How old should a child be when they are told "theres no Santa Claus"?

My kids never believed in Santa, but they enjoyed the pretend. i did not want them being greedy and feeling like gimme gimme all the time.. Mostly we bought what they wanted or needed as we could all year long. I guess the best thing we wanted was for our kids to be generous and give to others.

You mean there's no Santa? Since when? I'm 59 and still believe.

we really don't want to spoil childhood dreams as it only lingers for a while. i don't think there's a right age to be told that there's no santa claus..it's how you would believe him to be. i've discovered mine when my friend told me that her mum told her that it is just a make believe--but i still get excited about santa each time december comes! it's a fairy tale we would like to cherish each time!

I would say its never too late to set a good example by telling the truth.

I think that by junior high(or middle school)kids begin to realize that there is no Santa. And i think that there peers let them in on it if they haven't already figured it out. I have always been one to be honest with my kids. if they come to me and ask i will tell them the truth.

I remember my boy couldn't believe when I told him there is no Santa Claus. I can't remember the age he had but it doesn't matter. I decided to tell him the truth because he might have felt embarrassed if the other children considered him a fool for believing in Santa. So it depends on the precocity of the children and this is changing over the years. The funny thing was that when I told my boy that there is no Santa he couldn't believe it!!!

Hi Im 23 yrs old now and still i just convince myself that there really is a Santa Claus because during christmas when i hang stocking in our christmas tree there's always a gift saying "from Santa".its just so cute that eventhough I know it just came from my Mom, I just think that the Santa I believed exists is my loving mother.

I think most kids figure out that there isn't a Santa on their own. My son spent a year in Korea and sent packages home for them and they also were sent packages from other members of the family. After having t he UPS man come and deliver those boxes come Christmas morning my granddaughter told me that she figured out that the UPS man was Santa. She was about 6. I was about eight when I found out there wasn't a Santa. I and my brother were at my granddad's for Christmas. We were sent to bed at the regular time and after a while I had to get up and go to the bathroom. on the way I saw our stockings already filled and my grandpa reading the paper. So at eight years old I then knew there wasn't a Santa. I had a heavy pit in my stomach when I realized that grand[a was Santa. For my own kids they found out from kids at school.

My parents did not tell me there was a Santa Claus. By the way, thanks for spelling Claus correctly. Since that movie everyone seems to spell it Santa Clause. Anyway, my parents did not want us to think we would lie to them, so they never let us believe in Santa. But they were forceful in telling us not to ruin it for other kids.

I was 6 years old when I had one of my life's greatest disappointments. My classmates laughed and told me there was no Santa Clause. My disappointment was not that there was no Santa, but that my parents had lied to me. I'm 78 years old and that feeling of betrayal has never left me! Up until that time, I believed that my parents could do no wrong. Never, Never, lie to your Kids, and be sure you Always tell them the truth. Children always know much more than their parents realize!

Children realize that when they start analyzing at around 7 or 8 years of age. They are so devious that they act innocent in order to milk their parents for all that it is worth. It will take a lot more than a wide eyed 8 year old child living in an apartment, talk of Santa's entry, despite there being no chimney, to convince me.

In my opinion, the best thing to do is not to lie to your children about anything especially about someone who doesn't exist. It will confuse them and once they've found out the truth, they will feel betrayed and being lied to (which are true) So, although children need not to be told the whole truth everytime (because they may not understand it), they also need not to be lied to. Besides, gifts will be more appreciated by anyone, including a child, if it was given by someone they love, not by a fictional fat, old stranger.

well, nobody told me about it..but i just know it later on, i think when i was about 10 or 12..that i don't believe in santa claus anymore..that it's not really like what we saw on cartoons or tv that he is riding on a sleigh with gifts and has his reindeers and go to every kid's house to deliver a gift..i used to think it was like that..i remember back when i was about 4 or 5..at christmas time there were socks hanged on in our house and when i look there were goodies inside..i thought it really came from santa but i found out it was just my parents who put it there..

I feel like they should be told when they figure it out themselves. 10 seems really unusual to me, as I feel like most kids would figure it out by 7 or 8 years old at the latest.

I think there is no need to tell. They will figure out themselves. I think it's a terrible thing to do to tell a kid Santa doesn't exist and it's all a big lie, taking away their hopes and dreams. We celebrate Dec. 5th with St Nicolaas (who gave presents to the poor). I won't tell my 8 year old son. I know he knows not all the Santa's he is seeing are the same but he figured out not 1 person can do the job so he has his helpers. Perhaps he knows next year he doesn't exist (and hope he keep his mouth shut for his younger daughter). This year he really enjoyed it all, was singing for the first time out loud. My elder daughter said the worst thing she found was that my other (eldest) daughter said St Nicolaas did not exist. She is 21 years old now but still angry about that.