How old will your children be when you tell them Santa is not real?

Question

How old will your children be when you tell them God is not real?

Answer 1

I wont lie to my children, santa isnt real and god is on day 1

Answer 2

I find your question confusing considering some of your other questions. If you don't believe in Him, why all the put downs?

2+2=7 If I believe this, does this make it real? Using your logic it does.

Listen, God has placed in each man a desire to know Him and an innate knowledge of Him (like an adopted child searching for their biological roots). You won't find inner peace until you do.
Peace :-)

Answer 3

With Santa: when they're old enough to ask.
I will tell them that I believe a healthy imagination and belief in fantasy worlds, even for a while, is good for children. I'll tell them that I chose to allow them to believe in Santa Claus because I couldn't think of a good enough reason to not give them that. Santa Claus is a good example of a giving spirit, and that's how we present it in our home right now (there is not a huge Santa focus, but there's no reason to mold them into cynical little people because I underestimate their ability to be resiliant when learning that Santa - the big fat guy in a red suit who rides in the air and hops down chimneys - is not real, but the spirit of giving is).

With God.
I will not tell them "God is not real." I can't do that in good conscience, because I believe in God myself. If I believe in Him myself, I would be lying to my children by telling them He's not real. As it is, if I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but I didn't purposely lie to them. I don't agree that if a child finds out there's no such thing as Santa, or the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy, that the next logical step is to believe that there is no God. If that were the case, you would not have churches FILLED with people who are avid believers in God, but who acknowledge that no fat guy hops down the chimney to fill up giant socks. Santa Claus is a fantastical story, but does not receive my worship. My belief in God makes me who I am. It governs my life. Year round, day in and day out, it is there with me (even though I screw up PLENTY), and my children see that. If one day they want to argue that there's no God, I'll be sad, I'll try to convince them otherwise, but I will hope that they will treat me with respect because I believe in Him and I've been honest in my faith.

Answer 4

Why would you want to tell your children Santa is not real. When Santa lives in all of us. How? With a giving heart and love for one another you can be Santa everyday

Answer 5

As soon as they can talk and understand. I never told my children that Santa was real. They didn't ever believe in him.

Answer 6

My kids knew this story from the beginning...
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=38
That American crap story about Santa is just made up to promote store-bought items. It was written by an employee at Macy's or some other such place. The idea that St Nicholas was married just makes me wanna barf. There is and never was a "Mrs" Clause. Stupidest notion ever. Along with the elves and trappings and north pole, it's just a load of malarky.

Answer 7

Know what you mean Jellybean!
The second one could be earth shattering news if you wait too long . But as long as the significance underlying the lie is acknowledged they should be alright on both .
I spent a lifetime suffering under misconception and the misleading falsehood of religion did have some horrible consequences but I eventually overcame their harm.I even spent ten years arguing God to my atheistic brother before he died of Lupus at an age far too young .
peaceout and enjoy the life...

Answer 8

Umm, St. Nicholas IS real hon. Santa Claus is not.

God is real too.

Have you always had this problem with what's real and what's not? Seriously, did you really tell your children that there is no such thing as Santa, that someone just made it up? Because St. Nicholas was a real person, and that's who Santa is based on.

Answer 9

We won't play the Santa game - but I will tell them about Thor. Thor is who Santa was modeled after, and they can choose to believe in Him or not. I will explain to them that while I do believe in Him (and all other deities), I do not believe He (and the rest of Them) is so actively a part of our lives. They are here, and interact actively, but not quite so actively as to say that Thor will be flying around in a chariot and coming down our chimney.

My children will be exposed to God (I'm guessing you're referring to the Christian god?), as I am sure that I would be hard pressed to try and keep them from finding out about Him. However, I will also make my best effort to expose them to the idea of all the others (or as many of them as possible) as much as I can. They can then make the decision to discern between Them for themselves.

It is their decision to believe in any of them or not. It would be cruel of me to try and take that away from them. However, if I teach them anything about religion, I hope to teach them universal morals, values and principles that they can apply to life no matter what faith (or lack of faith) they choose. Religion, while it can be an important and primary part of one's life, should never dictate so much of it that you lose yourself to it.

Answer 10

I hope to raise my kids in a way that I won't have to tell them that Santa or god(s) aren't real. They will figure it out themselves. In other words I will teach them about science and the scientific method.