Do your 8 year olds still believe?

[Girlsnightin]

Am I kidding myself that he does?
Just started year 4. Started asking questions about the tooth fairy which I confirmed was me, but was vague about FC.
Do we carry on for a few years with this?

I'm one of the people who didn't have any trauma from helping keep the magic of Christmas alive for other younger children.

When DD asked if I was Santa, I asked her what she thought. She replied, very forthrightly, that she had asked the question and she would like an answer, please 😂

So I told her that I was, and that she was smart to have figured it out, and that was awesome because now she got to be one of the magic keepers, who kept the magic alive for others, and we snuck out and left a present 'from Santa' on a neighbour's doorstep (it just happened to be Xmas Eve!) She was delighted by the whole thing, there was no trauma at all.

However, for those of you who had trauma caused by Xmas past, I understand your trauma is genuine. I'm just saying it's not always traumatic, and I suspect there are just as many kids traumatised by not having had the Santa experience when everyone else did.

My three 8 year olds still believe and hoping that continues for a good few years!

I'm liking noodle's approach too.

Our 8 year old started a conversation 'testing' the magic of FC in the car with a younger school friend present.

We quickly shut the conversation down and later, once the friend had gone home, we had a chat about how it feels magical to believe in FC and the TF and asked him to remember how exciting it felt to believe in the magic.

We said that once you are old enough to understand the logic then you have a special responsibility to preserve the magic for those you don't understand the logic yet. So his dad and I would carry on creating the magic and he can choose when he decides to enjoy the magic or when he wants to help create the magic.

My kids (11 and 9)know that if they don't believe they stop getting presents so they'd better believe all their life!!

In all honesty they still want to believe especially as I always play a trick manoeuvre on Xmas eve and they magically get a xmas eve film. Eg dvd through door/hanging from light fitting.

Now we have sky cinema they got a voucher which randomly came out of the (wireless) printer.

DD is 8 - she still believes which I find astonishing. If she questions it now I will be tempted to tell the truth.

Weirdly after posting that my 6yr old was sure Father Christmas was real, we had a conversation last night about him being real. We also spoke about the tooth fairy and God.

She has decided; tooth fairy is fake - it’s her dad who puts glitter and money under her and her sisters pillow. I said yes she was right, and we had a giggle about it all. I did say it was probably best to keep it to herself so her friends and their younger brother or sisters got to experience the magic, she agreed. I asked what made her think it was her dad? Simple reply; because fairies don’t exist obviously, silly mum!

God; yes real - no further comments left it at that. I will just say me and DH are atheists and she has picked it up at school and made the decision for herself, as has her older sister.

Father Christmas; her reply was of course he’s real! Otherwise how do all the presents get here? Before I replied she carried on and said because there are no presents hidden, we’ve looked! They obviously didn’t look very well, we have them crammed into every cupboard and space we could find would kill for decent storage but alas no room

I have 8 year old twins. One believes but not the other.

Santa destroyed thanks to ExH cracking the shits and telling 6 yr old 'the truth' because she's old enough to know. I think that's a dick move personally. Fine not wanting to lie- but having some magic in life once a year- I was good with that.

It's OK to create a magical fantasy as long as you don't insist it's true.

I suspect there are just as many kids traumatised by not having had the Santa experience when everyone else did.

Funnily enough I’ve not come across stories like that in all the years of Santa debating. My older kids say they’re not doing Santa as parent either- and they liked the feeling of superiority over their peers of knowing “the truth” but weren’t unkind so didn't spoil it. They both feel- like me- that xmas is still as special as it ever was as there isn’t a before and after when you’ve never done Santa. I do feel that it’s often so so important to the adults doing Santa that they’re trying to make up for what they feel they’ve lost in knowing. Whereas my christmasses are still as magical now as they’ve ever been- and I’m the one laying out the presents.
I love Christmas. And I hate that people seem to assume no Santa means no magic or somehow we are bah humbug. Couldn’t be further from the truth.

This is a fascinating topic to me, OH says he believed to 8/9. I had siblings 4/5 years older and can't remember ever actually believing, even as a very small child. My own kids will be 2 and 3 this year and I go all out for the fairy tale but I would be surprised if they hadn't figured it out by 8.