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Or should you let them find out from their friends at school?

friends at school keith.

When I believed Santa was real it was awesome.

mine found out naturally from friends etc

around 8-9 if I recall

2. Crush them at a young age.

I was 8 listening to Alan Robson's Nightowls (was a radio programme on Metro Radio) the topic was; When to tell your kids the truth about Santa. vbhnjmkgrf,[ew.x

lol, some 8-year-old probs browsing this thread right now thinking vbhnjmkgrf,[ew.x

they'll be fine. no-one's actually said what the truth is yet

I knew mine were playing me from about the age of 9 but said nothing.  By the time they hit 11 handing over their obscene list with the sly grin I broke.

Hannah's happily believed in him every year until now.  She'll be turning 8 just after christmas.

This is a conversation we had the other day (had to really think on my feet and wish i'd prepared for the day it would come!):

'mum, did you know some people think father christmas doesn't exist?'

'oh.  who thinks that?'

'rachel at school. she said some people think he doesn't exist.  does he exist?'

'well.....do you think he exists?'

'yes, I think he must be real'

'well, if you believe in him, then it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks, does it?'

She dropped it after that.  I've got a feeling this might be the last Christmas before the magic ends though :(

I'd just let them find out for themselves. My 7/8 year old boys have pretty much sussed it. Trying to convince them he does exist for this year, and if they're naughty he won't bring them anything, but they're on to the blackmail.

Trying to convince them God doesn't exist, on the other hand, is a f,,king nightmare. And God doesn't even bring them presents. Bloody R.E. teachers. I'd cheerfully shoot the lot of them into space.

Sorry, rant over :).

lol - all sounds very familiar ::)

Tell them Father Christmas won't be coming any more because God killed him.

He is real
He asked me to buy a number plate for him

HO IIO HO

HO HO HO

My three are in their 20's and I haven't told them yet.  ;booder;

OMG Please tell me it's not true!!!

Keith - just tell them Father Christmas is a Watford fan and Jake will (hopefully) want nothing to do with him anyway.

This is apparently the most reprinted editorial in the English speaking press

http://www.newseum.org/yesvirginia/

Most men have 3 stages in life:

1. you believe in Santa

2. you ARE Santa

3. you look like Santa

I am in stage 2 and I love it!

As for the question, lie to them as long as you can. they will spend the rest of their lives hearing lies so give them the practice.

Also, you can choose to believe as long as you like, it's just what you believe that changes.

My 'friend' decided she would never lie to her children so she explained to them right from the start that Santa was imaginary. Admitedly thay are well adjusted kids but they have lost such a fun part of childhood, it's way to quick before we have to grow up and deal with truth all day.

She is no longer a friend by the way - I am thinking of stating a facebook page  saying ~~~~ ~~~~~~ is a biatch.

Keith - let him find out from friends - it happens so naturally and its much better that way imo.

Quick delete this please if Girgy reads it you will upset him

I went from stage 2-3 in about 2 years once my kids came along. In fact I was chosen to be santa at my kids school christmas fair. Think they couldn't afford any padding.


 rotflmfao

On thinking about it, that'll make them more likely to believe in God. ;frustrated;

my kids are 7-10-11 and they all believe in Mr Claus i would not have it any other way
i think eldest might of sussed being in "big school"
but she still plays along
hell i  still got a card from "Santa" whilst i was in the army .....he even found me in germany ...wow
don't ever tell them let them make there own mind up its all part of life

My Mum one January asked me out of the blue if I believed in Father Christmas.  I said yes I did and she said okay.......curious I asked her why did she want to know???  She said because she had seen a ZX Spectrum plus in the January Sales and was going to get it but if I believed in Father Christmas then he would have to get it for the year after.  I swiftly told her I had known all along that he didn't exist and could I get it now.  It was the first of many times that I would abandon my beliefs for monetary gain sadly.....

haha quality

lol to the zx spectrum i had a rubber keyed model which was 16k and had a booster pack that plugged in the back 32 to make me the same as me mates...48k lol

until this pc i am typing on now was last computer i had ...omg ...lol

oh yea and mrs fish always "listens out for the bells on his sleigh at midnight"

I remember running an experiment at a young age.

A tooth had come out and I wasn't entirely convinced that the tooth fairy was real. So I put it under my pillow and didn't tell my parents. No 50p the next day :( I then told my parents a tooth had come out and got told to put it under the pillow. 50p the next day. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

You have to lose the tooth AND be good. I thought everyone knew that!

These last few weeks, whenever Molly (3) is refusing to comply with an instruction I get Mummy to pass me the phone and I announce that Daddy is going to call Santa.

Instant obedience along with desperate pleads not to call Santa is the result.

enjoy it, its a great age. In 4 years time it will be oh so different!

you don't even need to bother with the phone.  as santa is magic you can just talk to him telepathically.

Just ask mum to pass you the shillelagh. It works right up into their teens.

like

meh, props ftw

yeah obv, but worth bearing in mind if you don't have a phone handy.  hannah bought it anyway.

I think the phone I used today to phone santa was that plastic one I won for speaking to that guy in the toga in O'Neills.

lolz forgot about that.  I wonder how William is getting on?

LOL, I had the self same starter conversation with Tariq this year ... he also said that some people at school believe its your mum and dads that buy the presents.

So, I told him that in this day and age there are sooo many children around that Santa couldn't possibly afford to buy all of those presents and deliver them all in one night, so to help him out parents buy the main presents and Santa does the stockings, and Santa choses one present from the list to put into the stocking. 

I always wrap up the stocking gifts in a different wrapping paper from the rest of the presents, and do the glass of milk and cookie thing as well ...

Tariq thought about this for a while and said 'hmmmm well I suppose that would make more sense. But, do YOU believe in Santa mum.   Eek ........... what to answer here ..... so I said well yeah I do in a way because it's a magical thought for me but I have never seen him so thats why I really want to go to Lapland one day to find out for sure ;-)     

I hold my hands up, I am a total kid at heart as far as Christmas is concerned and do get excited on Christmas eve setting up the 'stage' per se .....

Molz loves it. She's forever pressing the buttons and making calls.

At the moment the trend seems to be to phoning ASDA. "Hello is that ASDA? ... I'm going to come buy a sweetie." Then she hands the phone to me and says "It's ASDA daddy, they want us to come and buy a sweetie."

clever girl :)

I'm going to have to retract this statement, a bit.  She just came out with a cracking quote:

"it's nearly Christmas Mummy! We're just counting down the days until baby jesus, who doesn't actually exist, wasn't born"

Sigh. Want to swap?

Bump

Lewis is in his final year .....to many at school don't believe ): 





(http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/christmas/stuck-santa-smiley-emoticon.gif) (http://www.sherv.net/emoticons.html)

My Mrs still puts carrots out in a sack for the reindeer.

My lad is 8, and figured it out last year, aged 7.
Think my daughter was about the same age when she cracked it.
I never told them outright, I just helped them to ask the right questions and figure out it made no sense at all.
Both were initially a little upset, but when they realised they would still be getting presents without the fat red anti-burglar, they were fine.

I used Santa and the Tooth Fairy to help develop their critical thinking skills, then have them apply it to religions too.
works a treat.
Two happy little atheist :)

If you could just flick a switch and suddenly believe there was a God and a Heaven, and that when you die you would go there to spend all eternity with your loved ones, living in peace and being happy, would you flick it?

I am not sure if my 6 year old believes any of it.  I think it doesn't help that she picks up presents from 3 different places.  My wife happily walked in last year and asked her if my daughter liked the present that she had bought her.

We went to a grotto last week.  They had a picture of a real reindeer with Rudolph written underneath.  "Why hasn't Rudolph got a red nose?".   

It is odds on we don't get through Christmas.

When do we start giving the fuller answer to where do babies come from?   

 

im confused... what do you mean the truth about santa?

There's no Santa? Bastards.........  :'(

 ;gobsmacked; ;dingdell; :dontask:

With the age gap between me and my brothers (4 Years to my older brother and 6 years to my younger) we were the key in keeping the younger brother believeing for longer, probably because it improved our day. Christsmas is so much better when believeing and it does no harm believeing for as long as possible i think i was in year 6 when i stopped believeing so 10/11 and was gutted. But then the next year my mum and dad stressed we had to keep the secret for our little brother and to be in on it with my mum and dad made it good fun also. I know cannot wait to have my own kids and be uncle to my brothers kid on route next year to feel these special times again. We went away this weekend with some friends who had kids aged 5 and 8 both still believed but the 8 year old was putting up some resistance, i believe i played my part in helping the parents get one more year out of her this year just because i know how special it is.

Tbh honest I'm fed up with it!!

Every year I spend a fortune on presents for the kids and that big, fat ,hairy fucker takes all the credit. I fucking hate my Mrs sometimes!!

This is funny on so many different levels..  rotflmfao

absolutely not.
why would I want to?

separate thread maybe. haven't had a good theological scrap for a while have we :)

I started something yesterday, that I've been meaning to do for a while, and that's read the bible cover to cover, word for word.
I know to form a balanced opinion/broad knowledge, I'll need to read more than just 1 religious text, but you have to start somewhere.

Maybe I'll find God, or maybe I'll thoroughly reinforce my atheism.

I just started with Genesis 1 yesterday and wrote some notes which I posted on FB.
Maybe I'll start a thread here in the new year.
Maybe I'll keep it to myself :)

 :D I don't think I've ever heard quite such a good illustration of Marx's, "Religion is the opium of the people"

Don't get me wrong, I'm an atheist too, but I'd click it.

I think the question is, why wouldn't you want to?

My 4 year old knows its make believe, no idea how but she just likes the whole thing!

And that's the point.

For young children, the line between make believe and reality is very blurred, that's what makes play such fun.

When I was little, I knew in my heart of hearts that I wasn't really Roy Rodgers or Captain Scarlet, but I chose to suspend my disbelief because, like all children, I could. 

god must exist ,you dont hear people calling ..o my santa ,o my santa,.....in porno films

all fiction in books and films would be a lot less enjoyable if we weren't still able to do the same things as adults.

It's a different form, but it's still the same thing

Because I care if what I believe is true or not.
Flicking this switch to make me believe something that has no good evidence to back it up is a horrible thought to me.

Besides, eternity is a bloody long time.
Would you really want to experience living FOREVER?
A theme that comes up very often in films or tv shows with a supernatural theme is that living for never is used as a curse or a punishment. That seems right to me.

As i say,  maybe a diversion like this deserves it's own thread.

If you flicked the switch, it would be true as far as you're concerned.

Living for ever with your loved ones in a place where everyone is happy and no one ages.... What's not to like?

It wouldn't be true, just because I believed it.
It would still be a fantasy, I'd just be tricked into believing it was reality.
 
Doing or experiencing anything for all eternity would be an absolute drag.
We're finite, and that's as it should be.
When talking to my 8
Year old about death recently, I asked
Him how he felt 200 years ago about not being alive yet?
Because that's precisely how you'll fell in 200 years about being dead.

Your time here is short. Fill every day with something worth while.
When we eat together every evening, I don't ask the kids what they did at school today, I ask them what they LEARNED today.
What do they know today that they didn't known the day before.

I lead by example and try and read a wiki article or some current affairs at lunchtime.
Days where I'm too busy at work with the routine stuff feel like real wastes.

Much better to make full use of the time we are alive that fantasise about how we would like post-death to be.

You're assuming that if you flicked the switch, you still wouldn't truly believe.

What if someone flicked it for you?

No, I'm saying if the switch was flicked, by me or whoever else, and I truly believed it, that wouldn't make it true.

Now, pre-switch-flicked, I hate the idea of a switch being flicked that made me blind to truth and made me believe a fantasy was real.

(http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/confused/i-dont-know-smiley-emoticon.gif) (http://www.sherv.net/emoticons.html)

Can defo relate to this.

Took my son to the cinema today and as we were early we went in a couple of shops. He pointed at several things and proudly stated 'i'm getting that for christmas and that and that'.
When I asked why he thinks that he states that they were all items on his letter to santa so he is defo getting them!!

He has just turned 7 so if he doesn't figure it out by next year he will be getting told a few facts

My 10yr old daughter posted her letter today.

Simply addressed Santa Clause, North Pole.

Apparently a stamp wasn't required!

My son has just turned 8 and still believes. Really thought he would have found out by now as he moved up to junior school in September.

Does know the tooth fairy isn't real, as one of his classmates caught his dad taking the tooth from under his pillow and putting money there!!

The old line of 'why dont you get me anything for xmas like santa does' wears thin quickly