You could take the historical route telling them about the legend of St Nicholas. Explain that a long time ago, there was a man called St Nicholas, who gave gifts to poor people. Nowadays, people around the world keep the cultural traditions and heritage of St Nicholas alive.
Instead, you might ask a few questions back. Ask, "What makes you ask that?" or "What do you think about that?" It's okay to let kids form their own conclusions. When confronted with, "Just tell me. Is there really a Santa?" be honest, and explain that you're behind the presents from Santa.
"It's not an overnight shift in thinking," says Laura Lamminen, Ph. D., a pediatric psychologist at Children's Health℠, "and there's no set age where children should know the truth about Santa Claus." Dr. Lamminen says each family and each child within that family will be ready to talk about Santa at different ages.
About 40 percent of the parents polled by the site said the right age to break the news about Santa to children is between the ages of 8 and 12, while one in 10 adults feel you can put off that disclosure until after kids turn 12. A startling 27 percent of those surveyed don't ever plan to tell their kids.
Tell Them Your Story
Another way to make the transition to a Santa-less Christmas is to tell your kids how you found out the guy in the red suit isn't real. Try to find a few points they can relate to and explain how Santa is used by all parents to make Christmas a special experience for their kids.
"There is no such thing as being too old to believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy," Kelman tells Yahoo Life. "Letting kids figure it out on their own is preferable to parents breaking the news to them.
The Age Most Kids Figure It Out
In most cases, eight or nine is the age that children stop believing in Santa, but not for the reasons you'd think. While most parents would probably blame their child's peers for blowing the whistle, it actually has more to do with the normal development of a child's brain.
Overall, the average age in the United States for no longer believing in Santa Claus is 8.4 years old. Mississippi has the oldest average age at 10.2 years old. Not far behind is Iowa where the average age is 9.9 years old. Rounding out the top five oldest are Montana (9.8), and Hawaii (9.5).
8- to 9-Year-Olds
Some kids are ready for the truth at this age; others are not. If needed, ask a few probing questions like, "Why do you ask?" before deciding how to answer. Keep in mind that research shows that even when children discover that Santa is not real, they still like the idea of Santa.
Most Americans (67%) stopped expecting Santa to shimmy down their chimney by the time they entered seventh grade. Half (49%) of Americans say they stopped believing in Santa before the age of 10 – with a quarter (23%) reporting that they lost sight of him between the ages of seven (10%) and eight (13%).
You asked a really good question, “Are Mom and Dad really Santa really Santa?”. We know that you want to know the answer, and we had to give it careful thought to know just what to say. The answer is no.
Yet while children often come to the realisation that Santa is not what they had been lead to believe on their own, they also tend to act along with the fiasco and continue to play along with 58% of children in one study playing the role of Santa-believer.
Many parents dread the day their child begins questioning if Santa is real. While there is no perfect age to have this conversation, parents often start noticing their children becoming skeptical around eight, but this can vary. However, it may be beneficial to initiate the conversation before middle school.
The survey also found that 31 percent of parents will straight-up lie to their children if they ask if Santa is real, while 40 percent said they acknowledged the truth when asked directly. In the press release, Boyle explains that children begin to question the tale of the man in the chimney for a variety of reasons.
You can call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) starting at 6 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Christmas Eve to get Santa tracking updates from a live person. Of course, you probably use Google to search for everything else, so why not Santa?
Tell the what Christmas means to you, remind them of the years they enjoyed believing in Santa, and then let them know that you are happy to have the be a special part of keeping the tradition going.
While everyone is different, according to a recent poll by House Method, the average age kids in the United States stop believing in Santa Claus is 8.5 years. So, chances are good that somewhere around then is the right age for your child to learn the true story about Santa Claus.
According to Pyschologies.co.uk, Santaphobia is most common in children under four years old. In most cases, once children get to 5 years, they lose their fear and start to get wholly excited again. As toddlers, our little ones are starting to feel emotions in completely different ways to what they've ever experienced.
Instead, the average age that children stop believing in Santa is eight years old, according to an international academic survey. Woah. This varies slightly between countries in the UK, with kids in England believing in Santa until they're 8.03 years, and kids in Scotland believing until 8.58 years.
Beliefs in Santa are incredibly prevalent among children in many Western countries. One study by Jacqueline Woolley at the University of Texas at Austin (UTA) found that more than 80 per cent of 5-year-olds in the US are convinced of his existence.
Lying to a child is not a good idea in general, but psychologists say that an exception can be made for such myths. Experts agree that believing in such characters or tales is a healthy part of a child's growing process.
While the last baby teeth generally aren't lost until age ten or 11, most children stop believing in the tooth fairy by the time they're seven or eight. Of course, children are more than happy to play along with the game when there's money at stake!
“Ten to 12 is a great range because kids are still very connected to their parents and into their parents being in their phone and in their business,” says Catherine Pearlman, a licensed clinical social worker and author of “First Phone,” a guide for kids.
By age eight, kids begin to acknowledge the unlikeliness of one man travelling the world in a single night. The good news? If you started the tradition of Elf on the Shelf in your household, you can likely send the elf into early retirement around your child's eighth Christmas.