With Christmas fast approaching parents around the world are sorting out their children’s Santa toys and the general last minute shopping duties. Santa Claus is without doubt a massive part of Christmas for children and parents alike, but the debate has been put forward about when children should stop believing in Santa.
Laurel Elis, writing for popsugar.com is arguing that while it is acceptable for 8 or 9-year-old kids to believe, a ten-year-old child who still believes in Santa is “just downright silly”. I firmly disagree with her and think it is entirely up to each individual child and/or the parents.
Laurel argues that at 10-years-old, children become tweens and should be focusing on other things like junior high and having braces. “They shouldn’t believe in a large man and his magical elves that bring gifts from a place called the North Pole once a year,” she writes.
She says that children believe what they are told most of the time and at the age of 10 they are developing “keen inquiry skills” while questioning the world around them. “Believing in Santa at an older age demonstrates less about retaining childhood purity and more that they’re refusing to think about the world in an inquisitive and thoughtful way,” she claims.
Christmas is a magical time for children and I don’t see the harm in letting children believe in the magic of Santa Claus for as long as they want, within reason of course. I’m not saying a 15/16 year old should be allowed to keep the pretense going, but then again not all children are the same, especially 10-year-olds. We know ourselves from being kids, that as soon as we realize the reality of Santa Claus, the whole holiday loses its magic and appeal. After all we are not old enough at that point to understand the true meaning of Christmas.
Laurel believes that part of the problem is parents not willing to let the whole thing go and admits that as a parent herself she often wants time to slow down and accepting that our children are growing up is hard. However, she says “continuing the Santa ruse at a certain point becomes less about the child and more about the parent’s needs. There are other ways to retain their sense of childhood wonder without resorting to folklore best reserved for preschool-aged children.”
Laurel says that if you have a child aged 10 or older you should break the news to them gently and encourage them to question the logic of Santa. Why would you do that to your child, I ask? Children are growing up far too fast as it is and if they genuinely believe in Santa at a slightly older age than 10, who cares. Let them retain some of their innocence for a little longer because adulthood is long enough and the world can be a scary place to live in.
Laurel ends her piece by saying “Hopefully, once they realize all the inconsistencies, they’ll recognize that the magic of the holidays doesn’t actually come from the North Pole, but instead from themselves and their families.” That much is true, but let every parent and child be the ones to determine when that happens, there is no set rule after all and we will all have differing opinions on the matter.