I saw some Jack Chick tract (yes I know they're garbage) a while back, where some kid finds out there is no Santa and is so disillusioned that he grows up to be a serial killer. I remember hearing people say that if your children find out there isn't a Santa they'll be mad at you and think that you lied to them.
But seriously,
Don't most children figure it out on their own? I knew since I was eight that Santa wasn't real, but I pretended to believe for two more years to spare my parents feelings.
2007-07-17 01:30:27 · 28 answers · asked by Julia Sugarbaker 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I can remember being really bummed out about it (kinda similar to my reaction when I found out about how babies are made), so mildly traumatized, maybe. I can remember my oldest son getting really angry when he found out the Easter Bunny was make believe. He asked me and I told him the truth. And yes, I did figure out the Santa thing on my own when I was way young.
Sometime after the Easter Bunny incident, I read a survey that asked teens why they didn't trust their parents. The number one answer was that they had lied to them about Santa!! I was shocked!!
I think some are more traumatized than others, but that's just true of life and kids in general.
2007-07-17 01:50:48 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
I don't think so. None of my friends have become serial killers. I figured it out when I was 7 or 8 and saw my dad carrying what was later my big Santa gift. I didn't get mad at my parents and neither did any of my friends. I think those people are just a bit off.
2007-07-17 10:05:44 · answer #2 · answered by Purdey EP 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
WHAT??? There is no Santa? Of course there is a Santa Claus, silly.
Though every year he brings fewer presents for our children, and more presents come from 'Mom and Dad'. By the time the kids are 11, they know that Santa brings gifts to the younger children and Mom and Dad buy the ones they get.
2007-07-17 08:39:37 · answer #3 · answered by Anna Og 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I didn't go off the deep end, but I was hurt. The trust that God puts between children and the parent(s) is there so that we will be taught the truth. As I grew up, I found out the Santa, the Easter Bunny, the tooth fairy were all false. The idea that our government has always been good; the idea that American Indians were savage and we were the good guys- so many ideas carefully crafted into me were being revealed as bald lies.
I used to hotly defend Santa's existence to older kids on the block. Why? Because MY parents would NOT LIE to me!
I was humiliated.
2007-07-17 08:36:50 · answer #4 · answered by baronbago 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
If someone became a serial killer because they were disillusioned with Santa Claus, I suspect they would have done so no matter what you told them -- the Santa bit was just rationalization.
For my part, it was more a feeling of, "Yeah, that figures -- I knew it sounded too good to be true."
I expect you'd probably find that people who have left their churches to become atheists were of a similar mindset.
2007-07-17 08:32:18 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
I think a huge majority of kids end up realizing that Santa Claus is just a fairy tale that is staged for them in order to make Christmas nicer for them. I don't know about any kid who had hard feelings after finding out Santa wasn't real. Many are disappointed at first, but they get over it.
2007-07-17 08:38:30 · answer #6 · answered by undir 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
What do you mean, there's no Santa? Of course there is! Santa is the spirit of generosity at Christmas, and every bit as real as God. Just because he has to inhabit the bodies of tubby old men who are hired by shopping malls to get around doesn't mean he doesn't exist, any more than the God who needs to inhabit human bodies to get things done.
Since every kid that was ever told there was a Santa Claus eventually had to find out that he does not exist in the material plane, I don't think it leads to total personality disintegration.
2007-07-17 08:36:55 · answer #7 · answered by auntb93 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No. Discovering that there is no Santa is a rite of passage. My daughter was absolutely triumphant when she figured it out. Kids just learn it on their own after awhile. I cannot think of a single child who was traumatized about figuring out about Santa, the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy. It's just part of growing up. I think in some ways it's harder for the parents to see the child outgrowing that piece of childhood.
2007-07-17 08:34:37 · answer #8 · answered by conductorbrat 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm the oldest so there was no one to tell me.
I found out for sure when I was 10 & the teacher was talking as though everyone already knew there was no Santa.
I wasn't traumatized but I was very shocked and couldn't wait to get home to confirm it with my Mother. Of course she then explained the whole Santa deal and I was fine.
2007-07-17 08:36:45 · answer #9 · answered by daljack -a girl 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
i was about 8 when I started to think Santa was not real but my parents used to tell me he is. I was 10 when they told me he wasn't. I was a little disappointed as it was the magical think i loved about Christmas. I still love Christmas and its more about family for me now.
Id let my kids believe in Santa as long as possible it makes it more enjoyable for them.
I'm 26 now and not a serial killer :P
2007-07-17 08:38:44 · answer #10 · answered by Pete 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋