Believing in Fairies

[Icenii]

DD just turned 9 and massively believes in magical beings still. She is very into fairies and had some fairy related items for her birthday. DH had also made her a detector out of a raspberry PI.

On her birthday, one of her closest friends told her fairies were for kids and her detector was just a stupid toy, and they didn't exist (year four friendships is a whole other thread; they seem very troublesome).

I knew school friends were likely to tell her etc. DD still believes but I'm trying to think what we can gently push her towards. She loves stars and space and I'm thinking of getting a few items for Christmas. I think it links into magical thinking. She is full of big ideas, imagination and possibilities. I'd like her not to lose this. Any ideas?

let her have the fairy stuff.

Have a look on Ebay at the ooak stuff
( one of a kind) There's stuff like fairies in jars made out of clay.

What do you mean fairies don't exist?

Just tell her to alternate between being sympathetic and war-like towards the fairy-heretics. That is the strategy common in religion?

Convert them with kindness or kill them. I think that is how it goes.

Oh bless her.
I too believed in fairys for a really long time... I got into Harry Potter next, and still love fantasy now. I also liked space and wanted to be an astronaut.

My eldest is only 4.5 so I can't help with friendships but presents wise...
A book of greek/roman myths and legends
The Hobbit (if she's a good reader)
A real telescope

Fairywise if you have a local 'woo' shop a beautiful little figurine for her room?

What's the detector made out of? I want one. This post reminds me a bit of a story I heard about Ronald Dahl. One day his little girls said the bfg was not real. In the dead of night he put weedkiller on his prize lawn that spelled bfg. Cue the morning when he was 'furious' and children were in awe. His daughter used that story to show how important his children's wonder and belief in magic was to him. In my opinion, said 8 year olds can't prove fairies DON'T exist so it's still a possibility.

I love fantasy and was very big into celtic stories, pagan and wiccan in my teens. I still think nature is magical! Thank you for the ideas. She is desperate to watch the hobbit but I think she'll be scared. Book is an idea.

I think it's a little raspberry pi in a tiny case, that changes with status of how a fairy feels and where it is located. And an emoji. It's actually really good!

Sorry silly me but what's a pu?

Pi I mean

It's a tiny little computer like thing that can be programmed and has a little display. DH cased it up to look like a little dector, and linked the status changes into our movement sensors of our house alarm sensors.

So when the house alarm sensor detects movement, it will change the fairy dector status after a certain time gap. Sounds boring, but it's good!

Get her interested in Iceland - they even change the direction of roads in order not to disturb the elves.

That sounds amazing. Unfortunately neither DH or I are that technological minded

I used to write letters to the fairies and leave then tiny glasses of water (cos obvs their arms were too small to turn the taps) and my mum wrote back pretending to be the fairies and it’s one of my nicest memories. Let her keep the fairy stuff! P.s. she also bought me spell books during my teenage witch phase and I love her for it.

How about a book about the Greek gods and the myths surrounding them? Or the Nordic gods, ditto.

Regretsy love that!

We answered letters back but I was worried we have encouraged it too much and gotten into a pickle! I've bought her a witchy spell book, it focuses on nature and friendships.

Magic is real!

I think it’s lovely, she’ll grow out of it eventually! (Although I did almost book myself onto a witches retreat wknd this year but couldn’t afford it, am normal in every other way tho promise, have a house and job and boyfriend and everything!)

Theres some great ideas for you here op.
My little girl is only 5 but already shes had a girl at school telling her fairies and elves and santa (!) Arent real. I actually felt really sorry for the girl who said it that theres no spirit of magic in her house

Last week dd brought me a handwritten list with fairies, dragons, elves, witches and a couple of other things on and asked me to tick which ones I believed in. I love all of this kind of stuff to so will do my best to keep the magic alive

This is so lovely! I had the same conversation with DS 8 this week, his friends had told him no such thing a tooth fairy/elves/Father Christmas etc. (Despite a very expensive trip to Lapland last year!) and he was choosing to believe his friends. I contacted wishesdevon.co.uk and they were wonderfully helpful! Love the Ronald Dahl anecdote too.

Harry Potter, Flower Fairy books, I think the Hobbit would be fine, look into the Arthurian legends - would she like Merlin? Potentially shift into folk lore - and at 8 would she like the Enid Blyton Wishing Chair and Enchanted Tree books or if she's a strong reader Narnia?

Oh, and by the way, I still believe in fairies.

I was majorly into fairies at that age and into my early teens too! I got into Harry Potter and had books about fairy spells. Eventually I grew out of it and got into fantasy art & Norse mythology. I was really into Brian Froud and Arthur Rackham. I had some good fairy spell books too. Get her some beautifully illustrated books, Flower fairy stuff & just let her be magical! I had Fairytale A True Story on VHS and watched it religiously! I suspect she's probably still a bit young for A Midsummer Nights Dream.

Don't give in to peer pressure. If she loves fairies let her!