If your chilren don't beleive in Father Christmas do you ask them not to tell their friends?

[3frenchHenniePennies]

DD aged 5 has been told by her friend that FC definatly doesn't exist, I'm really annoyed as I feel that childhood innocence doesn't last long enough these days and she';s also our youngest and her older sisters have taken great care in keeping the secret going.

I know it's a individual thing but I really wish that her parents had asked her not to say anything.

just tell her her friend is lying and then go to great steps to prove he is real

I echo xmasmumy's post. BTW you will be lynched momentarily for the thread title. The FC word is not supposed to be printed here for fear of young readers seeing it. I had to delete an entire thread a few weeks ago because of it.

HONESTLY

Do parents of atheists ask their children not to tell anyone that GOD isn't real?

Do we ask atheists not to type any subject heading which doubt Christianity in case sensitive little catholic boy Jude spies the thread while reading Mumsnet?

This is madness

i think wank
too
tis mums net fgs
if oyu cant stop your kid wathcing then sort it out

But he isn't real.

quite, MI

Why would any child of a reading age sit and watch Mumsnet?

Don't people have tellies?

Haven't they got Enid Blyton?

They really don't need to know that Kittylette takes it up the arse at the age of 6

Where would it end?

Don't tell anyone the tooth fairy isn't real.
Don't tell your best friend he can't be a dog when he grows up.
Don't tell your friends that lesbian actually means a woman who has sexual relationships with another woman...

Leave children to their own conversations.

You cant really think that a five year old should be encouraged to lie ?

Lorina, I didn't say anything about encouraging a 5 year old to lie, I just wish that the parents had asked her to keep it quiet or at least explain that some children still do beleive in him.

BELIEVE is that right

Last Christmas one sweet little twin of mine did and his twin didn't. (Very different boys) but we seemed to manage that all right. This year they're 8 and I fear neither will.
Their much bigger brother has told them the tooth fairy doesn't exist, the rotter.

Its hard for a five year old to distinguish.

Very silly indeed to encourage small kids to keep secrets. Makes them potentially vunerable.

I'm sure that any 5 year old is well aware that some children do believe in Santa Claus

santa=sexualabuse ??

Well I encourage my kids to tell the truth.

And if they tell it to anyone who cant cope with the truth then its hard lines on them.

By all means lie to your own kids about it, but you really cant expect anyone else to join in against their will

NIce.

I agree with first reply. I'd say 'oh isn't that sad that she doesn't believe in him'. I'd just reiterate that he is real.

People are bloody odd harping on about 'telling the truth' when it comes to FC. FGS, is Harry Potter true? Does a tank engine really talk? Childhood is all about fantasy, magic and make believe and so it should be.

todays society makes kids grow up way too fast, my best mates daughter wont have anything "Barbie" she says its for babies! She is only 7 (well nearly)

I think its a lovely tradition to let your kids believe in father christmas.....
Let them be kids..

3fHP, have you told your DD not to tell other children that FC is real?

Actually goggledigook I totally agree with your last line.

I am not anti father christmas. My kids have been to see him ,we have put out mince pies for him and a carrot for Rudolf etc.

All fine and charming and part of Christmas. But never any doubt that it was all made up jolly nonsense.

Ds's friend informed me the other day that he used to have a playmobil castle but gave it away because it was too babyish. He's 5.

Don't care what other people say about Father Christmas. Don't do the great lengths to prove his existence thing. Just stockings. Ds knows there are serious logistical problems involved, but he wants to believe in magic. It makes his world a bit more exciting if he does.

I've been thinking about this today as the DDs' friends are beginning to ask questions about what FC is bringing for Christmas etc. The DDs, for reasons I can't be bothered to go into again, know that FC isn't real. I'm really not too bothered about other children as if they are ready to question FC, then they'll find out/work it out one way or another and if they're not, DD1 (5yo) is unlikely to be the most credible source of information. A much greater concern is that other mothers will lynch me. DD2(4) is fine as is likely to respond with a non-committal 'no, nothing' to any direct question of which she's not sure of the answer, but what if anything should I say to DD1. She's naturally quite 'savvy' about situations like this so could, if asked, grasp the whole "we know it's pretend but other children don't and we don't want to upset them" thing. Any thoughts?

Hmm. My mum gave me the full reproduction run down, with diagrams, when I was 7. I was asked to keep the knowledge to myself. I did not. I informed the entire class (Catholic school). My mum was a pariah. I know it's not the same thing at all, but sometimes keeping secrets is much harder than just not mentioning something you know about...

Exactly ! This is all about the parents.

Some mums do seem to have a hysterical belief that if their kids dont believe in father christmas then the whole thing is ruined.

Which isnt true, Christmas is fab even withoit father christmas

we told ds1 he isn't real a few weeks ago, I wanted him to join in the fun of pretending to ds2+3.

He loves it that he knows the truth and can play along with us.