What do you say to your child who is starting to doubt Santa and the toothfairy?

The polar express says people only hear the bell if they believe in the magic of Christmas but my son is saying magic isn't real so he's asking if Santa is real. I need a good response prepared!

ETA: What can I say to help him continue to believe?

Message edited 11/18/2019 10:16:24 PM.

Re: What do you say to your child who is starting to doubt Santa and the toothfairy?

How old is your DC? DS is 14 now and he started to doubt when he was 9 or 10. We told him Santa brought gifts to those who believe on him. 2 years ago he confessed he knew Santa wasn't real but he didn't want to upset us that last Christmas. DH kept saying Santa was real but later I sent DS a letter I found online about it. For tooth fairy, I'm guessing DS loved the money it came any time he lost a tooth, so there wasn't any discussion about it

The letter: https://wcrz.com/how-to-explain-santa-to-children/

Re: What do you say to your child who is starting to doubt Santa and the toothfairy?

You explain they get to become Santa and they can do a good turn in the world. That the magic is giving good will and cheer to others in need.

Re: What do you say to your child who is starting to doubt Santa and the toothfairy?

The tooth fairy was first. The oldest questioned it and I’m pretty sure discussed it in school. To THAT, I said “don’t spoil it for your sisters”. Although he is an immature kid, he can sure keep a secret!

Santa came a bit later, especially because he is so loved. But I think the pieces start to add up. To the questions, I say “he exists to those who believe”. This clarifies the fact that we have many neighbors who are Jewish and Santa doesn’t visit some of them ... but others he does. But he’s getting savvy enough to notice things. Agree that it’s around 7-9 yo as my 7 yo girl put it together first... and then looked sad and said “nahhhhh.... that can’t be right”.

Re: What do you say to your child who is starting to doubt Santa and the toothfairy?

Magic and the magic of christmas are two separate things. Magic can be like magic tricks but the magic of christmas has to do with the magic of believing, of believing even if you can't see something or have proof, of having faith. We are Catholic and I tie to our faith - we believe in God and Jesus never having seen them, we believe bc we don't need to see to believe bc we have faith. So i link it that way, we believe in Santa and that he exists without ever seeing bc that is the magic of Chrismas. Something like that. I'm hoping that once they get older this will help me transition the converstaion in more adult terms to the importance of Christmas and it's meaning in our religion, and the importance in believing in God.