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Original poster

Nearly 10yr old DS still believes in Santa

253 replies

Happyhappyveggie · 22/10/2017 17:28

DS is 10 in Jan and still totally believes in Father Christmas. I assume it might be the last one and he's still really sweet & innocent about it all.
But another parent said to me that it was ridiculous that he believes still and that her son had worked it out at age 7.
Aibu to be worried about it or just. E glad that he's still innocent and sweet!

OP posts:
Imabanana · 22/10/2017 19:05

It's fine. He believes because he wants to. He won't get bullied because if children at school say they don't believe he'll laugh along and agree, even if he's not sure. It may be the last year so enjoy the magic. It was never quite as magic in our house once the youngest stopped believing.I still make 3 teens open the lounge door together though to see if " he's" been!😂

Felixandtheflippers · 22/10/2017 19:06

2.2 billion people believe in God

x2boys · 22/10/2017 19:08

I told ds1 last yr just before he was 10 because we were in asda and he wanted a smart tv for Xmas and they were on special offer he had questioned it beforehand though but there are some twats on this thread so what if a 10 yr old believes in Santa Hmm

m0therofdragons · 22/10/2017 19:09

Your son must be overwhelmingly naive!

Oh do fuck off. Her son is a normal child, all are different and as many parents have stated their dc still believe age 9 I know the op and I are not alone! Dd is very academic with a great imagination and if she wants to believe then that’s fine. Similarly there will be dc who like proof and discover the magical FC secret earlier, which is also fine.

Describing dc as naive (shouldn’t all dc be naive?) and delayed in critical thinking** based upon their belief or not in FC is completely bonkers!

Hushabyelullaby · 22/10/2017 19:10

I’ve not read the thread yet, so may be going over old ground. My 10 and a half year old does. She’s 11 in the first half of the year and will be going to high school in September, we absolutely WILL tell her before then. She knows all the kids say he isn’t real, but I think she wants to believe. I think this one last Christmas is fine, but do think they should know before senior school.

x2boys · 22/10/2017 19:12

Well arnt you just marvellous Mightybann yeah of course you stopped believing at three ffs...

MirriVan · 22/10/2017 19:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ProfessorCat · 22/10/2017 19:21

I was just going to say that religious people obviously have no critical thinking skills as they are grown adults who believe in an imaginary friend...

MirriVan · 22/10/2017 19:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Dobopdidoo1 · 22/10/2017 19:25

My mum has mental health problems and as a mother was disorganised at best, chaotic at worst. She often forgot to feed me and my siblings and so we survived on cereal, milk and cheese.
As a result I never had the chance to believe in FC or the tooth fairy etc. So I’m envious of anybody who actually was given those years of innocence and make believe. Why take childhood away from children? It’s the only time we have to actually be children.

pp2017 · 22/10/2017 19:25

My DS also turns 10 in January and while I don’t think he outright still believes he hasn’t said he doesn’t either?!

I think he has an idea, but doesn’t really want to face the truth and still wants to believe....

I can see us having the conversation between now and December though but I’m planning on letting him bring it up in his own way (and then I’ll have a cry into a glass of wine afterwards 😭)

ItWentInMyEye · 22/10/2017 19:26

My DS is 10 near Christmas and still fully believes! As a family we love Christmas and try and make it as magical as possible, maybe that’s why. Star

Mollieben · 22/10/2017 19:28

My son is 11 and, although I think he knows deep down, still wants to believe. I told him that if you believe in Father Christmas, he will believe in you. Its the magic of Christmas

Ploppie4 · 22/10/2017 19:28

As long as you tell him just before he goes to secondary school I can’t see the problem. Lots of kids at my children’s village school still believed aged 10 11.

OvOntToSuckYourBlood · 22/10/2017 19:30

My just about to turn 10 year old still had 2.5 years of primary school left so no need to insist on bursting his bubble for fear of going to high school as a believer.

LondonNicki · 22/10/2017 19:32

I was the same at 10. My mother told me the truth at 11 but to be honest I only kinda believed because I wanted to..... I wouldn't worry.

rainbowlou · 22/10/2017 19:32

My 9 year old still believes, he is in a mixed class now though and some of the older children have told him.
When he questioned it I asked what he thought and he is adamant there’s no way I could get all that shopping and wrapping done, plus drive to the North Pole to get real snow in 24 hours and still get up on Christmas morning!
I’m happy with that, I love doing Santa Smile

LondonNicki · 22/10/2017 19:33

Dobo that is really sad....I"m sorry.

NotTodayBillyRay · 22/10/2017 19:35

My ds is 10 (11 in February) and he still believes in Santa. He believed in the tooth fairy until earlier this year too, until the tooth fairy kept forgetting so I told him the truth. He took it well so I told him Santa wasn’t real either and he doesn’t believe me, says I can’t afford what Santa gets them all for Xmas Grin

TittyGolightly · 22/10/2017 19:39

We've never done santa. We left the door open for DD to believe if she wanted to, but she never has. She's now 7, and mad about space and time and how things work. I don't think anything would make her believe that santa and some reindeer could travel the world faster than the ISS.

I'd be a bit Hmm if a 10 year old expressed no doubts about santa. It's a ridiculous lie.

jaykay34 · 22/10/2017 19:40

I have twins (a boy and a girl, now aged 14). My daughter still believed at 10 - but my son had it all sussed at 5 years old !

A couple of years ago, my daughter did admit she had a few suspicions over the years - but her need to believe in the magic outweighed her doubts. She said the year when she knew for certain that Santa wasn't real was her worst ever Christmas !

I don't think there's a right or wrong age to stop believing. Going by usual standards, my boy was probably too young and my girl was too old !

Dobopdidoo1 · 22/10/2017 19:41

Thanks Nicki I’ve long accepted my mum and her problems after years of therapy but it was tough at the time.

Sorry, didn’t mean to make the thread about me. Blush

TittyGolightly · 22/10/2017 19:41

I'm pretty sure it does affect critical thinking as an adult too. Far too many adults have been duped by Trump and Farage to be a coincidence. Grin

Maryann1975 · 22/10/2017 19:44

Sshhh, don’t tell my mum, but I don’t believe anymore. I’m 36 and my mum still thinks I believe, if I don’t believe, I won’t get a present and the magic will be gone. My dd11 hasn’t believed for a couple of years and ds9 was starting to show signs of not believing last year but they both still play along both for their younger sisters benefit and because it’s a nice tradition. They still love the magic of it all. I wouldn’t have told them though, that’s what friends and playground gossip are for.

Happinesswithinme · 22/10/2017 19:47

My DM had the absolute best way of dealing with this which I use with my own children. If I ever asked if Santa was real she would ask if I believed in him. I answered yes (and believed in him) until I was 12. When i believed, he was real. When i didn't believe he then wasn't real. No lies and no crushing disappointment.

I also used to argue with other kids who would try to tell me he wasn't real as I stand by my convictions. Something I still do to this day, although not so much about Santa.