What age did your kids stop believing in Santa?

[CdnCarrie]

You know, I don't know if I ever believed literally - I guess I did - but I STILL believe in Santa. He is my mom. He is my friend. He is all or us. When I see the spiritof spreading joy and wonder, that's where Santa is.

That's lovely.

My kids are in their late teens and have never yet said they don't believe in Santa. The magic lives on...

 

[Princess Oma]

Considering my grandkids like to read this Disney board in anticipation for their trip- GUESS THEY KNOW NOW.
Sometimes people need to think through what they post on public boards- especially when children visit it.
Looks like this is another site to be banned in their house

 

[Denise W]

Considering my grandkids like to read this Disney board in anticipation for their trip- GUESS THEY KNOW NOW.
Sometimes people need to think through what they post on public boards- especially when children visit it.
Looks like this is another site to be banned in their house

What a nasty thing to say.

 

[nw6675]

Not sure. Actually, I think my 31 year old still believes in Santa.

My parents told me and my sister that if we quit believing the Christmas checks quit coming.

 

[MamaBelle4]

You know, I don't know if I ever believed literally - I guess I did - but I STILL believe in Santa. He is my mom. He is my friend. He is all or us. When I see the spirit of spreading joy and wonder, that's where Santa is.

100% what I said to my 14 year old. I'm right there with you!

 

[kyton]

Ours never ever admitted that they didn’t believe! It took us to broach the subject with them individually the Christmas before starting high school (year 7 here in Australia so aged 12) for them to admit they knew. They are now 17, 15 and almost 13 so this will be our first Christmas of no “Santa”.

My husband has always joked with them from tiny that “I am Santa” - leading to a conversation yesterday with our youngest who remembers hearing this every year. My husband’s reply was “See I am Santa and I’ve never lied to you”.

 

[MamaBelle4]

Considering my grandkids like to read this Disney board in anticipation for their trip- GUESS THEY KNOW NOW.
Sometimes people need to think through what they post on public boards- especially when children visit it.
Looks like this is another site to be banned in their house

Even though this IS a Disney forum, it is not geared towards children. Actually, don't you have to be 13 to use it? Or is it even older?

It's certainly a good tool to plan, but sometimes adult topics come up. And if they talk about this thread, may I suggest you watch Elf, Miracle on 34th Street, The Santa Claus, The Year Without a Santa Claus or any number of Christmas movies that show adults tend to lose faith but kids ALWAYS know better?

I find that to be a better solution than berating adults for using an adult message board for an (arguably) adult conversation.

 

[DLgal]

Ours never ever admitted that they didn’t believe! It took us to broach the subject with them individually the Christmas before starting high school (year 7 here in Australia so aged 12) for them to admit they knew. They are now 17, 15 and almost 13 so this will be our first Christmas of no “Santa”.

My husband has always joked with them from tiny that “I am Santa” - leading to a conversation yesterday with our youngest who remembers hearing this every year. My husband’s reply was “See I am Santa and I’ve never lied to you”.

My husband's late father did this when his kids were little. But he would go so far as to dress up as Santa every year and the kids obviously knew it was their dad. My husband has fond memories of that.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

When the neighbor’s brat son told our son and the little girl next door. They are probably about 5 and they both came in the house crying. I could have decked that kid.

 

[nw6675]

When the neighbor’s brat son told our son and the little girl next door. They are probably about 5 and they both came in the house crying. I could have decked that kid.

That is exactly how I found out. I thought my mom was going to go after her!

 

[barkley]

I don't know, but we still pretend. Kids are 16 and 18 (but also autistic). Our oldest son never really subscribed to the whole idea of Santa (he also figured out Mickey Mouse was a woman in a costume when he was like 2, so...)

Anyway, my younger son is very socially immature and naive and we really did think he still believed in Santa. However the other night we casually asked him "is Santa real"" and my son said "no", with a knowing tone. Shocked the heck out of me.

my oldest is 28, my youngest is 25-both still write letters to santa. my youngest is autistic and did question it out loud as a tween but then answered himself out loud with 'seems like so long as i still write him he still brings me stuff so i'm not planning to stop'.

i believe-i write santa every year and leave him a treat, in fact dh is going to be near the liquor store tonight so i better have him grab a bottle of irish whiskey so santa can help himself to it when he visits this year (i always leave him out a bottle and tumbler-just as my parents did when i was a kid cuz they said he must get awful tired of room temp milk).


merry christmas all!!!!

 

[TCRAIG]

I still believe!!!

 

[Allison]

Considering my grandkids like to read this Disney board in anticipation for their trip- GUESS THEY KNOW NOW.
Sometimes people need to think through what they post on public boards- especially when children visit it.
Looks like this is another site to be banned in their house

The community board is for any topic. The parents of these children need to be monitoring their website visits. It isn't for the posters here to consider.

 

[Living42Day]

Speaking for myself, I was 7 years old when I found presents from Santa in my mom's closet. I don't think I was snooping, but I came across them. I was bummed so just told myself that it was a dream and I didn't really see those presents. I kept up the charade until I was in 8th grade because I didn't want the gifts to stop and didn't want my mom to feel bad.

 

[Allison]

I don't remember a specific age. We just kept going with it.

 

[disneychrista]

I think they were 9 / 11 or somewhere around then. My snoop of an older daughter had found Santa gifts in my closest but I am sure she suspected before then. My youngest was SO MAD. She said she would never believe anything I told her ever again. If I had it to do over, I might not do the whole Santa thing as a literal thing but more as a spirit of Christmas thing.

 

[RamblingMad]

Just saying.

 

[RamblingMad]

The community board is for any topic. The parents of these children need to be monitoring their website visits. It isn't for the posters here to consider.

Isn't there like a 13 year old limit?

https://www.businessinsider.com/why...k-instagram-problematic-law-coppa-2022-1?op=1

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I was 9 when I found out and I felt absolutely mortified and betrayed. I was humiliated to think I had believed such a ridiculous lie for so long, replaying conversations in my head, wondering with whom I had embarrassed myself by talking about Santa as if he was real. It was a real trust-shattering moment for me to realize every adult I knew would conspire to deceive me for my entire life up to that point. Like being Jim Carey in The Truman Show, decades before that movie existed.

Needless to say, we do not “do Santa” with our kids. We have always been expressly clear that the presents come from us and Santa is just myth/make-believe/pretend/a game people play. My kids still enjoy Santa decorations and Santa movies and Santa toys, but they enjoy them the same way they enjoy the ghouls and ghosts on Halloween — they know those things are celebrated as a traditional part of the holiday but they don’t think they’re actually real.

My oldest (5) knows some parents want their kids to believe Santa is real and has been told to zip it if he’s ever part of a conversation where other kids are discussing it. Not that I think a kid should be responsible for keeping adults’ lies straight for them but it’s the best advice I can come up with because, as some comments upthread show, people get really touchy when the rest of the world doesn’t play along with this ruse.

 

[NannyBeBe]

We never told our children that Santa was real. They were too logical, even at a very young age, to believe, and would have accused me of lying to them. We had "Santa Daddy" instead.