Tips to have "the chat" (Santa isn't real) with 11yo

[Crunchymum]

He still believes and whilst I don't want to be the one to dash his beliefs, I think he needs to know.

Any tips / pointers on what to say?

I realise this may not be in the ethos of the Christmas topic board but I love Christmas and want to keep it a special time for him (there are also younger siblings although my 9yo will probably figure it out soon!)

If he let's on at school he still believes in SC he'll be ridiculed op.

Do him the favour of letting him in on the mystery.

@DontGoJasonWaterfalls I LOVE this! I suspect DD will ask this year as we get closer to the date so I will be using this, thank you!

I was all ready to tell my now Y7 DS when he was in Y6, I tentatively started the conversation and he looked at me like I had two heads and told me he'd known for years 😂

Honestly? I’d leave it for this year. Let him have one more.

Then, perhaps over the summer, tell him he’s old enough now to be one of the Magic Makers and tell him that Santa isn’t real, but it’s people who want to make the magic special for younger kids who do all Santa’s work. Now he gets to be one of them too!

It’s fine if someone else tells him. Someone else told my 7-year-old and he decided whether or not to believe them (he didn’t).

I doubt anyone will tease him, lots of children in year 6 want to believe to keep the magic alive a bit longer.

IMO they may often realise, but still really wish it was true.
A dd was IIRC coming up to 9 when she told me in very matter of fact tones that she knew FC was me and daddy, so I might as well admit it.
So I did.
When she was early 20s she told me she’d been dying for me to deny it, so she could go on believing a little longer! 🙁

Please tell him. He must be in y7 now? Dd is 11 and I told her when she was 8 or 9 which I regret but it's difficult when you have older children.

I teach secondary and lots of y7s believe. I have never, ever seen them ridiculed for it. In fact, I witness extraordinary kindness from the peers of believers.

I just asked the kids about this point last year (so DD2 was 10 but is quite emotionally young for her age) what they knew about the big dude in red and both of them admitted they'd twigged it ages ago but kept up the pretence just in case and to make sure the presents kept appearing!

why bother having this talk? Let them carry on and enjoy your lives.

As to the PP who said they're too old to believe that's soooo depressing!
There's loads of things that grown ups believe that aren't true, should they all be sat down and told they're too old for their beliefs?