So on the way home last night DS (5) asked if unicorns are real.
Easy - "No, unicorns aren't real."
"Is the Tooth Fairy real?"
Me, driving through the intersection, not ready for that one...
"Uh, um, yep. Tooth Fairy is definitely real."
Crap. I need to start brushing up on my is ___ real stories so I'm ready for this stuff.
Re: Unicorns and the Tooth Fairy...
Lol.
DS is 7 and he found out earlier this year that the tooth fairy isn't real. DH went to slip the money under his pillow while swapping out the tooth at bedtime, and DS decided to look under the pillow one last time before going to sleep. He then got very angry at DH for "stealing" his tooth that the tooth fairy was supposed to get. Even though DH had given him money, he was crying because it was supposed to be the tooth fairy to get his tooth.
We finally just broke down and explained to DS that tooth fairy isn't real and that DH had been doing the job all along. It took about 30 minutes for DS to actually "get it" and it was a real fiasco. What made things worse is that his school had gone on a field trip earlier in the spring and "met" the tooth fairy at a local dentist office. He was truly convinced she was real!
Poor thing! My 12-year-old sort of started getting suspicious a few years ago. I just told him as soon as he stops believing in Santa, "Santa" will stop bringing him gifts. To this day, he still says he believes in Santa. Lol.
Whenever my 6 year old asks if Santa/Tooth Fairy/etc. is real, we always tell him, "Yes, and if you stop believing in him/her they won't bring you anything anymore" This has worked for us! It's what my grandma always told us growing up, to this day I still tell her I believe in Santa and she fills my stocking every year! lol
he watched a breastfeeding movie and survived. he is old enough to know santa isnt real. lol. just tell him he has to pretend like he doesnt know so you dont loose the excitement and he doesnt spoil it for LO!
The thing with Santa Claus is that he WAS a real person. He's just dead and canonized now. By the time my kids are old enough to figure out Santa isn't real I'll tell them it was his one of his life wishes that his traditions be passed on to celebrate the life of Jesus.
yayyy catholic school for 12 years haha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas
I was about 8 when I noticed that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny had the same handwriting. I was a weird child... But I do love that my parents still give me a couple presents "from Santa" each year. :-)
I'll have to question my older nieces and nephews on when/how they found out and what the best way would be for my LO to learn. I think I fall into the "let them figure it out for themselves" camp.
Maybe since his friends are telling him he is wrong is time to tell him so he doesn't end up getting picked on.
I have a 4yr old, 3yr old and 1yr old so I think I have tons of time before I have to start telling them these magical creatures aren't real. lol. I love doing the Santa/Easter bunny/and tooth fairy thing
I'll probably tell my LO about the tooth fairy while she's little, since I remember it always being the only good thing about losing my teeth as a child. But once she's old enough and wants to know the truth, I think it would be wrong to lie about it.
As for Santa, I don't think so. I'm not raising my child to believe in a man in the sky who listens to people's thoughts/ murmers and answers prayers, so I think the idea of a man who has the ability to fly around the whole world in one night and knows when you're good or bad will be confusing for her.
But who knows if we will even celebrate Christmas since its a religious holiday. Just more childish fairy tales that adults believe too...
Haha, wow, you're just a bundle of cheer aren't ya??
As my grandfather explained to me - we celebrate christmas because the government and our employers give us these days off to be with family and we deserve to take advantage of it no matter what our personal beliefs are. Children deserve magic and gifts, and everyone of every age deserves love and family time. We don't celebrate the religious part of it, just the family part of it.
I let my kids believe in Santa while they're young. It's magical, imaginative and fun. Once they're old enough to know the truth though, then that's it. No more fairy tales.
" If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son ... Then shall his father and his mother ... bring him out unto the elders of his city ... And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die.
-- Deuteronomy 21:18-21"
Not as cheerful as the god of the old testament
Almost this..
My siblings and I were never raised to believe in Santa or the Easter Bunny or any of that. While my family was never all that religious, my parents had a strict beleif that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, not about some fat guy who brings presents to kids. Plus now that I'm older I sorta feel that it was also an excuse to cheap out on the presents (if your kids don't believe in Santa, there's no need to buy any presents that are supposedly from him). I think I will be going the same route at my parents. I will be able to avoid the whole "when to tell them" dilema, plus I don't really see the point of letting them believe that these characters are real in the first place.
Your grandfather was a smart man! I agree completely. I think that children should definitely be allowed to believe in magical and imaginative things, which is why I don't really see harm in Santa. But I will def tell my child the truth once they're old enough to start asking questions.
The most important thing to us other moms is that your kids know not to spoil it for our kids. Many of my cousins didn't believe in Santa but I didn't know that until we were all older because their parents stressed the importance of keep the secret.
Hmm, I hadn't thought of that. You make a good point...Definitely something to think about!
I unfortunately had it all figured out by the time I was 5. I was the kid telling everyone at school the truth.....(but I held it in and didn't tell my 'lil bro for a few more years)
at 11 and 12 they haven't figured this out???? LOL someone at school will tell them (soon I hope!)