Look - you can't protect your kid's innocence with lies forever. Kids are kids and they will talk, whether it is about school shootings or Santa. You cannot control what others do, but you can (and should) equip your kid with the tools he/she will need to handle life's disappointments - big and small. Signed, mom of first grader who still believes, but we are ready to have the conversation if and when it comes up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is "Max." Sorry lady, but my child will shout it to the world and there is nothing you can do about it.

+1 Except I was Max. Isn't first grade a bit old to still believe in Santa?

Most first graders are true believers.

Santa comes to those who believe. Get out The Polar Express and read it!

Kids who do that are jerks.

Anonymous wrote:My child is "Max." Sorry lady, but my child will shout it to the world and there is nothing you can do about it.

+1 Except I was Max. Isn't first grade a bit old to still believe in Santa?

They are kids. There is only so much you can control. When yours is ready to stop believing, be it 6 or 10, she will.

I don't get the venomous dislike for the "Santa myth." Fine, so you don't want to celebrate it, but to accuse other parents of lying to their young children. It's fantasy for an age where kids still believe in magic. Why is that such a huge problem? Grinches.

Who are these me me me parents who casually throw aside common courtesy in favor of "my kid will do what he/she wants, deal"? I just can't imagine that mentality. Please just be civil. Treat people kindly. Ask your kids to be respectful. A little more of this could really go a long way in our society, especially given the headlines these days. Please peopl. It's so much easier to be kind, and you know, you may teach your kids a good lesson and feel good in the end. You will be on the other end of this one day, and will be hoping for the same thing in return.

My daughter still believes and wrote a poem about how other people are crazy for not believing. She's 10!

I never wanted to start the Santa lie, but I'm only half of the committee that decides these matters.

My child is "Max." Sorry lady, but my child will shout it to the world and there is nothing you can do about it.

It's kind of hard to perpetuate the story these days. My kid was told when he was four by his friend. Luckily I wasn't trying to get him to believe, but my husband is disappointed.

I was also the Mulder character in elementary school trying to shake it out of everybody- THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE! was my motto.

I was one of those kids and NOTHING that my parents told me would keep me from telling the WORLD that Santa was a scam.

Sorry but you're lying to your kids and like in any other aspect of our lives, the truth always shows up.

I was raised to not believe in Santa but I am raising my kids to believe in Santa because I think reality will overwhelm them soon enough. However, if they tell me someone says there's no Santa I will ask them what they think. If they want to keep believing no one else will change their minds. If they are ready to stop believing let them grow out of it.

You can't control what they hear from other kids.

My daughter was just awakened by a nightmare about monsters and as I comforted her back to sleep, she mumbled to me, "mama, max says santa's not real". Background is that Max lives near us and attends the same school my DD does; they are in first grade. We are not unfriendly with the parents, but I know them only in passing and my husband would be hard pressed to even recognize them or remember that they live in our neighborhood. In fact, when I just whispered this to him as I crawled back into bed, he said "max who?". From what I know of his family, I have already suspected that they wouldn't do the Santa thing (conversations with his mom at pickup/drop off have led me to believe that they think telling kids about Santa is lying to their kids). I totally respect their point of view and picking what is right for their family and pass no negative judgement on them. Still, COME ON PEOPLE! If you are not doing Santa, please tell your kids not declare this to the class. For us, My DH and I both had incredibly early loses of innocence and wonder in our lives, and one of our main goals is to keep our kids imaginations and belief in belief in magic as long as we can. You can seriously blame it on us as being habitual liars or something, but please tell your kids (whatever their age), to not plant the seed of doubt in the mind of my child, because that means that our Santa time is over