At what age did your children stop believing in Santa?

[2020hello]

I'm just wondering how long we have left our oldest is 6.5 years

Around 9. She told me that she knew Father Christmas wasn’t real but asked that we keep pretending because it was fun.

Dd1 told me in very matter of fact tones at roughly 8 + 3/4 that she knew Father Christmas was me and Daddy, so I might as well admit it.
So I did.

When she was in her early 20s she told me she’d been dying for me to deny it, so she could go on believing a bit longer. 🙁

@GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER

Dd1 told me in very matter of fact tones at roughly 8 + 3/4 that she knew Father Christmas was me and Daddy, so I might as well admit it. So I did.

When she was in her early 20s she told me she’d been dying for me to deny it, so she could go on believing a bit longer. 🙁

My eldest was upset I told her the truth, even though I had fobbed her off for the past rwo Christmases with stuff like 'He is real for those who believe'.

13 but only because I told him myself as he got himself in such a state being sick xmas eve worried about the stranger coming into the house. He's 25 now.

Mine are 9 and either still firmly believe or are very good at playing the long game...

Mine were about 8 when they stopped believing, my grandchildren have all been similar, although I suspect some were younger and didn't want to disappoint their parents

6 or 7.

My nearly 10 yo was asking last xmas how do you know if Father Christmas is real. I said he's real if you believe in him. He then replied "Like God?" 😬

Thanks everyone, so quite mixed responses.

I feel like if he asked no at 6 and half id make something up to still keep it alive, but should we admit it, it feels so young?

When do we stop making the stories up.

My eldest never questioned but she knows my youngest was around 7.5-8 when he came out and said he knew we were Santa.

Holy shit I need to tell ds!! He started secondary last week. He has loads of older dc and we put such a united effort into keeping Santa going - he still believes!!

Eldest dd is 7 and hasn’t questioned it yet. If she does I will go along with the he is real for those that believe and ask her to keep the magic for her younger sister.

I have a 7yo and 4yo and wondered the same. My older one has been questioning regularly since 3, but I think she still wants to believe.

Did was nearly 8 when she started asking questions, she said she didn't believe but I think she really did still and it was just kids at school telling her he wasn't real. This year at nearly 9 she definitely doesn't believe 😭

Eldest worked it out but never admitted it - I think at 9/10ish, next one down is 11 and still believes....sadly I now find myself giving lots of hints & nods to the truth as I’d rather they worked it out at home rather than someone take the Mickey at school.

Last year at 6, he told us Santa wasn't real, but I'm not sure he really fell for it before. But we never went full on with it anyway. We did go on the 'santa train' and as we were leaving he said 'great, we're off to get a present from a stranger'

Mine were 10ish. They never believed in the tooth fairy though cos obviously that is a completely unbelievable concept, unlike santa

My parents never brought us up to believe in Santa because they didn’t want to tell a lie.

I did the same with my children. They still enjoy the the idea of Santa bringing a stocking while knowing that it’s an imaginary story.

Mine are 13 and 10 and although I'm sure they don't believe they go along with it all so it feels special. I've never felt the need to have a conversation telling them it's not true, my response was always "If you stop believing he won't come"

My parents never actually told me he doesn't exist but I went along with it - I knew by about 8/9 though

11, it was confirmed at the weekend by Chandler in Friends 🙈. This’ll be our first Christmas with a non-believer but it’s time as he’s just gone to high school.

1. I always said I wouldn't lie, if directly asked. Unfortunately they asked it very loudly in a shopping mall. I hope no other child was traumatised.

Although they might have been, as having got that conversation out the way, as I thought, we were then in a children's clothing shop, and she said at the top of her very piercing little lungs, 'wait, does that mean the tooth fairy isn't real either?!'

We left rather quickly.

A tip I got on here years ago was to have the chat in the Summer before they go to senior school- worked for us for DS (DC1). Dd was 1 year later so aged 9 I think.

Last Christmas Eve I told DS (7) to go to sleep or Santa wouldn't come. He looked straight at me and said 'Mummy, I think I'm looking at Santa!' He is my youngest though, and I suspect his big sister dropped some none too subtle hints. On the other hand DD1 was 10/11(y6) before she clearly knew.