When do kids stop believing?

For those who allow their children to believe in Santa clause, tooth fairy, Easter bunny etc. when do your kids usually stop believing in this stuff? My daughter will be 8 this year and still does without question but I’m unsure when this starts? And how do you handle that situation? Do you tell them yourselves at a certain point or wait until they ask?

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Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. When do kids stop believing?

My oldest is 9 and all my kids still believe. I have no intentions on telling them until they figure it out. :slightly_smiling_face: the day they stop believing will be a sad day for me!

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My 8 and 10 yr old still believe

Let her be a kid. As long as u can pull it off.

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My oldest was 8, he found out from friends at school. Let them believe as long as they want!

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Around 12 for all my kids

My son is in 5th grade, 11, and still believes. He’s asked if there is a Santa and I tell him that I believe.

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My daughter is 11 and still believes. She questioned it before and I just asked her if she believes in magic. She said yes so I said ok and left it at that :blush:

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My son is 9 and still believes in all that stuff, but has begun to ask questions, but nothing that would require revealing anything. I am waiting until they ask bc I want them to enjoy that as long as they can.

Mine will believe until they tell me otherwise. My 11yr old and 14yr old no longer do. But I have a 8yr old and 4yr old who do.

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With My kids when they were in grade 4 and a lot of the friends were saying it wasn’t real they didn’t believe it was real either when I thought about it

Let them believe until they tell you they no longer believe… the world is already messed up enough let them believe till they’re 15 if they choose too

My kids are 12&10 and still believe (my 12yo gets so excited for elf on the shelf) or maybe they know and don’t say anything lol but ill still play the part :smiling_face:

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My son is 9 and he stopped believing around 7 years old. Well he asked me for the truth and I was honest
With him and he was just like ‘oh okay that’s what I thought’ lol didn’t bother him much

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I tell them if they don’t believe that he (Santa) won’t come. You can tell when they figure out because they will either still have magic in their eyes or they will give you a little smile to let you know they’re catching on. :upside_down_face:

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My oldest did around 11

My brother is 30 I am 27 and my sister is 22 we all have children but none of us has ever asked or brought it up and we still get Santa and Easter presents :rofl:

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My oldest stopped believing around seven.

Omg I would never kill that magic. If they question it i lie :rofl::partying_face: I Spoil them until they graduate high school cause time flies!! :heart:. “Believe to receive”

Our oldest went all the way until 18. And that Christmas, we wrote him a letter from Santa thanking him for keeping his belief and keeping the magic alive for his siblings.

They will mention one day to you when their ready, Usually find out from their friends first and confirm it with you later

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When you stop believing you get underwear …

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What Santa isn’t real?? :scream::scream: kidding :grin:

I never actually sat them down and talked to them about it, now when they asked I did not lie, I answered truthfully…but if you are not ready to talk to your kids about it, just wait, because some bratty bad a$$ kid will come along in 2nd or 3rd grade and tell them Santa isnt real (or any of the other fairy tale things you mentioned)

Let her believe as long as she can! My parents made the magic of Christmas and Santa so special. They are some of my fondest childhood memories. Most likely she will find out from friends at school. I plan to let my daughter believe and as long as she wants.

When mine questioned my line was the day you quit believing is the day you quit receiving. Never other questions and it kept the fun for the younger siblings.

Keep that innocence alive as long as possible!

Kids at school told my kids and I’m sometimes too honest with them… they found out around 7 buy we will do elf on the shelf and leave out cookies and play along.

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My mums policy was if we ask she’s honest. I’m not sure how old I was but my brother was around 11

Let them believe as long as possible they are only little once. My kids are 9 5 and 2 and the magic still lives

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My son was about 8 when he told me they weren’t real. And when he told me he knew they weren’t real I was honest and told him to keep it a secret from his younger sisters. And I told him you don’t need need to believe there’s a person associated with the holiday just believe in the spirit of the holiday

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Iv decided to just acted like they believe till I die lol
He’ll be 45 with one girt under the tree from Santa, and ima play it up too hahah

Ok what I’ve always done with most things that people differ in is teach my kiddos that some people believe and some don’t and that it’s ultimately up to them what they choose to believe in.
From religion to the tooth fairy I’m only here to foster their own ideas and help answer any questions they may have.
I’m honestly not sure when my older kids stopped believing but we have talked about it extensively and they both agreed that they would continue with how I handled things when/if they have kids of their own and as far as things like Santa and those things went once they were older they always looked forward to becoming the magic for smaller kids and now their little sibling.

I’ve heard a great way to explain the belief in Santa clause. When they start realizing he may not be real we tell them that Santa clause is the magic of Christmas. And it’s the older people’s jobs to keep that magic alive, and if they are now big kids it’s also their job to keep it alive for the littler kids. Something like this :sweat_smile:

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I’ll never tell them Santa isn’t real I’ll forever say I’m too poor someone brought all that good stuff

I wouldn’t say anything about it until she does. If one of my kids comes to me and asks I’ll tell them the truth. They only experience that kind of innocence once

My boys believed in all of those things at that age. They found out from friends at school. They eventually just asked me the truth. My son just came in at 13 and gave me his tooth and asked if the tooth fairy had $20 bucks for his tooth.

My youngest was told by her teacher Santa wasn’t real when she was 7. She then told her 8 year old sister. I was livid. The teacher had no right to announce to a classroom of children Santa wasn’t real. My son on the other hand believed up til he was about 12. (My kids have 11 & 12 years between them) He was allowed to believe for a lot longer than my girls. Not sure why people have to steal the joy of something so wonderful for a child. They grow so fast, faster now it seems! We still did Santa gifts and mom/dad gifts.

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My 9 year old still believes so :woman_shrugging:t3:

No advice, I just don’t know how to prepare myself for this heartbreak :sweat_smile:

Honestly, it’s usually other kids who ruin it for the ones who still believe. When this happened with my girls, I the told them the truth. But let them believe as long as they will!!! So much crap in this world today, let them be little for the time that they can.

If they ask questions I give honest answers. They usually hear from others at school . Think they were about 8yo when they really started being honest about not believing but had doubts around 7 .

I have 3 kids, the middle one blew it for everyone. He’s autistic and super analytical so he set a trap for the tooth fairy, knowing it would be me stepping on all those Legos. Then he told everyone, he was 7. My oldest was 9 and youngest was 6 and they still believed up until that moment of cusses and yelling ow.

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My daughter will be 12 tomorrow and 3 years ago my husband was burned on 40% of his body. He missed alot of work and so did I. That whole year was super challenging so I felt it was time to explain. She was upset at first but understood. Now, we still say Santa is coming and we still believe in the magic of everything. Holidays are a magical time anyways.

Kids naturally stop believing when they want. I stopped when I saw my mom bringing my stocking into my room. My SS did at 9 just because.

My 18 year olds believed until they were about 12. My 13 year old believed until he was about 10. My 8 year old, found out this past Christmas. All of them found out from classmates who already knew and ruined it for them.

I say with the way things are in this world, let them believe as long as you can! But once they know the truth, make sure they know it’s now their job to make sure younger siblings/friends keep believing. Teach them to help keep the magic alive for others.

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My daughter believed in Santa till she was 12! My parents still give me Santa gifts and stuff the stockings. It’s just the fun and magic of the season.
My daughter found out earlier about the Easter bunny because my in-laws have different traditions then my own.
There’s nothing wrong with believing in a little magic.

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My daughter was 10 when people in school told her Santa wasn’t real sadly…

Mine is 7 and the kids at school told her it was all fake she came home asking about it and I tried telling her they existed and she said no mom, they don’t it’s ok I know it’s all you and Dad haha what can you say to that? I couldn’t deny it.

I have 4 kids, 4, 9, 11, and 14. The 14 year old still believes… Well, she says she does but I’m pretty sure she’s just playing along at this point. She still gets money from the tooth fairy too. Again, I’m sure she’s figured it all out and just doesn’t want to stop the fun especially for the younger kids. We don’t go way out of our way to lie about it or anything, we just let the magic be.

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U don’t handle it. They eventually just kno its not real. I never had to say anything. My 15 year old just knows.

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My youngest is 10 and I just told him, but school kids and his older brothers ruined it for him so I told him the truth.

Mine youngest is 11. I’m pretty sure they know. But I tell them if they don’t believe in the magic of christ…Mas then we no longer need to celebrate it. Although my kids get gifts it’s less about that and more about family and celebration of the birth of Jesus.

wait until they say something. I was so upset & disappointed when my brother told me there was no Santa :frowning:

I was 10 when a friend told me. My little sister was 15 and a teacher told her!!! I have an 8 year old and 3 year old that still believe, I find cool things on Pinterest/Google to keep the magic alive

All of my kids believed until 13. I still have 4 that do. I have no plans on telling them. I’m going to let them keep that innocence for as long as I can. You’re only a kid once and for a little while after all.

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I feel like I knew around 9/10 and I think my daughter kind of has an idea at least about the tooth fairy she’ll be 9 in May… she’ll make comments but I haven’t said anything bc she has a younger brother and I don’t want to ruin it for him just yet

My son 9 still believes but kids do talk. And he said he does believe cause there’s no way we can do it all

There was no sense of creativity in my house growing up. I stopped believing the second I knew to look for a tag (age 3-4 probably) :
To Christina,
From : Santa,
because it was my mother’s handwriting. I pretended to keep believing not to hurt her feelings :disguised_face::woman_shrugging:
Everybody’s different. Society just makes a big deal of when you HAVE TO stop believing because you don’t want your kids going to school saying they got this and that from the Easter Bunny and the kids who are “old enough” to know better, male fun of them …
If your kid has a close friend, talk to his or her parents and ask them how they may feel

My 9yo figured it out a few years ago and she chooses to still believe for her siblings. I gave her the choice 100%

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My daughter was 13 years old when I told her and she was upset :cry::cry: and my son was 10 when someone spoilt it for him :roll_eyes:

I just told my daughter who is 12 last year that they wasn’t real, she has been suspicious for a couple years so I figured it was time to tell her. My youngest son who is 8 almost 9 still believes in them, I will probably tell him around the age of 12 as well.

Wait a second… Santa isn’t real? Wow thanks.

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My daughter was in 3rd grade. A classmate told her look in your mom’s truck , find your gifts there is no santa :face_with_symbols_over_mouth: oh I was MAD

My oldest, now 13, stopped believing in an actual Santa when he was about 9. He said there was no way some stranger comes into our house and leaves a gift lol but that he believed in more of a magical side of it cause Christmas always seems more magical I guess. So like a spirit of Christmas. My 3 & 4 yr old still believe so My 13 yr old helps make sure they continue that and acts just as surprised and happy at Easter and Christmas for them

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I think others can ruin it for others if they arent taught at a young age that everyone has their own opinions, beliefs, etc.

I ask my kids, do you still believe? Is it real for you? They say yes (ages 7 and 6, both boys) so i say okay well people may think different and that’s okay. If you do, then stand in that and it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks or says.

My 8 year old started asking questions. So we told her the truth. But she still believes in Santa. Christmas is magical :smiling_face:

My daughter told her whole kindergarten class that Santa wasn’t real. Upset some parents but it’s the truth. Don’t lie to your kids.

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My mom told me the day I stopped believeing is the day the gifts stop. My last Christmas with her I was 27 she still put from Santa.

It broke my niece’s heart. This is why you shouldn’t lie to your kids

My 11 year old still believes, unless she just has us fooled so her younger siblings still believe.

They know by 8
Only the won’t say just incase he’s real…
Parents who are materialistic tell the kids early because they want the gratitude not santa… One thing I do know though then when it’s gone it’s gone and Christmas is just boring until the grandkids arrive… Then it’s Christmas again

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My daughter is in 4th grade and came home from school and said “mom. My friend in class told me Santa isn’t real” and my reply was “sounds like that kid isn’t getting nothing from Santa” and she still believes. Lol

My 12 yr old still believes and I’m not going to tell him unless he starts asking questions. Kids are only kids for a short time let them believe in that magic and have that innocence for as long as possible

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My 6 yr old started questioning at 5. Only because her step sister (same age) is half raised in a household who has different religious beliefs. She asked, and I just said that if she wants to believe in Santa, that’s okay, if she wants to know more stances on it, that’s also okay. Same for Easter and every holiday. I was about 8 tho.

i would just wait until she mentions it herself. i remember my nephew when he was young, someone at school said he wasn’t real, he asked his mum and she just said “well what do you believe?” he said he believed santa was real, so she said something along the lines of “he’s real to you then, you
can believe in what or who you want” as he got older he stopped believing.

Some kids never grow out of it. My co-worker’s son is 15 and still believes in Santy Claus. Like legitimately believes and gets upset when people tell him that Santa is not real.

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I was 11 or 12 and figured it out myself. I didn’t even tell my mom I knew it was her because I wanted the extra presents lol :joy: I wasn’t mad or upset or anything but I guess it varies kid to kid

My mom is in her 60s and still hasn’t told us there isn’t a Santa :rofl: she still writes on all the tags from Santa, Easter bunny ect. She used to tell us when we were younger that if we didn’t believe in the magic we wouldn’t be able to see the magic. I still 1000% believe in my Mom’s “magic”. Not the magic of the pretend creatures that bring us stuff, but the magic that my mom was able to create for me as a child and continues to create for my children.

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My daughter is 8 and still believes, but I plan on telling her at age 10, I rather it be me than someone else, but she’ll still get to do all those fun activities, even though me and my brother knew about it, when we were teens my mom would still wait till we fell asleep to put the presents under the tree, it was cute Hahahahaha, one year when we woke up and saw nothing under it and we were sad, we found our christmas presents on top of the car :joy: Hahahahaha, so even though we were older, we still liked the surprise of receiving presents :purple_heart:

I waited tell my son asked me he was about 10 or 11 when he asked my daughter hasn’t asked and my son acts like his is still real won’t spoil it for my daughter. Just waiting tell she asks

I never told them, we never talked about it again. They are 16 and 19 and they just kept it going for the little cousins and their niece and nephew. I always said “You don’t believe, you don’t receive”

My oldest is 10. She still believes but I think she’s to a point that she questions it. Not to me, but to herself. So, I’ll continue to let her believe until she asks me straight up. When she asks me, I’ll be honest. Then she gets to be apart if the fun for her 7 year old brother a d 2 year old sister. But until she address it with me, I’ll let her believe whatever she wants.

My 11 year old did still believe in it til her daddy decided it was time for her to know that it wasn’t real I told her she could still believe it if she wanted to I still did til I was about 18 or 19…I think they should get to be a kid and if they stop believing on there own it’s their decision

I told my 3 year old son Santa isn’t real because it’s the first year he could understand and he is still choosing to believe in him lol he also likes to carry his elf on the shelf around. My husband isn’t happy about it :eyes::upside_down_face:

I told my oldest that if they ruined it for my youngest that the fairy tale creatures would stop coming. They are 19, 21, 25, & 29 and they still ask Santa for things. :rofl::rofl::rofl:

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I waited until my kids told me they didn’t believe anymore. My daughter was very young (kindergarten) because someone at school told her. The 13 yo sold still believes in Santa but he is also autistic. My 10yo son believes in Santa but no longer believes in the Easter bunny or tooth fairy

My daughter figured the tooth fairy out at like 6. She said well tinker bell is fake and fairies are fake so you must be the tooth fairy. Lol. My son was like 8. They both knew about the Easter bunny around 3rd grade. Smart kids will realize bunnies can’t go house to house leaving eggs . My daughter was in 4th grade when she knew Santa wasn’t real and my son in 5th. Most kids don’t go into middle school believing Santa. They will be picked on (I’m a teacher and see it first hand )

I have 7 babies and my oldest is 13 well in 13 days she will be 14 man… anyway from 14 to 4 and they all still believe in Santa and the Easter Bunny however we have never really done the tooth fairy they just give ne their teeth and say her mama keep this for me lol. I’m just going to let them believe until they tell me they don’t want to anymore… and I’m sure it’s coming for a few sooner than later :disappointed:

I told my kids before the kids at school could turn it into a cruel joke but instead of making ruining the magical feel of these holidays, we not only explain what the magic of believing is and how we get to be part of that hidden magic we include them as part of it. We include them in little set ups for the little ones, they get to sneak around, shake bells, jiggle handles, leave green glitter trails with little foot prints, they still participate and they still spread the whole believing is what keeps the magic alive.

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My daughter is 7, she’s started to ask questions like “is the Easter bunny real, is Santa real?” I always ask her what she thinks. If she says no, I’ll ask her why she thinks they’re not real. And then (if she still sticks with no) I’ll tell her she is correct but to not say anything about it to her brother or sister because they believe. She’s always been very good and understanding about everything. It’s never phased her. Ive always been extremely honest with her as well as my other kids, as I do not want to break their trust they have for me when they’re older.

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My 12 year old daughter believes in Santa bit not the Easter bunny. Apparently a man entering your house to leave gifts is more realistic than a giant bunny hiding eggs

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I would wait until she mentions it. It’s still magical to her. Let her believe until she asks! Just my opinion. :two_hearts:

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We personally tell our kiddos the truth from the get go, however, I have a cousin who believed until she was 12! Her friends would tell her the truth and she wouldn’t believe them lol. Her parents kept it alive for her until she finally concluded that it didn’t make sense on her own. All kids are different :heart: I would say if that’s what your family does, then keep it up until your kids point blank asks you and then you can be honest.

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None of them are real why let them believe in lies

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I was around 5 when I figured it out. I kept the magic alive for my brother tho. I think he was around 8/9 when he figured it out.

We told our kids from the day they were born that none of it was real

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We don’t do any of those but if we did I would wait until they ask themself.

I think it depends on child really my little girl is 8 and is already asking questions

We were always told if you want presents you have to believe in all these things LOL we just figured it out on our own. I’ll never tell my children that there’s no such thing as the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus. I still give my 16 year old step daughter an Easter basket and Santa gifts. It’s fun for the kids to believe in the magic and maintain their innocence and wonder! If you’re religious you can also explain the real meaning of it. I Just include Jesus allows Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny to bring us presents on his birthday and the day he rose from the grave on Easter.

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