Santa when kids wanna know the truth!

[ladycasshmere]

When I was little I always thought the story about Santa was far fetched. I would ask my mom how did Santa get in if we don't have a chimney. She simply said I left the door unlocked for him. Then one day I caught her putting stuff under the tree. I was about 9 years old. That's when I realized who Santa was...my mom!
   My question is when do you think a child should know the truth about Santa?

[mh874892]

My family's thing is: if you don't believe in Santa, then you do not get presents from him. So, I am 21 and still believe because he gives the best gifts!

But I think most kids figure it out on their own by 9 or 10 and don't really need telling. It probably depends on the situation though.

[thechexmix]

My parents never really tried to convince me that Santa was a real person at all - they were careful to phrase it in a way that ... basically Santa was a symbol of the spirit of giving and so on for the holidays. I remember figuring out at a pretty young age that he wasn't real but that I shouldn't ruin it for other kids who believed. I think that was a good approach to it. Let kids decide for themselves.

I don't know if there's a particular age ... different kids mature at different rates and so on. So I think if you're going to let them believe in Santa at all you should consider their own maturity, if you want to tell them or let them figure it out, and so on ... depending on the individual.

[longleggedgiraffe]

I never pushed santa on my kids when they were little. I don't think they ever did believe in santa. I never did when I was a kid either.

[sandiegosurfer]

I think kids should keep their innocence as long as possible and thus parents should not tell them that santa does not exist. However, like many other topics, kids find out from other kids in school that Santa does not exist and generally other wrong information. You have to be careful what kids can pick up from other kids.

[jenn0527]

We have always been honest with our 4 children. We have always told them that Santa is not real just like Spiderman or Dora.

My parents had me truly believing in Santa until I was around 14 I think and my siblings made fun of me for believing in him and finally my parents told me the truth. I remember thinking, "If they are going to lie to me about this for 14 years what else are they hiding?" I never trusted them again until later in life as an adult.

I have always told my kids I will always tell you the truth when you ask me about something because nothing positive comes from lies. All of our kids are A and B Students, Go out of their way to help others, have respect for adults,ect. So I do not think telling them the truth from the beginning was a bad idea.

The truth shall set you free.

[ReggieHaines]

When I was little I always thought the story about Santa was far fetched. I would ask my mom how did Santa get in if we don't have a chimney. She simply said I left the door unlocked for him. Then one day I caught her putting stuff under the tree. I was about 9 years old. That's when I realized who Santa was...my mom!
   My question is when do you think a child should know the truth about Santa?

<a href="http://turnmeintoa.com/santa">Get Turned into a Santa</a> at <a href="http://turnmeintoa.com/santa/>TurnMeInToA.com
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 well all i kno is that actually it was this guy sneaking back up the chimney after he put your presents under the tree...ur mom was sleep walking...lol

[Graeth]

Tell them the truth from the get go.
Otherwise you breed them believing that lying is okay.
Or you start a long string of telling them lies and they will never forgive you.

[Kiki1992]

Since I first heard the word, Santa, as a kid, I knew he wasn't real because I was the kind of kid (since 4 yrs ) who was always involved with people older than me through music. So I knew right away Santa was just a symbol for kids.

[bjohnson16]

I really think it has to be based on each person.  Some children want to believe.  Others will figure it out early on.  Mine has not really believed for a long time.  But I think he wanted to make his grandparents feel good because they like to think he beleived.  But this year he said I think it is time that everyone know that Santa can't come done the chimney.   And the presents with his name on them are just strange so can it change.  So I think it depends on the family.  But I do agree that lieing is not the way to go.  We have always just let him think what he wanted. 

[jneff0603]

It really depends on the child. I think it's important for kids to have a little magic with the holidays- I still in the back of my mind have a secret hope for presents just to appear on Christmas morning lol- but I think it's even more important for them to realize that WE as parents are the ones who work hard all year to be able to give them a great Christmas. If anything Santa should play a small role by stuffing the stocking or maybe just getting one gift for each child instead of them going to bed with no presents underneath the tree and then *poof* a living room full the next morning.

[mlhnceh]

Our children believe in Santa, and will probably figure out that he is not real.  I don't lie about anything, I'm just careful how I phrase things.  Santa fills the stockings and leaves 1-2 presents.  All the rest are from Mom and Dad.  I believed in Santa til I was around 6-7, and it did not scar me for life.  If my kids ask, I'l tell them the truth.