In think that most children don't stop believing in Father Christmas at 5 years old?

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On Mumsnet, there seems to be a large contingent of posters who claim that children over the age of 5 don't believe in Santa and if they do believe then they shouldn't. I have never met a 5 year old who didn't wholeheartedly believe in Santa, elves, everything. I think peak believing years are actually age 4 to 8. It's actually sad because if a child doesn't believe in Santa at 5 then they never really have. I wasn't a particularly naive child but I was 10 when I worked it out. My ds was around 9 I think. To me believing up to age 10 or so is entirely the norm -vor am in the minority in thinking that ?

I think 10 is much too old. Under 8 seems much more average to me.

I worked it out aged around 6! However my experience with DC since makes me think 7 or 8 is a more usual age

Sorry but I think people are often kidding themselves about their kids believing in Santa. 5/6 sure, but beyond that I think any kids who still believe only do so because their parents are so insistent. So it's more "my parents wouldn't lie to me" rather than "Santa must be real".

I clearly remember being a kid in the 80s when only 1 or 2 kids in the class still believed in Year 3, so aged 7.

Between 7 and 10 I'd say.

You will.Get a vast array of answers ,from never believing ,to believing at high school ,I would say most kids start questioning from 8/9.

My daughter is 6 and asked me if Santa was real recently. My sons were around 8 when they started asking questions.

Mine certainly believed it a 5

but I certainly never felt “very sad” for those that didn’t. And they got as bloomin excited about Christmas as mine did!

My son asked me this year about Santa so I told him the truth. He genuinely believed as he was gutted. He also then asked about the Easter bunny and the tooth fairy and again was surprised that they weren't real! He is 9. A lot of his friends still believe in Santa.

DS3 worked it out with his friend last year. They were 6 and in year 1. They just decided that it's not logical and can't be real. He'll still put a stocking out and have fun with it though.

DD believed until she was 10 or 11.

As always on MN you will get people posting that it can't possibly be true as if they know your child better than you do.

Father Christmas isn't real?

I think many parents nip Santa in the bud to suit them. A lot of ppl on here who say 5 often go too far with Christmas festivities & when they have multiple kids they can’t cope. These are the same types of people, usually, who start buying screens / non-toys for kids at the same age!. I personally think by the time they start secondary is about right.

DS1 (now 10) has owned up to having worked it out the year he turned 6…DS2 (6) is in clear testing mode this year (we had to resort to subterfuge to get hold of his letter to Father Christmas).

Most 5 year olds firmly believe in Santa, in my experience. I would say most 7 year olds do too.

Most children that I come across believe until 10. I know a few who have had to be told at 11 when going to secondary school by their parents and were gutted.
My dd is 6 and she very very much believes in santa. However, she can tell the ones who just dress up. We were in local shopping centre and she whispered to me, mummy that isn't the real santa, it is one just dressed up as santa.

My 7 and 8 year old firmly believe.. have never really questioned it either. My 8 year old told me he heard the elf calling his name yesterday.. I love their imagination and will continue with it for as long as they wish. I remember still believing in year 6 and so did most of my friends I think! We were late 80's kids.🎅

Mine worked it out when he was 5. He is now 6 and sort of plays along but it's obvious (he isn't a good liar) that he doesn't believe

I find it really unlikely that there are 10 year olds who really believe

Just read your history Op (quiet weekend with a cold!)

you have started threads ranging from thinking young children go to bed too early through to being baffled that parents don’t think cereal and toast is a good snack for a teen.

Why don’t you just focus on what you do?

Year 4/5 seems to be the time most children here figure it out.

My son is in year 4 (ages 8/9) and he has never believed because we don't do it, and it's only this year his friends are asking him if he believes and if he thinks it's real or not (they don't know he knows the truth) so based on that I think 8/9 is the age that they start to question it.

I was 8 when I figured out Santa wasn’t real.

Had the talk with DS 11 who had an inkling but did still believe. He’s one of the first in his friendship group to know from what he tells me.

The vast majority of the children I teach appear to believe in Father Christmas.
I teach infants, so 4-7 years.

5 is peak Santa age

I think with the economy the way it is it may actually do families a service to remove the belief in Santa as parents can't give their kids all the presents required from Santa. Once ipads start ending up in Christmas lists Santa seems stingy.

My 7 year old firmly believes. My 9 year old is questioning, but still wants to believe I think. She says about half her class still believe in Santa.
The poster saying 10 is ‘too old’… why?