When should parents tell their kids the truth about Santa?

There is always a little mystery about receiving a gift from Santa. I think kids grow older realizing that there is no Santa, but play along because it is fun - and they know that there is a gift from Santa each year. I think keeping a little mystery is great. After all, those little surprises are always great especially after a hard year at the "office".

by chipp

I don't up hold lying, but is magic lying? I disagree about kids getting heart broken, my friends 12 yr old was getting an i phone last year and mum thought it was silly with pretence and may as well take her to the store to buy it as she didn't think she believed anymore....the girl was devastated to be told just like that. Father Christmas is such a magical part of Christmas along with the Nativity plays, it is the whole build up, my 11 yr old has already written such a gorgeous heart felt letter to santa, also asking for 'poor' children to get their wishes, if they ever question me on lying i will say that by putting out wishes is energy, and if it is not greed then it is good positive energy. i have told my older kids the easter bunny is not real and we just made it up to make them smile, and they value that, but we still keep the tooth fairy going and santa - who are we to say fairies aren't real??! My son's bible and school teacher laughed at him when he asked if he was real - she said in a class full of children no! All I can say to parents who don't uphold in it.....maybe it is your own stuff from your upbringing.....but in this day and age we need every little bit of magic we can get. I also agree with someone else, just like Halloween, we talk about the historical facts behind it, about Saint Nikolaus. Happy Christmas everyone!

by temat

I agree. There is nothing wrong with keeping the magic of childhood alive, especially in a world where everything is forcing them to grow up before they should.

I honestly don't think my parents ever told me the 'truth' about Santa, the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy. I just remember getting a little more sceptical over time, but we never talked about it and if anyone tries to suggest that someone other than santa is behind the sack by the fireplace they get shusshed. I'm 23 and I still get a santa sack each Christmas. Granted now it's filled with undies, boxes of tissues, tooth brushes, etc.

I think I would have been heartbroken if my parents had come out and told me santa wasn't real before I was ready.

by Natasha Stewart

Maybe the idea of telling the truth from day 1 i.e. from the beginning should be entertained. I have never quite grasped the idea of telling a tale of Santa or tooth fairy or Easter Bunny and then later on finding out that it was indeed merely a fable. If the value of truth is to be upheld, then why not tell the truth from the beginning, and the good character of Santa can be told as a true story i.e. a Saint who helped the under-privileged, a moral value to be inspired for.

by Happy Mom

SANTA is outlawed in my home!
Christmas
It is all about Jesus....so we focus on Him...Totally

by jonaja

Our family never really talked about it too much.

by Justine Crowley

My mum never wanted to tell me that there was such a person as Santa because it is wrong to lie and then disappoint a child. She did keep the pretence up, however, because she thought it would be unfair if I went around telling other children who did believe that he didn't exist. This is how I fund out. My friend told me. From then on, both my parents and I kept up the pretence for many years that he existed, even though both of us knew it was not true.

I don't think there is a definitive age that children should be told, but by the time they hit secondary school I think they should know, particularly to avoid bullying.

by Bryony Harrison

Kids learn the truth eventually, if not from television then from other kids at school. I don't think kids get heart broken, it's just a passage in life like any other kind of coming to a 'realisation'.

by pinky

Maybe the idea of telling the truth from day 1 i.e. from the beginning should be entertained. I have never quite grasped the idea of telling a tale of Santa or tooth fairy or Easter Bunny and then later on finding out that it was indeed merely a fable. If the value of truth is to be upheld, then why not tell the truth from the beginning, and the good character of Santa can be told as a true story i.e. a Saint who helped the under-privileged, a moral value to be inspired for.

by Happy Mom

Great question! Honestly I don't believe a parent should 'break the news' to their children, it could open the door to other situations where kids might think their parents are lying to them. Kids find out the truth about Santa, the Tooth Fairy etc eventually, usually at school via their peers.

by EricaL

I had never heard of an Easter Bunny until I was about 35. Likewise the Tooth fairy.
We had "The Fairies" for teeth, but we stopped losing teeth at about 10-11, so the legend faded.
I have a real issue with the Santa thing. I wish I had children to have tried outlawing him altogether.
I recall staying awake for a gift to arrive at the foot of my bed. I saw who delivered it, but was not alarmed, and went to sleep.
From that point onward, there was no expectation of a Santa.
We had a tradition that your first wristwatch came when you entered high school. It came from the parents, so Santa was gone by then.
As I grew, my expecttions and beliefs changed and I had other things to think about without being actually told the truth.
I have to wonder why I was lied to in the first place.

by nsw

Unfortunately, I don't think there ever is a 'right' time, when my older sister told my sister and I (aged five at the time), that Santa didn't exist we cried; believing in something magical is part of your childhood, and although the bubble eventually bursts, under eight years of age is a bit cruel in my opinion.

by Jamie0liversgirl

I love the idea of Santa and I plan to keep it going as long as I can. Even though the kids in our family are older, I still enjoy the mystery of Christmas. In fact, I think the family is following the tradition because of me.

by Ivana Katz

My sons are very young now and are unaware of Santa. From day one they will be told the truth. As a matter of fact we won't be teaching them any fables.

by dwatk