Should I Have Told The Truth About Santa Claus?

I believe you should always be honest with your children. I'm guilty of not being honest with my seven year old about Santa. She asked me if there is a Santa and I replied with "what do you believe" she told me that she believes in Santa. Now I'm going to be in trouble when she finds out the truth. Believe me she doesn't forget anything I tell her. If it's ten years from now she will let me know about it.

I think the fact that she was asking means she already has probably been told by friends that he isn't real, I think your husband was wrong in what he did both to your little girl and to you, she has to know at some stage and if her friends are the ones that have given her doubts then she might look like a fool if she starts trying to correct them, i think there is probably a nice way to enlighten her plus when she is told the truth i think she should also be told that she should lets others believe until they are old enough to be enlightened...

No you shouldn't feel bad you handeled that situation exactly right, my parents told me santa wasn't real around 7 or 8 also...though I always caught the weird vibe my parents were lieing to me when I asked about him often I pretty much knew he wasn't real anyways it was just the matter of them "breaking the news". You answered your child honestly and that is the best thing to do I applaud you for that. I think her dad is wronge to keep stringing her along and confusing her about fact and fiction..I mean why keep giveing her false hope in something he knows shes going to find out anyways and be upset even more.

Two things spring to mind

Seven is a young age and their is a certain romance in believing santa exists. So their is a joy their that you'll never replace because now the truth is here and so why not tell her about the real world?

Maybe he feels that apart of the magic has gone - or maybe subconsciously he feels that now she knows - shes getting to an age where things are changing which isn't always easy

It can also remind you how 'old' (in a loose sense of the world) we're getting - that now we're at a stage where we can't make our children dream anymore

What you did was right for you, maybe it's something you should have discussed with your husband

Your no doubt a good mother and being ethical your probably a wonderful woman too but I think you got it wrong but only in the sense you could have talked it over

If I were you, I'd have said ask your father and then talk to him before she got to him

Some people will say you did the right thing, I don't think you did but hey i make loads of mistakes. The main thing now is to make it a great xmas and show her that while he might not exist - it can still be a magic time of the year;)

goodluck

ps: I still believe he exists

It is one of the most dificult questions to answer really. i dont know know if you answered it correctly or not.

That's up to you, isn't it? Would I have done the same, I don't know. Let me relate a little story for consideration.

When I was growing up, 'santa' was not part of our holiday celebrations. My parents are very religious, in fact most of my family is this way. Do I agree with this? Not really. I never believed in santa because I didn't really get a chance or a CHOICE. I am resentful of this.

My daughter is 4 and we do santa. She visits santa at Christmas, santa brings her one special gift she asks for (we give her the rest), and we usually do pictures. I don't know if she believes he's real or not but I want her to have that childlike innocence and believe right on up till when she doesn't. I don't want other people telling her he isn't real or doesn't exist, I don't want other adults crushing her imagination. I would be highly angered and annoyed at anybody who thought they were 'being nice' by telling the truth about something like this.

I would have asked her (your daughter) what SHE thought before giving my two cents. If she still believed, I would let it go. If she said that she wasn't sure and then provided reasons for questioning, then I'd probably explain the whole idea around santa claus and how when you don't believe any more, then you don't, but it isn't okay to spoil the magic for people who DO still believe.

I do not think this is on even ground with other things you always tell the truth to your kids about. This is one thing that is normally relegated to the very young, although some kids will continue to believe in santa until they are 10 or 11. Most realize at some point that the guy in the suit is daddy or they caught mommy stuffing stockings when they were supposed to be sleeping, or they caught one of their parents eating the cookies that were left for santa, stuff like that.

In closing, do you think you did the wrong thing? If you feel fine about it and it didn't bother or hurt your daughter, then perhaps it was the right thing. For me it would have been the wrong thing and I'm not planning on ruining my daughter's fun until she tells me that she is too old for such nonsense. It appears to me that she was bothered, and it also appears that your husband wishes you hadn't done that, but of course that is between the three of you.

I think it really depends on whether you believe she is ready to hear it or not. I think your hesitance might be something to do with your childhood and dealing with Santa Claus. The truth is always the best thing, so I think you should tell her at lease by the time she is 9 years old. Maybe you can buy her more presents the Christmas you tell her:P

Wait. Santa is not real?

Way to ruin my childhood. Jerk!

i have said to my 2 children about the truth who was Santa claus really is and i have said there is no Santa claus and it isn't real. no reindeer can fly. santa claus is just ordinary people who trying to make young children happy by giving them gifts. every time they see a santa claus on the mall they just ignore, i was so sad a little bit because they where not that happy as with the other child. but im ok with that for as long as they know the truth and understand the existence of santa claus. after all being honest will follow when they grow up.

You did the right thing. Children are very intelligent. She expects the truth from you when she asks a question, so there is nothing wrong with presenting her with just that. When I was growing up, the emphasis was always on the fact that it was Jesus' birthday, and we already knew that my parents were the ones buying our gifts. Santa Clause was just the subject of some really great television each year. With my kids I let them believe in Santa Clause until they started asking detailed questions, and I let them know that he was a wonderful person that did a wonderful thing at this time of year. I was a single mother for three of my kids, so I had no one to contradict me. My husband and I now have a 3 year old, and he is adamant about the Santa thing.........