“Mum, please tell the truth. Is Santa real?” What do I say!?

[Tweeeezer]

8 year old asked me before bed: “Mum, can I ask you a question? But can you please tell me the truth?”
I replied, “Of course,”
He said. “Is Santa real?”
His younger sibling was in the bottom bunk and listening so I said, “Do you want Santa to be real?” (Avoiding the question).
And he said “Yes, but I don’t think he is.”
His younger sibling started talking about how if Santa sees you, you don’t get any presents so was a bit oblivious (also no idea where he got that story from!).
I said, “Can we talk about this together later? Just you and me?” And looked pointedly at the bottom bunk. He agreed and started talking about Lego.

Do I wait for him to ask again? And, more importantly, I have to tell the truth, right?! But I’m so sad that the magic of Christmas will be gone for him!

I was 5 when I realised and when asked directly my mother always told the truth. My dc knew around the same age. Most children seem to know by that age. My mother told me she was 11 when she found out and it was a source of name calling at school because at that age everyone knew.

I wouldn't have thought most 5 year olds would know.

Most kids are 3 or 4 before they really understand what Santa does and can remember the excitement from the year before. I can't think they only get one year of really believing before it's all history only mum and dad.

By 5 or 6 they might start asking how he does it. But they still believe he does it.

Most children seem to know by that age

I don’t think ‘most’ know at 5.

I was 5 when I realised and when asked directly my mother always told the truth. My dc knew around the same age. Most children seem to know by that age
No, they don't. I know a LOT of 5 year olds and very few don't believe in Santa/Father Christmas.

My kids stood no chance....

My answer to is he real was "well I still believe in the magic of Santa."😁😁😁

My dd1 was a few months off 9 when she told me in very matter of fact tones that she knew Father Christmas was me and Daddy, so I might as well admit it.

So I did.
Not until her early 20s did she tell me she’d been dying for me to deny it, so she could go on believing a little longer. 😩. Even though she knew it wasn’t really true.

If I could do it all over again, I’d fib my head off! They all work it out sooner or later anyway.

A friend of mine come from a big Irish family she was a twin they realised that as soon as you said that Santa was not real then he did not come to you, because you had broken the magic. So there were still in there teens/early twenty’s shouting down the stairs after a good night out on Christmas eve, Mammy has he been yet!! They had never broke the magic so he kept coming, it was great as by then there were younger nieces and nephews, who were told look he still comes to the twins because they never said the words I don’t believe in Santa, so the magic was not broken.

So you have basically already told him santa doesn't exist in your, "we'll talk about it later" of course you should have just said yes he still exists, he's 8!!

I do hope all this parents who tell their kids keep their traps shut and don't spoil it fir the rest of the kids!

There are some circumstances in which I would lie to a child in order to protect them, but this is definitely not one of them. He has asked you to tell him the truth so that is absolutely what you should do.

But it makes perfect sense to the children!!

My mum told me that Father Christmas only comes to those who believe in him. If you think about it, that's true. I'm 73 now...and I still believe....