My six year old daughter just found out that there is no Santa Claus...

[driver8]

she wasn't ready to hear this news.

She is crushed -- and angry!

She found out at school; I didn't expect to be having this conversation with her for a couple more years. She is absolutely heart broken.

[Midlodemocrat]

1. Does she have younger siblings?

When my eldest found out, she, too, was heartbroken, but I enlister her to help me 'play Santa' for the younger two.

She got to stay up later, take a bite out of Santa's cookie, help me make the soot footprints on the rug, stuff like that.

[driver8]

22. Yes, we have a son who is five. My wife asked my daughter if

she wanted to help and she said, "but isn't that lying?"

Oy vey...

[Midlodemocrat]

27. Has she seen the Santa Clause? The original one?

That gave me a few more years with my son who was skeptical from the age of two.

You could watch it as a family and kind of 'bend' the action towards getting her to believe again.

[malta blue]

2. That sucks!

My 9 y/o actually made a gift for Santa this year - she felt bad because people only give him cookies and milk ;)

I am so sorry you had to deal with it this year. I hope you don't lose too much of the magic :hug:

[Rambis]

3. Choose to believe what you want

My 8 and 6 year old ask me if I believe in Santa and I tell them... "you can believe what you want no matter what anyone else says"

[redqueen]

5. Same here. (nt)

[Midlodemocrat]

7. To receive you must believe.

[driver8]

21. The problem was, she confronted my wife at school when my

wife went to pick her up. My daughter asked my wife in front of all of the kids if there was a Santa Claus and when my wife told her to believe what she wants, the kids all started telling her "but there is no Santa!".

My daughter was so upset -- she wasn't ready for this at all!!

[Symarip]

4. Would you describe her reaction as

'inevitable grief' after finding out the truth?

[redqueen]

6. I knew this would get you started again. (nt)

[Symarip]

9. Can't a person just ask a question for clarity?

Didn't you wonder, yourself?

[driver8]

23. I don't know if I would call it grief...

she is sad and angry.

[harmonicon]

8. what did she care?

Did you explain that she gets presents whether Santa is real or not? Isn't that what matters to kids?

[Shell Beau]

13. It is the fantasy of it! It is magical!

[harmonicon]

16. what's the use of magic if it doesn't bring presents?

[Shell Beau]

17. It is all of it combined that kids love!

[harmonicon]

19. really, it made no difference to me

I only have the most vague memory of maybe thinking that Santa was real. I knew that he was just imaginary by age 4 or 5, I'm sure, if not earlier. I don't remember any heart break - I got presents. Christmas was still magical. Perhaps that only thing that made me question if Santa was real was trying to understand how my parents could have been awake and doing all of this stuff between 9pm bedtime and 5 or 6am when we'd wake up and be amazed by the presents under the tree.

[driver8]

24. You are exactly right -- it is the fantasy.

My daughter loves all that stuff and loved the idea of a jolly Santa Claus flying around the world bringing gifts.

She was not ready to handle the fact that Santa isn't real.

[Fire Walk With Me]

10. Reminds me of the time my adopted parents told me Santa isn't real.

Smiling at me, on an escalator, with lots of other people listening and smiling at me as well. One day, you're supposed to believe it. The next, you should be publicly ashamed of so doing.

[KurtNYC]

14. .. and then they tell kids not to lie

what a world.

[snooper2]

11. give her 3 more years

and she'll realize the bible is nothing more than an interesting story as well :rofl:

[driver8]

25. That is another tough subject because my wife and I are atheists.

But, she is very curious about God and Jesus.

She goes to church with my wife's parents and we will let her decide on her own what she wants to believe.

[Dora]

12. Our son is three. I struggle with how to teach Santa.

He asked me a couple of weeks ago, "Who is Santa?"

I told him, "Santa is a character."

:shrug:

I don't want to lie to him. I don't want him believing in a magic man that flies with a sleigh full of presents. I never believed in Santa as a real being, but I always loved the idea of Santa. Even the gifts that were tagged "from Santa," I knew were from our parents.

I struggle with how to teach him about the spirit and sentiment of Santa, without duping him into believing that some guy in black boots and a furry suit will bring presents or not based on his behavior.

[ScreamingMeemie]

15. Well... someone did this to my son when he was six and we

concocted a plan to let him believe again and it worked. :)

:hug: for your daugther. :(

[driver8]

26. What was the plan? I would love for her to believe again...n/t

[meow2u3]

18. My roomie's 9-year-old son wants Santa Claus to come back to life

That's because Santa Claus was a real man--his name is St. Nicholas! Back during the days of the dowry system, he sneaked money down the chimneys of poor families so their daughters could marry the men they loved and have a good husband instead of being sold as slaves.

Full story is located here.
Origin of Santa Claus

[WannaBeGrumpy]

20. WHAT!? THERE"S NO SANTA CLAUS!?.....

seriously though I was about that age too when i found out(because i am a snoop) and it really sucked but come Christmas, It usually won't matter who is giving the gifts.

It didn't for me anyway