Why We Told Our Seven-Year-Old the Tooth Fairy Wasn’t Real

I knew it was coming. The moment our son Max’s first baby tooth began to wiggle shortly before he turned six, I knew my rational, fact-hungry little guy was going to ask whether the tooth fairy was real.

When that bottom incisor popped out while we were on vacation, his first question was, “How will the tooth fairy know where to find me?” He wrote a note asking her to please deliver his prize to Pennsylvania, so he wouldn’t have to wait until we got home to Brooklyn to find it. “And pleaz leav my tooth,” he requested.

The next morning, the tooth was still under his pillow with one dollar magically nestled beside it. He came out to breakfast to show us and then asked my husband and me, “Did you put the dollar there?” I took a beat, and then said, “I’m pretty sure the tooth fairy did it.” He gave us the side eye and the questions continued until I finally said, “All I know is that when I lost my baby teeth, the tooth fairy always came.”

The interrogation stopped, and it took an entire year for Max’s next few teeth to loosen. By that time, he was newly seven and even more skeptical. “Mom, I need to know,” he said at dinner one night. “You have to tell me if the tooth fairy is real or not.” His tone was serious, almost pleading. I managed to punt the question again, but later that evening my husband and I reluctantly decided that it was time to clue him in.

He had lost only four teeth, and already he didn’t believe in the tooth fairy?! I had so wanted my firstborn baby to experience that particular bit of childhood magic. I wanted him to feel the wonder of possibility and believe in the unbelievable. How could we take that away from him?

Still, of all the countless pieces of parenting advice I have encountered, the one I turn to most often is: follow your kid’s lead. Maybe Max didn’t want or need the tooth fairy as much as I wanted him to.

My other concern was that if we told Max the truth, he might blab this exciting new fact to his friends (as seven-year-olds tend to do). Why did that worry me so much? Because that is precisely what I did at age eight after badgering my parents to tell me if Santa Claus was real. We are Jewish, so my parents probably figured, “What’s the harm?” But when I clued in my neighbor Jessica later that day, the shattered look on her face immediately let me know I had made a serious mistake.

So, one night at dinner, we told him the truth: “Yes, it was Mama and Papa who put the dollars under your pillow. We know that you are ready to hear it, so we are telling you. But some of your friends might still believe, so please don’t share this information with your buddies.”

He looked at us and his eyes widened. “I knew it!” he crowed. And then, another look washed over his face: relief. He seemed so proud to have been let in on this important, grown-up secret. And I realized that, for him, that mattered so much more than any sense of tooth fairy whimsy.

Every kid has their own relationship with the tooth fairy. I loved it so much, I pretended to believe long after I realized the truth. So, the calculation of when and how to break the truth will be different for each parent. But for Max, the magic wasn’t in a flying sprite delivering dollars for molars — it was in the moment of having his questions honored and taken seriously. I wouldn’t trade that for all the fairy dust in the world.

Leah Koenig is a writer and the author of six cookbooks, including The Jewish Cookbook and Modern Jewish Cooking. She also writes The Jewish Table, a weekly newsletter exploring recipes and stories from the world of Jewish food. Leah lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and two children.

Thoughts? Do the kids in your life believe in the tooth fairy? Do they love it or have complicated feelings?

P.S. A parenting mishap, and what’s the going rate for the tooth fairy?

(Photo by Tara Romasanta Photography/Stocksy.)

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Kerry

November 15, 2021 9:20pm 9:20 pm

I’m dealing with the consequences of telling my nine-year-old daughter the truth (after she kept herself up until 1 am trying to stay awake for the tooth fairy, then asked me directly if she was real). She cried for five nights straight (only after her little sister went to sleep so as not to ruin the magic for her – the sweetie) and is still crying every few nights. She says it is all she can think about when she goes to sleep at night. I’m getting concerned now, though I am still pretty sure I did the right thing.

I try to tell her to look for the magic in every day things, to see how much her dad and I love her and tried to make it special for her, and remind her that things always feel worse at night. Not sure what else to do for her at this point. Never expected her to be THIS upset.

Let’s hope she recovers from this soon – I’m dreading the end of the other special childhood magical things like the Easter Bunny and Santa (and hope that she figures those out herself).

Eliza

Reply to Kerry

January 3, 2022 1:07pm 1:07 pm

Kerry – my son had the same response when he was persistently doubting and asking really tough questions about Santa and has *begged* me not to ruin it for anyone else. I was SO careful about how I told him, I bought a book that explains the mythic story so gently and thoughtfully and he was so heartbroken and actually really lost a lot of trust he had in me (this was a few years ago now and he’s still a bit melancholy about the thought but not as desperately sad). Still, It makes me wish I had never started this particular kind of magic in the first place. Thank you for sharing – It makes me feel less alone in my worries!

rose

October 4, 2021 7:05am 7:05 am

I was 4 when I figured out that our version of Santa (Sinterklaas in the Netherlands) wasn’t real. It just rang so unbelievable that this dude was trotting across roofs! On a horse! Right.

So I asked my parents if maybe they had helped him? My dad relented. In a fit of rage I once told my absentminded little sister that he wasn’t real. Other than that I kept my mouth shut.

It always seemed a bit rude to me to perpetuate a lie to kids on such a big scale. I also hate how it’s used as a disciplinary stick to beat kids (wait till Santa hears about this!). We have whole parades organized in the Netherlands where Sinterklaas arrives (not to mention the blackface that still goes on at some of these….), it is televised. And for what? The whole notion of this white dude witnessing your every move to then ‘reward’ you with gifts (hi capitalism) at the end of the year. Nah.

I love the idea of instilling wonder and excitement into our children’s lives. But the whole Santa/toothfairy/Sinterklaas thing. Don’t love it.

Hollye

Reply to rose

October 4, 2021 3:19pm 3:19 pm

I agree with so much of this Rose! I really didn’t want to “do Santa” with my daughter. I don’t mind the story, I think it can be magical and fun and lovely, but I find the extent of the lying adults have to around it all to be exhausting, and I think we underestimate our kids ability to have magic and make believe on their own without us having to work this hard for it. And also yes- the capitalism! and now in America this Elf on a Shelf thing ugh.

I also find it frustrating that the first thing that people is ask is, “But what if your kid ruins it for other children?” to which I say, “that is not my responsibility! They are kids!” We have families who believe in God and families who don’t believe in God, and that question NEVER COMES UP. We don’t say, “Don’t tell Elizabeth that God isn’t real and ruin it for her.”

I remember I had several friends who stopped believing in Santa before I did as a child, and they “told” me and I remember talking to my parents about it, and my mom just saying, “Well, I guess she stopped believing in the magic. Do you want to stop believing in the magic?” and me being like, “um…NO.” So it was fine.

My daughter of course (best laid plans…) is already Obsessed with the story of Santa, but I think our plan right now is to present it as a Story and something that’s fun to pretend about on Christmas.

Cindy

October 2, 2021 10:54am 10:54 am

My children grew up with the notion of Santa. Just as our oldest was questioning his reality, a friend of my husband’s parents showed up unexpectedly on Christmas Eve dressed as Santa. Needless to say, our surprise was genuine which the kids witnessed as they hid upstairs. This cemented the belief in Santa for a couple of years.
My grandchildren are not growing up with the idea of Santa and the Easter Bunny although it is obvious that they want to believe. This year will be telling as my grandsons just turned 6 and can understand what is real and what is not. However, I hope the magic of Christmas is never goes away.

Jen

September 30, 2021 12:19pm 12:19 pm

I think a lot about this, as a doubting, struggling, yet wanting-to-believe person. When my kids have asked about Santa, et al, we’ve talked about it, what’s real, why we chose to do things the way we did. My oldest was annoyed I ruined the magic by telling him, my middle child already knew and it was no big deal, and my youngest said I lied. So I mostly just keep talking with them. I figure I can only give them the traditions that meant something to me, and then share my own perspectives and thoughts about them. These ongoing conversations have felt organic and incremental over the years, but one thing I notice I keep saying is that the magical feeling is always changing, and we have to keep seeking and finding it in new things. When I was 5, I found it in Santa. When I was a teenager, it was in books for me. Then it was in music, friends, and parties when I was a young adult. I had always heard it was to be found in nature, but I never discovered it for myself until my mid-30s. That was so lovely to find! Now, pushing 50, I just know it’ll show up. Just this morning, the joy and wonder showed up in full force when I watched a group of neighbors and kids rescue a runaway dog during the chaos of middle school drop-off. And then I relished telling the story to my husband over coffee.

Izzy

Reply to Jen

November 29, 2022 10:36pm 10:36 pm

In my family we do something calls the ”Tooth collector”. (this was came up with another family) She lives money AND a story about a unique fairy, each one is different. We originally did the tooth fairy but switched over. So far, we have an animal fairy (that one’s mine), an outer space fairy, a candy fairy, and a water fairy. We will have another in a few years. We pretty much all know she is our mother, (Iv’e seen her up to it) although my middle-child sister insists mom is SNEAKING OFF to see the fairies. It is still fun to pretend, thogth. We don’t do the Santa thing, (except we did try last year and mom took a pic for PROOF.) but she know of the man (Saint Nichols) who inspired Santa AND stockings. I told my cosines he was not real… My BFFS are Jewish. I am going to ask them what they did with their baby teeth.

Sara

September 29, 2021 8:42pm 8:42 pm

Folks, I mean no disrespect – but, as someone from a country/society without Santa, Easter Bunny or Tooth Fairy – WE STILL HAD MAGIC AND WONDER IN OUR CHILDHOODS. The aforementioned trio do not hold a monopoly over it. You just get giddy with excitement about other things.

julie

Reply to Sara

September 30, 2021 11:38am 11:38 am

Oh Sara. Thank you for boiling it down to its essence. I will be quoting you in the future. <3

rose

Reply to Sara

September 30, 2021 11:56am 11:56 am

Like what things? We need to know : ) Thank You!

Jemma

September 29, 2021 4:57pm 4:57 pm

My husband loves the whimsy of Santa and the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. He grew up without these stories and felt like he missed a big, magical part of childhood so insisted that our kid be allowed to get all these extra gifts and magic in their life. Imagine his disappointment when our kid lost their first tooth and looked at him askance when he talked about the Tooth Fairy. “Dad, you know it isn’t real right?” HA!

Oh well, he still has Santa Claus!

Emily

September 29, 2021 11:14am 11:14 am

Oh my goodness, reading all these comments has me SO excited for all these things with my son, who is 4 months old. So much to look forward to over the years!

Kelsey

September 28, 2021 10:30pm 10:30 pm

I’m so intrigued by the idea of Santa as a “lie.” For me, it was always a story, like a window into a magical world. One my favorite stories growing up was “The Polar Express” by Chris Van Allsburg. The way the children sneak out of the house, and their suburban street gives way to a snowy woods with a steaming train that carries them to the North Pole… In the end, the only gift is a bell. My parents told us about Santa, signed gifts from “Santa,” and even nibbled on cookies and carrots we left out, but it was all…magical.

Obviously, some kids are much more literal than me! I am a writer, and my imagination has always lived right on top of the real world. I constantly played imaginary games growing up, and to this day have a vivid memory of an elaborate childhood tree house, which was actually just a single foothold on the trunk of an ordinary tree, but in my head… oh, my! I would never be disappointed to be told that the tree house didn’t exist. It DID exist.

Katie

Reply to Kelsey

September 29, 2021 9:32am 9:32 am

Kelsey, what an interesting take! I’m a writer, too, and while the magic of Christmas will never be gone for me, I was absolutely shattered the year I learned Santa wasn’t real — so much so that not a Dec. 24 goes by that I don’t remember the exact poignant pain in my heart while I stared out my bedroom window, circled in colorful lights. It was a real heartbreak! I’d wanted to believe to badly.

As a parent now, I tell my kids that Santa is what we call the magic of Christmas, that it’s fun to pretend he’s real and we all join in on it. Ever since I was a kid, it’s pained me to lie. Like, I get nauseated and all. I can’t stand the idea of fibbing to my kids about someone being real when they’re not. Yet we still talk about Santa and magic and reindeer and all that.

I’ve also found that you can totally skirt the issue by simply replying to an inquiring child, “Well, what do YOU think?”

Kristin

September 28, 2021 9:30pm 9:30 pm

I had just been to DC when our daughter lost her first tooth, and had a gold Susan B. Anthony dollar I’d gotten in change from the Metro. I put that under her pillow, and she was very excited to show us in the morning. Then she got a look on her face and asked if I’d ever had a gold dollar. I said yes. She asked where it was now. I don’t lie to my kids, so I fumbled and said it was around somewhere. She demanded to know if I was the tooth fairy, and wouldn’t let it go until I finally admitted it. I thought she’d be disappointed, but she just asked happily, “Can I see my tooth again?” Not much later, at the age of 6, she demanded to know how NOT to have kids, and that’s a VERY funny story for another day.

Reply to Kristin

September 30, 2021 10:19pm 10:19 pm

Kristin, I lol’d – I still remember when I first moved to DC, put a $20 into the metro and asked for change and was rewarded with fifteen Susan B. Anthony gold coins. I was going out! Where was I going to put them?! But also, I needed that $15!

S.T.

September 28, 2021 7:26pm 7:26 pm

We had to tell my son, who was 10, that Santa wasn’t real. He still believed it so strongly that he was getting into arguments with his friends at school about it. We realised that if we didn’t tell him the truth he would end up feeling really foolish and resenting us for tricking him. He cried for about an hour, but after that he seemed ok with it.

Hayley B

September 28, 2021 5:59pm 5:59 pm

Tangent: All these comments remind me of that stellar 2012 animated Dreamworks movie, Rise of the Guardians, about precisely this — protecting children and their sense of wonder and magic for as long as kids around the world believe in them. Anyone else seen/remember it? There was Santa of course, and the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy, but also Sandman and Jack Frost, voiced by the divine Chris Pine. I always thought that movie captured the spirit of childlike wonder and innocence much better than, say, Polar Express (the weird 3D one with the train conductor voiced by Tom Hanks). Oh and Klaus was a fantastic Xmas-themed animated flick too — it’s basically Santa’s origin story, and crazy funny to boot.

The tooth fairy never came to my house growing up and I don’t plan to have children myself, so I will never have to grapple with whether to perpetuate these myths to the next generation. But! I do believe that done thoughtfully and from a place of love, it ought to give kids a sense that there’s still whimsy and joy in the world, however fleeting it might be. And I say that’s something we can never have too much of, even if just for a little bit longer (until they either figure it out themselves or just plain grow out of it). Personally I was quite the sceptical child and I don’t think that I would have believed my parents if they had tried to tell me that a fae creature makes multiple visits to my room to leave me money in exchange for my baby teeth each time one fell out, but I would probably have played along for the cold hard cash, ha!

September 28, 2021 4:01pm 4:01 pm

According to my parents, I was 4 when I asked if Santa was real. I actually prefaced it with “Daddy, you wouldn’t lie to me, would you?” lol and my parents were surprised because it was nowhere near Christmas. After asking whether or not I thought Santa was real and my saying no, they told me the truth. I figured the same went for the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy. I don’t think my not believing in those figures made my childhood any less special. Santa still filled stockings and gave gifts in our house, and teasing my dad by saying we should make cookies for Santa I knew he didn’t like or recognizing my mom’s handwriting in Santa’s notes were fun in a different way.

My younger brother was in second or third grade when he found out the Easter Bunny wasn’t real. We were on a sailboat for Easter and in the middle of collecting eggs that were hidden around the boat, he stopped and we could all see the wheels turning in his head. He softly said, “Bunnies can’t swim” and looked crushed. My mom tried to tell him that a magical bunny could definitely hop on water, but my brother had realized the truth. He was devastated and cried for a while. I think more than anything he was embarrassed that he had believed.

I don’t plan to have children, but if I ever do, I don’t think I’ll perpetuate the magical holiday creature myths. My mom always spoke of Santa etc as being fun personifications of giving spirits that are actually acted out by lots of different people. For me, that’s still plenty magical.

Elizabeth S

September 28, 2021 3:33pm 3:33 pm

These comments are all so great! So many different ways to experience parental love and magic.
In our house our 3yr old (then 2) was terrified of Santa coming to our house, over and over she cried that she didn’t want him to bring her any presents. But she said, it would be ok if Frosty the Snowman brought her something! So that’s what we do. Frosty brings presents while she sleeps and Santa is NOT invited to our house.

Kirby

Reply to Elizabeth S

September 28, 2021 4:36pm 4:36 pm

super cute

Mel

Reply to Elizabeth S

September 29, 2021 10:32am 10:32 am

Our child was/is the same. They said they “didn’t want THAT MAN on the roof” but “he can leave presents in the car”.

Meg

September 28, 2021 3:21pm 3:21 pm

I was a pretty cynical kid who never bought into make believe characters like Santa and the Tooth Fairy (or God- to my parents chagrin). But there is so much wonder and beauty in science and nature I never felt like I missed out on the fun of otherworldly mystery.

Whitt

September 28, 2021 3:15pm 3:15 pm

In 2nd grade I was snooping and found a stash of Christmas presents. A few days later those same presents appeared in our living room in the spot where Santa would typically leave gifts. Crushed– but kept my realization to myself for about a year. One night, my family was watching a news segment about a wunderkind who was close to my age, but already in college. I started sobbing and apologizing for snooping as soon as the interviewer asked if they “still believed in Santa.”
20 year later, I’ve got a pretty incredulous 5 year old, who I’m sure will figure it all out well before I did.

Chelsea

September 28, 2021 3:06pm 3:06 pm

When my oldest child was 4 he asked me if Santa was real. I said, “What do you think?” He answered, “not real.” I told him he was right, but also reminded him that many of his friends still believe in Santa, so he should keep this information to himself. He is very logical and smart, so it just made sense to me to be honest with him and follow his lead, as you mentioned. He also deducted that the tooth fairy was not real, so we leave our kids a dollar and a note letting them know how proud we are of them and how cool it is that they are growing up when they lose their teeth. They don’t seem to mind who it is leaving the tooth money or Christmas presents, as long as the still receive them!

Sarah

Reply to Chelsea

October 1, 2021 4:56pm 4:56 pm

I do the same! I just couldn’t lie to my kids. However, my 5 year old son tries to convince me that Santa is real.

Christmas magic

September 28, 2021 2:58pm 2:58 pm

When I was around 10 years old (the eldest of 4 children), my mum asked me if I wanted to be Father Christmas’s helper that year as I was a bit older. I knew what she was trying to say and was horrified at the idea, refused, and it was never mentioned again. I am now 33, my youngest sibling 24 and Father Christmas still visits us all every year, wether we are together as a family or not, thanks to a lot of organisation on my mum’s behalf and some help from my husband.

The rules are still the same, in bed before midnight on Christmas Eve so F.C can do his work, no peeking in the living room until everyone is up in the morning. No referring to the fact that the presents are bought, wrapped and posted by my mum!
My husband made the mistake of not taking it seriously one year and leaving the sack of wrapped F.C presents out early in the day on Christmas Eve. Now he is well trained at keeping them hidden and ‘sneaking ‘ down with them after I go to bed. I do the same with his.

We have a toddler and this requires some careful coordination between me depositing her presents from F.C and my own gifts being “ delivered”. I hope to continue these family traditions with her long after she realises the truth, when everyone plays along it means our Christmases have always been magical even as adults!

Christmas Magic

Reply to Christmas magic

September 28, 2021 3:05pm 3:05 pm

Also, I don’t remember when I actually learned the truth about Father Christmas but it was quite late on. We all took the rules about never seeing him very seriously and as children were desperate to get to bed lest we bump into him by mistake. I remember being truly petrified of opening my eyes in the night and ruining everything by accidentally seeing or hearing him at work. I have a vivid memory of seeing a shadow in my doorway one Christmas Eve ( probably my dad checking in) and being so convinced I’d seen Father Christmas that I ran into my parents room in tears to tell them what “I’d done”. They were quite bewildered and tried in vain to convince me that I was imagining it!

Amber

Reply to Christmas magic

September 28, 2021 4:02pm 4:02 pm

Christmas magic, I love this, and I totally relate! My family does the same level of taking Santa seriously, even/especially more so after my sister and I grew up. When we still went home for Christmas during college and in our twenties, we would sneak out after my parents went to bed to help put out a specially wrapped gift Santa had gotten for them (and make sure Santa took a bite of the cookies that were left out), and they would do the same the early in the AM. Then Christmas morning, my sister and I would get up and run around the house yelling “SANTA CAME!” and waking my parents, who would tell us that Christmas doesn’t start until the coffee was made. Literally we did this same routine from childhood through adulthood. I don’t even remember when we learned that mom and dad might be in on the Santa magic, or when we started participating ourselves (it was never spoken), but the magic never went away! I’ve carried on the tradition with my husband and now our toddler, and no one is more excited than me on Christmas morning to see what special gift Santa put under the tree for each of us (most gifts are from us, but there’s always one special Santa gift), and to see what cookies he liked most from the cookie plate we put out for him. I definitely still yell “SANTA CAME!!!” With the same sense of magic!

Abby

September 28, 2021 12:54pm 12:54 pm

My parents were pretty religious when we were young and never taught us to believe in Santa Claus, the tooth fairy or the Easter bunny. We knew that Santa Claus was something other kids believed in and my parents always tell this story about a time when we were driving by a man dressed up as him and my brother screamed out the window, “hey, there’s that guy we don’t believe in!” Now that we are older they’ve admitted they regret not bringing those magical moments into our childhood, but I have the warmest, fondest memories of the holidays as a child. Sometimes all you need is love to make the memory stick.

Tara T

September 28, 2021 12:05pm 12:05 pm

My oldest accidently swallowed her first loose tooth, so we had to negotiate a deal between the Tooth Fairy and the Toilet Troll… I think it’s safe to say we’re all in on the Tooth Fairy, Santa, etc.

Anna

Reply to Tara T

September 30, 2021 10:06pm 10:06 pm

Hahaha!!!!

Lisa

September 28, 2021 12:05pm 12:05 pm

A, I agree – our family is Atheist, and we always have done Santa, who, in our family, works together with the, literal translation, “christ child”. Some years, Santa brings the presents (and he has a list with good and not-so-good deeds with him, which I did not appreciate as a child) and when Santa doesn’t have time, the Christkind comes around and leaves the presents under the tree. This always coincides with our afternoon walk and interestingly enough, Santa hasn’t been around for years, since we don’t have little kids any more… ;) I have no idea where the Christkind comes from, but for is it has nothing to do with baby Jesus, that’s for sure.
Long story short, the celebration may be rooted in the Christian tradition of my country, but for us, it is a celebration of family and we all love to come together once year in varying combinations (living all over the place) to talk, laugh, eat and relax. I feel we made it our own.
A fun little tradition we established over the years is that after the aforementioned walk and the following obligatory cake/cookies and coffee, my sister and I read a little Christmas story before opening presents. This year, we will be 23 and 31, and we are still going to do it.
And I am really looking foreward to share our family’s tradition and magic with my own kid from the next year on :) I don’t know what we are gonna do about the “lies” yet, but I am confident we will find a way – I really like the idea of letting baby in on the ‘secret that everyone goes with but noone talks about so as not to spoil it’.

Lisa

Reply to Lisa

September 28, 2021 2:15pm 2:15 pm

Oops, this was supposed to be an answer to a comment – sorry about that.

September 28, 2021 11:51am 11:51 am

I Distinctly remember when my sister told me that Santa wasn’t real. I was the youngest of 6 kids and probably around 5-6 years old. I was writing a letter to him and debating out loud what I should ask for when my sister (5 years older) announced that it didn’t matter because there is no Santa :(. I felt so heartbroken but also shame? Like, of course there’s no random magic man getting all the world’s kids gifts on one night. It suddenly made so much sense. I didn’t share with other kids but it definitely left me a little bit cynical. That said, I’m a dentist with a 1 month old so her “tooth fairy” bubble might also burst early. I guess we aren’t ones for this type of whimsy.

Amy

September 28, 2021 10:20am 10:20 am

We went with the truth about Santa and the Tooth Fairy, but my son was desperate to know if I wore a fairy costume while putting the money under his pillow :D. I refused to confirm or deny, and more than once I found him trying to find my fairy costume in my closet. Now he’s big and hairy, and when he hugs me, he rests his chin on my head.

Olivia

September 28, 2021 10:02am 10:02 am

Cup of Jo needs to package all of these posts/comment into a book. I don’t have kids yet but when I read the comments I try so hard to commit to memory so I’ll remember when the time comes!

Tara T

Reply to Olivia

September 28, 2021 11:55am 11:55 am

A book of the comments is such an excellent idea! Cup of Jo has so much wisdom and compassion in the section, it’s really part of the post.

Liz

Reply to Olivia

September 28, 2021 12:41pm 12:41 pm

Ahaha same here Olivia ! We definitely need a book :)

janine

September 28, 2021 9:24am 9:24 am

My 10-year-old told me this summer he knows Santa isn’t real and he accused me of lying to him about Santa. I told him Santa is real, in a sense, because parents MAKE him real by doing the work of BEING Santa. He seemed pretty satisfied with that answer.

Leslie-Anne

September 28, 2021 7:54am 7:54 am

My youngest daughter asked me, at age 5, if Santa was real. I told her that Santa Claus was a special, secret thing the parents did for kids – she looked me straight in the eye and said, “No it isn’t”, then she went on the believe for as long as she wanted. It did not diminish her love of Christmas one iota.

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