“Why would we not respect that earlier just because it's part of this cultural tradition?” Jamie Howard, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute, said most young children who cry in front of characters like Santa Claus do so out of fear and unfamiliarity.
Robyn Fallshaw, psychologist, explains why it's not uncommon for young children to be scared of Santa…. “Children's natural sense of self-preservation often kicks in when they are forced to sit next to a man they've never met who has a bushy white beard and wears a strange red costume,” Robyn says.
These are good indicators they're ready to hear the truth." As for when the shift starts to happen, it's different depending on the child, but expect the questioning to get serious somewhere between the ages of 7 and 10.
According to Pyschologies.co.uk, Santaphobia is most common in children under four years old. In most cases, once children get to 5 years, they lose their fear and start to get wholly excited again. As toddlers, our little ones are starting to feel emotions in completely different ways to what they've ever experienced.
Allowing your child to believe, even though they eventually will find out the truth, will not be traumatizing or harmful to their development. While they may have an emotional reaction at first, this is generally short lived.
"It's not an overnight shift in thinking," says Laura Lamminen, Ph. D., a pediatric psychologist at Children's Health℠, "and there's no set age where children should know the truth about Santa Claus." Dr. Lamminen says each family and each child within that family will be ready to talk about Santa at different ages.
"There is no such thing as being too old to believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy," Kelman tells Yahoo Life. "Letting kids figure it out on their own is preferable to parents breaking the news to them.
While everyone is different, according to a recent poll by House Method, the average age kids in the United States stop believing in Santa Claus is 8.5 years. So, chances are good that somewhere around then is the right age for your child to learn the true story about Santa Claus.
The Age Most Kids Figure It Out
According to psychologists, believing in Santa can be beneficial to children because it teaches selflessness and service to others.
“Children's belief in Santa starts when they're between 3 and 4 years old. It's very strong when they're between about 4 and 8,” she said. “Then, at 8 years old is when we start to see the drop-off in belief, when children start to understand the reality of Santa Claus.”
Tell Them Your Story
Another way to make the transition to a Santa-less Christmas is to tell your kids how you found out the guy in the red suit isn't real. Try to find a few points they can relate to and explain how Santa is used by all parents to make Christmas a special experience for their kids.
Santa is an idea
The truth is, he's not a person at all – he's an idea. Get them to think of all those presents Santa gave them over the years. Explain that you actually bought those yourself and that Santa Claus is the idea of giving for the sake of giving, without thanks or acknowledgement.
Taken together, it looks like lying to your kids is generally a bad idea. However, if you want to tell a little fib to your kid about the old man from the North Pole, you probably aren't going to ruin their life or send your relationship with them into a tailspin.
What Does It Mean to Fear Long Words? Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words. Understanding the phobia can help you overcome it and live a fulfilling life. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is one of the longest words in the dictionary, and ironically, it means the fear of long words.
Beliefs in Santa are incredibly prevalent among children in many Western countries. One study by Jacqueline Woolley at the University of Texas at Austin (UTA) found that more than 80 per cent of 5-year-olds in the US are convinced of his existence.
“Are Mom and Dad really Santa?” We know that you want to know the answer and we had to give it careful thought to know just what to say. The answer is no. We are not Santa. There is no one, single Santa.
If your child is older than 10 and still believes in the Easter Bunny, you should fill them in on the truth. Let your kids know that although the bunny itself is imaginary, it's part of a tradition that brings a lot of joy and fun to kids at Easter time.
Claus is much more tight-lipped about her age than Santa is. The last time she talked about it, she mentioned she stopped counting when she turned 170. Similar to Santa, the elves believe Mrs. Claus is roughly the same age, around 1,700 years old.
8- to 9-Year-Olds
Some kids are ready for the truth at this age; others are not. If needed, ask a few probing questions like, "Why do you ask?" before deciding how to answer. Keep in mind that research shows that even when children discover that Santa is not real, they still like the idea of Santa.
Get into the Swim of It! While the last baby teeth generally aren't lost until age ten or 11, most children stop believing in the tooth fairy by the time they're seven or eight.
Although Santa Claus may not be real, the idea of him being a generous gift-giver stemmed from the highly celebrated monk, Saint Nick. Born around 280 A.D. in the region we now know as Turkey, Saint Nicholas was famous for his kindness.
Between his own intellectual development and the presence of siblings, relatives and friends who might accidentally (or not-so-accidentally) spill the beans, he'll likely figure it out on his own by the time he's about 8 or 10 years old.
“Ten to 12 is a great range because kids are still very connected to their parents and into their parents being in their phone and in their business,” says Catherine Pearlman, a licensed clinical social worker and author of “First Phone,” a guide for kids.