If I ever end up having children, I'll let them figure out about Santa themselves, like I did just a couple years ago. I figured out how my parents didn't want to tell me straight up "lol he's not really real we just acted that out for 11 years, okay?" Since it could affect my other beliefs. By other beliefs, I mean Christianity and the belief of one true "God". If I were told that Santa wasn't real one day by the two people I trust most, I'd eventually begin to question other magical beings like God himself. (I don't really believe in him now, but that's from other reasons.)
My parents managed to leave obvious clues around, like using the same wrapping paper for their gifts and Santa's gifts, saying dumb things like "Man, those were some yummy cookies!" the morning of Christmas, etc etc. By the age of 10-11, I put two and two together and voila. I consulted my parents, and they admitted it. I was still pretty sad to hear that my "theory" was true, but it's not as bad as being told "Santa's not real." in an instant. As for my belief in God, I still then believed in him for the fact that I've seen no clues that he is NOT real, unlike the clues I've seen with Santa. (As I grew older I begin to see clues that there's a chance that God isn't real at all, so that's why I don't believe in him now.)
You see, as children start growing up, they begin to lose their innocence. They begin to question things with no answer, and if there is an answer..half of the time it's not the one they want to hear. As humans, we adapt to the fact that life doesn't always have a happy ending like those Disney movies we see every year . All of those super heroes that you're convinced are real, all those Prince and the Princess stories with a happy marriage at the end- To me, they're just cloaks of what life really seems to be. Each generation wants the younger generation to enjoy their childhood as much as they can, so we come up with entertaining content for them to love and enjoy. Even now, some children grow up with the fantasy, like Pokémon, Atla/LoK, whatever, and I'm glad for them. As a way of coping, I'm certain that without fantasy the world would be a boring and depressing place. (At this point I think I'm just blabbering) In summary, Santa and all that other stuff is a way of coping and growing up as you prepare for the "depressing" life with consequences in every step. Enjoy childhood while you can, my friends. (Even though 3/4s of you guys are older.)
Also, please don't just tell kids that "Santa's not real" .It's like stealing their blanket of hope and happiness in a blizzard of cruelty (Seriously, just look at the world now.) Let them realize things by themselves if they ever do, and if they don't- Well, just don't ruin things for them. I understand that we all just have to "grow up", but everyone grows up at their own pace. Look at your/my classmates, for example. Some of them still believe that the Tooth fairy is real, right? But then others have known since the age of 7-8 that's just "a bunch of baloney" . So um. yeah. (10/10 closing statement)
This is probably really flawed out but I hope I got the point across.
My parents managed to leave obvious clues around, like using the same wrapping paper for their gifts and Santa's gifts, saying dumb things like "Man, those were some yummy cookies!" the morning of Christmas, etc etc. By the age of 10-11, I put two and two together and voila. I consulted my parents, and they admitted it. I was still pretty sad to hear that my "theory" was true, but it's not as bad as being told "Santa's not real." in an instant. As for my belief in God, I still then believed in him for the fact that I've seen no clues that he is NOT real, unlike the clues I've seen with Santa. (As I grew older I begin to see clues that there's a chance that God isn't real at all, so that's why I don't believe in him now.)
You see, as children start growing up, they begin to lose their innocence. They begin to question things with no answer, and if there is an answer..half of the time it's not the one they want to hear. As humans, we adapt to the fact that life doesn't always have a happy ending like those Disney movies we see every year . All of those super heroes that you're convinced are real, all those Prince and the Princess stories with a happy marriage at the end- To me, they're just cloaks of what life really seems to be. Each generation wants the younger generation to enjoy their childhood as much as they can, so we come up with entertaining content for them to love and enjoy. Even now, some children grow up with the fantasy, like Pokémon, Atla/LoK, whatever, and I'm glad for them. As a way of coping, I'm certain that without fantasy the world would be a boring and depressing place. (At this point I think I'm just blabbering) In summary, Santa and all that other stuff is a way of coping and growing up as you prepare for the "depressing" life with consequences in every step. Enjoy childhood while you can, my friends. (Even though 3/4s of you guys are older.)
Also, please don't just tell kids that "Santa's not real" .It's like stealing their blanket of hope and happiness in a blizzard of cruelty (Seriously, just look at the world now.) Let them realize things by themselves if they ever do, and if they don't- Well, just don't ruin things for them. I understand that we all just have to "grow up", but everyone grows up at their own pace. Look at your/my classmates, for example. Some of them still believe that the Tooth fairy is real, right? But then others have known since the age of 7-8 that's just "a bunch of baloney" . So um. yeah. (10/10 closing statement)
This is probably really flawed out but I hope I got the point across.
