When should you tell your children the truth about Santa Claus? For parents, it is always a complicated step.
Christmas is coming. Light decorations and trees create a magical atmosphere. For parents of young children, this is also the time when you have to put on your Santa costume and prepare presents in secret. The period during which children believe in Santa Claus lasts only a few years, and it is an important passage.
According to Anne Vachez-Gatecel, psychologist and psychomotor therapist, such a myth allows, in fact, to develop the imagination of the little ones. “Believing in Santa Claus allows the child to build himself, to be part of the narrative, to structure his thoughts, so it is extremely positive. It also allows him to escape a reality that is sometimes a little oppressive and to share this collective belief with other children”, she declared toActu.fr. This also allows you to understand the concept of time and practice patience.
The older the child gets, the greater the risk that he will understand the deception. He can learn it from his older brothers and sisters, his cousins, his classmates, especially after moving to primary school… This revelation can be experienced as a shock, so we must give the child time to digest the new. To reassure him, nothing better than explaining to him that the holidays are not just about the man in the red hat but that it is also the tree, the gifts, the family meals…
Parents often wonder about the ideal time to explain everything. According to the psychologist, the most important thing is the child’s wish: “As long as a child wants to believe it, he believes it. And sometimes, even if his friends or brothers and sisters tell him the opposite” . You have to let him accept reality when he is ready for it. If he has questions, then don’t hesitate to ask him his true thoughts and opinions before unpacking everything. There is actually no fixed rule: everything depends on the personality of each child and the environment in which they grow up.
However, at a certain age, there is often a shift in this belief. This is the age of reason, which is estimated around 7 years. Béatrice Alfonso, clinical psychologist, is of this opinion: “All professionals agree that until the age of 7 or 8, that is to say at the time of what we call the age of reason, the child can believe it,” she explained to Midi-Free.
It sometimes happens that children perpetuate this belief after 10 years but it is “very rare”, specifies the specialist. This may be due to “immaturity, which has nothing to do with the child’s intelligence.” This is when parents are called to intervene, particularly to prevent the child from being teased. It is obviously necessary to go about it gradually by getting the child to question himself so that he ends up understanding for himself.