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Original poster

How on earth do your children still believe in Santa?

153 replies

mauvish · 21/12/2023 22:23

As the title says. I get the impression that people think that their DC still believe in Santa right up to secondary school age.

How? When the answer to every question in the world is a few computer clicks away? When they will hear from other children at school?

I remember asking my mum outright when I was about 7 or 8, (about yr 3 I think) and that was because I was being teased mercilessly at school for being one of the last to still believe in Santa. Part of the reason that I still clung onto the belief is that I'd heard bells one Xmas night when I was awake (actually this was probably tinnitus secondary to my chronic glue ear but I didn't know that at the time! and convinced myself it was Father Xmas!). I also remember my daughter being told the truth by another child in front of me at school drop off when she was about 5 or 6.

So how on earth are children supposed to still believe in FC (etc) until a much later age nowadays, when in so many other respects they are far more wordly wise at a younger age?

OP posts:
Sonolanona · 21/12/2023 23:03

My kids varied according to their personalities.
Eldest was very into anything magical...and genuinely still believed at 10 (had to tell her!)
Next child.. nope, he had sussed it by about 6 but enjoyed the fun
No 3.. not sure I think she was about 7
No 4. Has autism and at 26 he still isn't entirely convinced that Santa isn't real.
He's a black and white thinker... we had told him about Santa, and NORAD tracks Santa therefore it MUST be true. We phased it out but telling him that Santa only does stockings for children and we have chatted about how different cultures have different stories.... but he still tracks Santa Grin

He's a gentle lovely man who is never going to marry or have kids and his sem-believing still does add magic for us all!

mollyfolk · 21/12/2023 23:03

It’s honestly all the kids in my daughter’s class who have been to Lapland! She’s 11 - wobbled last year but a firm believer again after a very magical Santa visit this year.

inappropriateraspberry · 21/12/2023 23:04

I never asked or mentioned it! I obviously figured it out at some point, but my thinking was that if I admit I know the truth, then I won't get a stocking anymore! So never said a thing and still got a stocking. It just got assumed as I got older that I knew, I suppose! But we all get stockings anyway! I just got given it in the evening to take up to my room 😆.
Even now, we all have stockings as adults. My DH does mine and vice versa. I do small ones for my parents as well.

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fuckityfuckityfuckfuck · 21/12/2023 23:05

Am willing to put money on people thinking its "cringe" for primary age children to believe in santa, also thinking 8/9 is too old for dolls. Why the need to make kids old before their time?

WandaWonder · 21/12/2023 23:06

Our child is like me, I knew early on but was great at pretenting and going along with it

thomasinacat · 21/12/2023 23:07

Time4the · 21/12/2023 22:48

I think this post is so desperately sad: snide cynical people looking down on children for being children.

Show quote history

yes, actually rather pleasant to hear that children are able to keep a level of innocence for a while in today's world. Rather than being cosseted, seems like many British children are perhaps not having free range access to the internet too young. Surely a good thing. Immaturity? Why do they have to be grown up at 11 years old.

DementedPanda · 21/12/2023 23:08

My yr7 son believes, or he's putting up a bloody good act. I think he does know but believes in the Christmas magic. My 13 yr old definately knows but loves Christmas and he believes in the Christmas magic. It's not all about santa. It's the belief and feelings of Christmas

Canthave2manycats · 21/12/2023 23:09

I probably believed until I was about 10, and so did my three children.

Hotpolarbear · 21/12/2023 23:09

My daughter is 12 and still believes. She also still plays with toys and lives a great child life. She has questioned it a few times about why I don't get a gift from santa which I respond by saying because I'm an adult.
They don't discuss it between their friendship group.
My moto is that if you believe you will recieve. I'm happy to keep the magic of Christmas alive for as long as possible.

My partner also told his mum he believed until he was a teenager and all of his friends were jealous that he got an extra gift from santa.

RougeFraise · 21/12/2023 23:10

My 10yo still believes.

been very careful about the whole thing. They don’t access the internet often because I don’t think it’s good for them at this age.

also if you do Google it it’s not on the first page that it’s all bullshit (I checked)

my child has also been told not to believe everything on the internet, that anyone can write whatever they like so to be careful about that (this was mostly around puberty and sex conversations we had and why I wanted them to come to me and not go googling)

they go to secondary next year and I’ll tell them then

ConnieCroydon · 21/12/2023 23:12

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Rycbar · 21/12/2023 23:12

I work in a first school and Santa came for a visit today. Even our year fours still believe!

Goneback2school · 21/12/2023 23:12

My oldest started questioning at around 10/11, he asked outright and was told the truth. The middle stopped believing this year at almost 11 and I thought he told the 8 year old but she apparently still believes. None had open access to Google at aged 10/11. In Ireland I think it is more common for kids to believe later- possibly because we don't start secondary school until 12-13 yrs. I love that kids can be kids and keep the magic alive for 10/11 years. What is the harm? The teen years can be hard enough so I don't understand the push to have kids grow up quickly.

ConnieCroydon · 21/12/2023 23:13

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stargirl1701 · 21/12/2023 23:14

My DC go to a wee rural school (60 children). They don't have any unsupervised internet access. They don't have their own phones or tablets or consoles or laptops, etc.

I think my 11 year old twigged this year.

chickadeeky · 21/12/2023 23:14

I think they know and play along from about 8.

I think it's really naive to think an 11yr old really believes in magic.

chickadeeky · 21/12/2023 23:15

And I don't think 8/9 is too old for dolls or anything like that, but that's imaginative play, they know it's not real.

Isitthathardtobekind · 21/12/2023 23:17

@Time4the completely agree with you. Some people now think children need to grow up far too early. Not all children are on Tik Tok etc thank god!!
People who think an 11 year old child believing in FC is ‘cringe’ are very sad. I expect they’re the ones posting all the reels about their 8 year olds wanting expensive skin care/Nikes and iPhones and not enjoying toys any more. I know which i’d rather my child be.

stayathomer · 21/12/2023 23:18

I seem to be the opposite to you- I never get the mn thing of 8 or 9 is normal to know! I have one believer age 9 and we had one bully us into telling them age 10, but he was always doubting and we only kept him going because we didn’t want the others to find out. Other two were 11 and 12 so just before secondary. Definitely neither knew, the 12 year old we told as we were afraid he’d be bullied and when we told him you could see we’d broken his heart!! Was talking to friends, all of them tell roughly age 11, only a few already knew.

SemperIdem · 21/12/2023 23:18

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I think it is quite sad when children of 7/8 have no ability for imaginative play. That is absolutely patent led, however much you might like to think otherwise

Singleandproud · 21/12/2023 23:19

Children believe because they want to,it's a nice thing to believe in even when you know. And even when they are 99% sure they know there's an awful lot of hope in that 1% that actually it's all real.

We still do some of the Christmassy things because it's tradition, once DD found out she became in charge of the elf, we put a carrot and a mince pie out in the afternoon and then munch them ourselves watching a film in the evening.

As a secondary school teacher that once put my foot in it about Santa I can assure you that some 11 year olds really do still believe.

I also think it depends if Santa is actually a nice and magical person in their lives or if Santa and his elves are watching the child's every move and they get threatened with him as a lazy behaviour management tool throughout December. I often wonder how those children feel when they work out it was their parents all along. Knowing your parents faked something nice is one thing, knowing that they faked something quite horrible is quite another.

chickadeeky · 21/12/2023 23:19

Ugh only on mumsnet could children be divided into sweet innocent ones who believe in Santa at 11 and ruinous ones who are pouting into the camera on tiktok.

ThickPinkSocks · 21/12/2023 23:20

There’s a difference between playing with dolls/toys to believing a fat old man wearing red that I must add visits multiple locations and brings you gifts a good few weeks BEFORE Christmas (that’s overkill nowadays too isn’t it) makes the journey AGAIN on Christmas Day to bring more shite… at age 11.

🙈

SemperIdem · 21/12/2023 23:22

Is it not a little bit funny that we’re all discussing the merits or lack thereof of believing in Father Christmas in children, whilst all being respectful of differing religions. Which are also very clearly made up.

Nutterroast · 21/12/2023 23:24

I was thinking this the other day!
By the age of 5/6 I was skeptical and went searching for Christmas presents around the house. I found them and felt very chuffed with myself for working it out!

I did have a friend (a very sensitive and sheltered soul) who genuinely believed until she was about 10. This was mid to late 90s - I don't think you'd find many 10 year olds who believed these days, for the reasons you say OP!