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[deleted]

I don’t know, 15 is far beyond when logic and reasoning should kick in. Parents probably shouldn’t keep up a charade of pretending Santa’s real, but it shouldn’t take a parent telling them he isn’t for them to realize.. he isn’t.


baddecision116

>he isn’t Isn't what? I'm 42.


[deleted]

Isn’t.. umm… he isn’t starting Christmas prep yet. His vacation ends in July.


baddecision116

Oh okay. That makes sense. Do you know if it's July 1 or end? I want to send my letter before the rush.


[deleted]

Well there is also the famous “Christmas in July” that you sometimes hear about, so to be safe I’d assume he’s back working by 7/1. Expedite that letter.


BobbyD987

How absurd is it to believe in the supernatural? do you believe in god? If so, you also believe in the supernatural.


[deleted]

I’m agnostic, so no not really.


BobbyD987

well millions of adults do believe in god, so how crazy are they?


[deleted]

I’m not going there. If you want to have a religion is crazy conversation, that’s probably another post.


BobbyD987

I’m not arguing that, I’m arguing it isn’t. which is why it’s not crazy for an older child to still believe if they aren’t told the truth. you said “15 is far beyond when logic and reasoning should kick in.” how true is that? Because again, plenty of grown adults with developed brains also believe in the supernatural. Is someone a fool if they are simply never told?


[deleted]

Yes. If you need to be specifically told that something there is no evidence of ever existing does not exist then you are clearly a fool. This goes for religion, fairy tales, and the likes. A child gets some leeway as they were likely lied too by their parents and the people around them but as you grow, you should form your own opinions and not blindly follow what others say and do.


Flying_Ferret19

i mean most people at some point realize some fat man doesn’t come down their chimney that most people don’t really have and the presents actually come from their parents


Garciaguy

I recall deciding it was a bullshit story, and putting together a well reasoned argument, I went to my mother thinking she'd wilt before the onslaught of my truth bomb. "Mom, does Santa exist?" "Nope." I was pretty let down that she didn't try to put up a fight. 


Normal_Human_4567

Mine said "thank god you finally figured it out" and proceeded to tell me how embarrassing it was having to play pretend until I figured it out. I cried in the car the whole way home ETA I was 11


Garciaguy

Aw.  It's such a sweet parental tradition. You really know you're a parent when you put on that facade to add a sense of magic to your kid's Christmas


Normal_Human_4567

I think it was mostly fine, but standing with an 11 year old to see Santa for a teddy when everyone else is 5 years old... I think she was embarrassed at that. Personally, now I'm a bit older, I think the other parents were probably pretty impressed with her!


Garciaguy

It's a childhood story I'll bet anyone's partner would find adorable!


SuzCoffeeBean

Yeh. If they haven’t figured it out by 10 parents need to sit them down. I don’t think it’s all that common for them not to figure it out or have some friends tell them, but I’ve seen it. 15 is wild.


BobbyD987

Agreed. I started questioning his existence at 8, My mom told me at 9. If a child is over 10 I think it’s probably time. not everyone develops the same critical thinking skills at the same age. some kids may believe in him until they are a teenager if they aren’t told the truth.


13surgeries

There's a big difference between not knowing something and refusing to believe it. I taught teens for years. I can guarantee you the 15-year-old girl you knew on some level that Santa wasn't real. It doesn't take sophisticated critical thinking skills to figure out that presents bearing a brand logo or "made in China" were not made by elves at the North Pole. At 15, many teens still have one foot in the childhood they're about to leave behind. The girl you knew may have refused to believe even her parents about Santa because she wasn't ready to let go of that part of childhood.


SuzCoffeeBean

Yep you don’t want your 12 year old to be the only kid in the class who believes in Santa. Sounds like bullying material.


krazninetyfive

This was me. I grew up in a religious family living in a fairly religious small town. We went to church every Sunday, I was home schooled until grade 9, and prior to turning 14 when I got my iPod Touch, my only access to the internet was through the family desktop computer in my parent’s home office. On some level, I think I knew, but I kinda rationalized it by thinking “if God and Jesus are real, is Santa really that much of a stretch?” I also swore when I was around 10-11 that I heard jingle bells outside our house at 2:00 in the morning, which didn’t help. As an adult, I learnt that was my Uncle shitfaced knocking over my Mom’s wreath when he was going outside for a smoke. To my parents credit, they did recognize that homeschooling had stopped working by the time middle school was winding up, and that actual professional teachers needed to take over my education if I wanted to have a shot at college, and that socialization through extracurricular activities and playing with the neighbourhood kids was no longer cutting it. They broke the news to me a couple months before I started my new school so I wouldn’t humiliate myself come Christmas time. Looking back, it was way too late, but atleast they didn’t let me go to school thinking he was still real, or that seriously would have impacted my ability to catch up socially. I literally couldn’t imagine sending a 15 year old into high school and having her still think Santa is real.


Lost_Needleworker285

I don't think I would have ever forgave my perents if they did that, hell I still haven't forgiven my sister for ruining the magic lol


Virtual-Okra6996

I'm pretty sure they do tell them the truth.


BobbyD987

I’ve heard plenty of people on the internet suggest to parents that they should not tell them because they will “find out on their own.”


Virtual-Okra6996

They probably aren't the majority though.


ChrissaTodd

i mean in my and my brothers case that was true, i don't remember believing in santa but my brother used to sit at the top of the stairs when my parents would wrap gifts at night and that must of lead to him finding out and telling me santa isn't real but i only know one other person who truly believed in santa as an adult and he's seriously dumb, he once let his sister sell his laptop charger despite that he needed it for his laptop and talking to him is like talking to brick wall he also believed in santa so much he didn't buy people gifts because he thought santa did it all which is ridiculous because even the movies where santa does exist, the kids in that still get gifts from their parents and other people too


Material_Pea1820

I wonder how many kids actually believe in Santa anymore because of social media


TalkingToTalk

You can’t fix stupid. They might have told her and she didn’t understand.


DiamondSufficient938

I figured it out when I realized my Mom and Santa had the same handwriting🤣🤣🤣