DS age 7 no longer ‘believes ‘

[Touchofsilver]

My DS (7) has just announced to us that he no longer believes in the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy and if Father Christmas is real he should be speaking Turkish as that’s where the original St Nicholas is from…
I was hoping for a few more years of magic as he’ll be 8 this year.
However he’s got a very logical mind so didn’t think it would be too much longer in reality.

So what ! My kids are adults but we still
get visits from the Easter bunny And Father Christmas!
Doesn’t have to end !

Take inspiration from Sir Pterry…

”just because you know how it’s done doesn’t mean it’s not magic”

he can still have the anticipation and excitement even if he doesn’t believe.

That’s a completely normal age to figure out these things are just stories. I’m always surprised when people say their 11 year old still believes - at 11 either they are pretending because they think the fun will be stopped if they don’t or they are really quite gullible…

Just don’t get him anything this year and when he queries it, say that’s what happens when you don’t believe in Santa.

Also, when he says Santa doesn’t exist, just wink while tapping the side of your nose with one finger and say “it does he?” cryptically. If nothing else it’ll be really irritating.

I knew Father Christmas wasn't real long before I was 7. If he's got a logical mind he was going to work it out. I'm sure most kids don't believe in the Easter bunny at all.

I always said I do, they don't have to believe but you don't have to agree, we still put out a sherry for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph and my kids are adults. They sort of half believe for a while if you do, obviously for us now it's just a bit of fun.

Good for him. Sounds like a bright lad.

If he was very bright, of course, he would figure out that keeping the pretence going might result in more treats & pressies…

I thought once Christmas was over we'd be free of this stuff for another year.

Seems like a notmal age to stop believing. I alwqys find it odd when kids older than that still belive in santa. You can still have them visit and it can be magical in different way. That being said, I never knew believing in easter bunny was a thing.

i don’t think i ever told mine about the Easter bunny but Father Christmas on the other hand…. 🤣 he’s defo real.

I never had a visit from the tooth fairy because I'd stopped believing it all before I ever lost a tooth. Not because my mum wouldn't still have done it, I just insisted I was too grown up.
Too much of a smart arse for my own good 🤣.

I had figured out it was more fun to continue to play the game at Christmas though. They knew I knew but it didn't actually change anything. I don't actually remember believing at all, but still remember Christmas feeling really special.

I’ve just finished making Easter baskets for my 29 and 24 year olds.

My almost 21 year old is the Easter Bunny this year, giving out Easter treats to everyone on our charity walk.

Similar to the talk about the existence of a diety, we have always pitched it as a celebration of a special time, family bonding and sharing in a memory of the good deeds the humans they are based upon performed, when they stopped believing. Or the arrival of new life and fertile soils again for the Bunny 🐰 Exploring nature and learning opportunities helped prevent boredom in the holidays too!

ETA went the route of Vikings for the tooth fairy.

My aunt does baskets for all of us, including my 83 year old grandmother. We still do stockings at Christmas too.

Samhain is my domain.

I think Christmas will be just as magical. Start some new family traditions 🥰

You can know the truth and still believe in the magic

By that age I’d be worried if he thought they were real.

I'm not sure how many children genuinely believe in father Christmas. They would probably be scared of him, if they did.

I do think that an immortal Turkish saint who was able to deliver presents around the world on a flying sleigh pulled by reindeers would probably be able to master the English language though.

Same

DD1 is also a very logical child and she stopped believing in Santa at 5. Granted we never leaned massively into it, I actually found it quite uncomfortable when I realised the amount of lying I would have to do to satisfy her. I was okay with it when it was a very vague concept but the minute she started demanding answers about how it works, I couldn’t bring myself to lie to her so was very evasive about it, and eventually she just said outright she didn’t believe and would I please tell her the truth.

She was totally unbothered and is just as excited about Christmas, doing her stocking, leaving treats out for Santa etc.

The first time I mentioned the tooth fairy she just gave me a very withering look so we never persevered with that one either (although obviously we still have to provide the goodies under the pillow!)

Yes my eldest dc had night terrors when she was about 3- terrified of the “man coming through a hole in the roof”. We didn’t have chimney.

had to reassure her we had the house locked up tight and we’d put the presents under the tree if he left them outside.

My girls are 24 and 26 and we still put a carrot out on the drive and sprinkle it in reindeer dust every xmas eve!

And I still secretly hang their stockings at the end of the bed - even though it is now more like 6am than 12pm when I do it as I now have to wait for them to roll in from the clubs and go to sleep before I can do it!

And they have both seen their easter eggs in the pantry but know they have to pretend they haven't until easter sunday when they come downstairs and find them on the sideboard!

The magic is what you make of it. Just because they stop believing doesnt mean the magic stops (even though my kids think I am completely bonkers!)

Congratulations!! There's nothing magic about having a stupid kid.

Same. Didn’t know the Easter Bunny delivering gifts was a thing either, I certainly didn’t participate in that particular subterfuge.

My brother had Santa sussed very young and had me questioning it too. Very logical. My parents seemed almost relieved. and they quite liked being able to explain that the shop had run out of the bontempi keyboard I wanted and it wasn’t because I’d done anything wrong. Like a previous poster I never really liked the sheer amount of bullshitting necessary to maintain the Santa myth so was quite happy when mine stopped believing. It didn’t make Christmas any less fun.

Oh the money you'll save. I detest the tooth fairy - who has cash just lying about? Not me. Would be pleased if my child gave me the excuse not to bother with buying their waste products.

It never occurred to me that the easter bunny was a magical thing that brought easter eggs. I got them those eggs and it makes it no less fun hunting for them.

I would be tempted to leave a note in Turkish in December though. Up to him whether he wants to believe or enjoy the game.