Children and the truth about Santa

[Chessmistress]

When you have been told the truth about Santa?

The issue, apparently silly, could be more relevant than most people would think.
Interesting articles from psychologists, with two different positions about the issue:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/pl ... objections

http://www.pbs.org/parents/holidays/is- ... out-santa/

Personally I have been told the truth about Santa about between 3 and 4, I'm not sure since I was too young.
Personally, I decided to not perpetuate the myth with my kid.

Perpetuating the myth, and basically lying, for years, to your child, it's an absolutely good thing, it's a necessary evil, or perhaps is simply a bad thing?

What do you think NSGs?

[Narintia]

When you have been told the truth about Santa?

The issue, apparently silly, could be more relevant than most people would think.
Interesting articles from psychologists, with two different positions about the issue:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/pl ... objections

http://www.pbs.org/parents/holidays/is- ... out-santa/

Personally I have been told the truth about Santa about between 3 and 4, I'm not sure since I was too young.
Personally, I decided to not perpetuate the myth with my kid.

Perpetuating the myth, and basically lying, for years, to your child, it's an absolutely good thing, it's a necessary evil, or perhaps is simply a bad thing?

What do you think NSGs?

Wait Santa's not real?

[Chessmistress]

When you have been told the truth about Santa?

The issue, apparently silly, could be more relevant than most people would think.
Interesting articles from psychologists, with two different positions about the issue:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/pl ... objections

http://www.pbs.org/parents/holidays/is- ... out-santa/

Personally I have been told the truth about Santa about between 3 and 4, I'm not sure since I was too young.
Personally, I decided to not perpetuate the myth with my kid.

Perpetuating the myth, and basically lying, for years, to your child, it's an absolutely good thing, it's a necessary evil, or perhaps is simply a bad thing?

What do you think NSGs?

Wait Santa's not real?

Plase don't be so direct!
Be more subtle, please!
I didn't use such so direct and harsh words, just because I didn't wish to hurt intersectionalists

[FelrikTheDeleted]

Hey a Chessmistress thread that hasn't got anything to do with the sexes. Cool.

I was told the truth when I was over nine. This being mainly because my parents wanted me to have me think that this big man in a red suit would appear every year and give us presents.
Personally once my children have aged over 12, I'd tell them.

[Ashmoria]

the santa thing is harmless as long as you don't force your kids to believe after they are too old to believe or even to lie about it. what I did when my son was young was to answer a certain way--"mommy does santa really exist?" "son, everyone believes in santa at Christmas time" or "kids who don't believe in santa don't get presents from santa"

my son thinks he never believed in santa. of course he did, all kids do.

....

its easier when there is only one kid in the house. when you have more the older can decide to torment the younger with "the truth" until they cry.

[Narintia]

Wait Santa's not real?

Plase don't be so direct!
Be more subtle, please!
I didn't use such so direct and harsh words, just because I didn't wish to hurt intersectionalists

ooo
well sorry kids, you found the truth

Anyway, I wouldn't even tell kids there was a santa. If they asked who it was I would just keep on saying ''guess''
What my parents did with me, and I'm just fine

[Pasong Tirad]

Aw man does this mean those presents I got didn't come from Santa after all?

[Na h-Alba Nuadh]

Never told either of my children anything untrue about Santa/Father Christmas, always told them he is a real anthropomorphic personification, and read them Hogfather.

Not my fault it took them so long to learn what "anthropomorphic personification" means

[PaNTuXIa]

I simply realized that he wasn't real. It isn't fucking rocket science.

[HUElavia]

I was never told that Santa wasn't real, but I figured it out when I sat down and thought about it and I put two and two together and I just stopped believing.

[Victorious Decepticons]

My mother never outright told. In fact, she'd angrily insist he was real for years as if that made it more believable (actually, it was the first clue that she was BSing!). However, a loudmouth kid in 6th grade debunked it to the point that Snopes would be jealous. After that, I spent the next five years - until age 16 - turning the tables and milking it for all sorts of presents I wouldn't have gotten if I didn't play along.

Finally my mother asked me if I still believed in Santa and I admitted that I didn't...at 17.

[Ashmoria]

My mother never outright told. In fact, she'd angrily insist he was real for years as if that made it more believable (actually, it was the first clue that she was BSing!). However, a loudmouth kid in 6th grade debunked it to the point that Snopes would be jealous. After that, I spent the next five years - until age 16 - turning the tables and milking it for all sorts of presents I wouldn't have gotten if I didn't play along.

Finally my mother asked me if I still believed in Santa and I admitted that I didn't...at 17.

lol

she had it comin'

[Jello Biafra]

I wasn't really told the truth by my parents, they just stopped telling me about Santa. I think it was easier for them because in our house we always had presents we gave each other and presents Santa brought for us. Initially when I heard from other kids that there was no Santa because they'd seen their parents wrapping gifts I told them of course they would be because parents also give gifts. At some point there stopped being 'from Santa' on my presents. At around 12 or so I was a little bit skeptical, so I decided to ask both of my parents 'How come I don't see 'from Santa' on my presents anymore?' They looked at each other and I could tell. The next Christmas, 'from Santa' was on my presents again. That was all the confirmation I needed.

[Internationalist Bastard]

I mean, it sounds cruel but, Santa doesn't visit orphanages. I never had any reason to really believe it. That said, I see no reason to let people beleive

[Ifreann]

All you blasphemers aren't going to get any presents this year.

[Peoples United Northen Army]

I was five. In a nutshell what happened is I though about it for a second, and then I said something like "Santa's not real."
Then I played some Combat Evolved.

[Ashmoria]

All you blasphemers aren't going to get any presents this year.

that is exactly the point i made to my son AND his gotta-tell-everyone-why-santa-is-bullshit friends.

santa doesn't bring presents to those who don't believe in him.

that tends to be enough to shut the little know-it-alls up.

[Maximil]

When my parents told me this at age 4, i was like "HAH, I KNEW IT!"

[Pasong Tirad]

I don't think there was one big point in my life when I just realized that Santa wasn't real. I'm not sure if I never really believed in him or if the belief just ^{faded away}. I always thought this was the case for a lot of us because a professor of mine once asked in class if anybody knew the exact point when they no longer believed and nobody could answer.

[Teemant]

I was never told but I'm sure that I never belived in Santa in the first place (as far back as I can remember).

[Skylus]

I was told by my mom around 11.

My brother found out cause the penned names on the presents were in my parent's handwriting.

[Lost Memories]

I found it out when I was 6 or 7, because I stayed awake to wait to see how it did happen, and while faking to be asleep I saw my father coming in the room to place the gifts.
When I found it out I was excited, not upset or offended to have been lied too. I was excited cause I figured it out by myself, and also cause I got one more confirmation that my parents did care about me, when my father was playing santa, he was santa.
Also later I rationalized that santa isn't a person but a role, and that role is taken by any person willing and available around.

When later I saw my classmates harassing others who didn't had found out yet, it felt vile and wrong, and unjust, by telling others they were taking away the chance of the others to discover it by themselves, which had been a positive experience for me, so from my point of view they were taking out a chance of something good happening to the ones who hadn't figured it out yet.
When I saw a classmate who hadn't figured it out yet, I played along with them, that was the best way to go I though, it was up to them to figure it out when they would have been ready.

The physical existence of santa may be a lie (an harmless one at that), but the existence of it's role is very real.
And telling about it to kids is to set up a nice experience, both for enhancing the experience of christmas and also for developing as person and understanding about lies and metaphysical matters.

[Lemmingtopias]

What truth?

Whats he done?

[Ifreann]

What truth?

Whats he done?

He hasn't been paying the elves' overtime.

[Kilobugya]

I've never been "told the truth", but I discovered it, or actually I just started asking too many questions about how he could possibly do it until my parents had to admit it wasn't true. Somewhere around 5 or 6.

As for doing perpetuating the myth, I think it's a pretty good thing. It teaches children to not blindly believe things they are told, and that when something looks impossible or inconsistent, it might very well be so. It's a first shot at atheism/skeptism/rational critique of non-sense, and in a non harmful way. When they believe, they have a nice cute belief that brings them joy, and once they understand the truth (that it's loving parents and relatives caring about them) the truth is even nicer.