as Santa does.

Thank you even though I suspect it's sarcastic.

Mine are 11 and 9 and I’m keeping going with “well you don’t have to believe if you don’t want to, but I still do!” It’s working pretty well so far.

Yay, well done you 🤣

That would be utterly ridiculous. Don't be silly.

These were children playing and talking. An 8 year old is still a child. He is only a year or so older than OP's daughter. He is not obliged to believe in Father Christmas and saying so doesn't make him spiteful or bad at all.

I honestly just don't get all of the outrage that comes out on these threads. Children of this age are often starting to question. It's normal. Some continue to believe for a while longer and others don't. Just carry on with your usual Christmas traditions regardless. It doesn't need to have spoilt anything.

Sure, but tying oneself up in elaborate lies for the sake of - at most - a few more days of strained belief, is not worth it. The child will remember the time they asked their parent a straight question and were lied to, not ‘the magic.’

Thank you, my DH was horrified I didn’t fib and keep it going for a few more years, so I did question myself that year a lot!
My older ones are the oldest of all the children within our families and they are so sweet with their little cousins/sibling when they are making their Christmas preparations, they themselves still get Santa stockings and hang them up ready, so it’s made little difference really to their Christmases thankfully!

My DS1 had that in school when younger. Some muslim kids said it: I explained that they don't do christmas so ofcourse santa claus will not come to their house. Another boy said it as well; I told him that the boy had surely been so naughty that father christmas won't come to his house- but not to worry- his parents will surely buy him Christmas gifts. It worked! He believed until 10 years old!

I've heard somebody say essentially this to their children (about a 7 year old classmate) in real life. She was very proud of herself.

I made a mental note that she was absolutely unhinhed and never to send my child to a playdate with theirs unsupervised by me.

Well that’s buggered up my Christmas and I’m 53! 🤷‍♀️

So many of these crazy, angsty threads year after year... Why is the response never the entirely reasonable "oh well, everyone believes something different, that's okay. We can all chose what we want to believe it"

Rather than the (very un-christmas spirited) "naughty little shit bag kid must be on the bad list"

Some of y'all are winding yourselves up like a top over this 😁

I feel so sorry for the children whose parents don't just let them enjoy Christmas but insist they must believe the story or else they are horrible, naughty little children who deserve nothing.

Truly the spirit of Christmas 😂

This. You really can't control your child finding out the truth and it's usually another child who tells them.

Of course, which isn't a bad thing at 7. I just don't think that revealing all just days before Christmas is necessary so would be saying what I have to in an attempt to salvage the situation.

Let her have this Christmas and see what heading towards next Christmas brings.

You sound horrid. A child sharing new information they’ve learnt with another child is entirely developmentally appropriate behaviour. Children don’t have the impulse control that adults do.

This, lots of parents seem to have forgotten that Santa is supposed to be fun and magic and are so caught up in keeping up the lie and start hating other little children who won't keep it up too. It's crazy.
Calling other children names because they spoiled the adults fun 🤔

An 8 year old telling the truth to another child is not a "horrible child". Honestly, some people are ridiculous.

Sure, but it’s only one, very small logical step from there to the final revelation. If children who don’t believe in Santa get exactly the same presents, then there’s no need for Santa, and not believing becomes much easier.

When my 7 year old asked me if I bought all the presents from Santa I asked him if he thought I had enough money to buy all the toys he got. Not sure if I should be offended at the speed with which he said no way 😅

That’s pretty much exactly what I was taught as a kid - I was told that anybody who gave me a gift was being Santa and embodying the spirit of Christmas. Did the same with my kids (I don’t think they ever upset their classmates because they weren’t little twats, not over that anyway).

But it has never stopped us doing Santa stuff - mine are now well into their teens and we still leave out a carrot, mince pie and sherry and come down the following morning to find the sherry and mince pie gone, a big bite taken out of the carrot and a thank-you note. We still do stockings too.

Rude of the neighbour but isn’t7 or 8 about the age most kids have figured it out by?
i wouldn’t text her, just move on. Kids will be kids
I wouldn’t carry on the lie now though just tell your dc that Santa is the magic of our imaginations

DD1 was an early non-believer, just a very questioning, sceptical child and I wasn’t comfortable with the increasing elaborate lies we would have had to tell, so we were always very vague about it anyway. In the end she asked at 5 outright and demanded to know the truth, I told her and she basically said ‘I knew it!’ and then Christmas progressed the same as ever. We still do the make believe stuff around the mince pie and carrot, hanging stockings. The magic is in the imagination , not physically believing Santa is real.

That said, she knows not to say anything to her friends about it as she knows they do believe so I would be disappointed to find out she had been telling people.

In this case I would just change the subject but at this age I wouldn’t be doing mental gymnastics to try to keep the belief going.

😧

I certainly wouldn’t tell any children that Santa isn’t real but I honestly had no idea that it was so important to people before I came on MN!

I don’t remember getting excited about Santa as a kid (just the presents!) and we didn’t leave out a mince pie etc.

I’ve taken my children to see Santa’s grotto but I don’t spend any time talking about him other than that. I also refuse to endorse the naughty/nice list thing. In my house we deal with good and bad behaviour as it happens and everybody always gets presents.