Santa's not real?

Agreed, like I believed up until I was 10.

#8 there are tons of people who have never even heard of Santa, the tooth fairy etc.

I was always told that Santa wasn't real but I still believed. It wasn't till I was 7 and I rummaged around my parent's room before Christmas that I discovered the presents... :(

I'd figured it out by the time I was 5. always a skeptic :/

I figured it out when I was 8. I kept pretending he was real to make Christmas fun. It worked.

I'm pushing 30 and in my house, even if you're pushing 80 you believe in Santa. Oh, Santa isn't real you say? Well, let's see how you like getting lumps of coal on Christmas morning while everyone else opens SANTA's gifts!

My friend was 14..and he still believed in Santa Claus...I was like...Are you kidding?

89- It's only cause their parents/teachers were not dream killers.

a little belief and whimsy in this forsaken world is a good thing in my book.

89: How is that a bad thing? Don't you remember that joy brought upon by the thought that Santa was coming and you were going to get rewarded for being good all year? I wish I still believed and I'm 19!

I was 11, and my "best friend" and her bro decided to be complete assgoles and make fun of me until i cried about how i still believed. I'll never forgive them for that :s

I find this odd, because my parents never really told us about the Tooth Fairy and Santa. We got money for our teeth, and gifts on Xmas, but they told us it was tradition, not magic. I sometimes feel like I lost out on a lot of the stuff other kids my age did, but looking back there was never that sense of betrayal when I "learned the truth" at ten or eleven. We also never went to church either so that might have a large part to do with the fact that this seems strange to me that someone would be so upset at eight about a mythical character.

I will believe in Santa till the day I move out and discover no presents under my tree! Haven't you ever seen the polar express? Just believe!:)

My dad and I still believe cause as he says every year when we get christmas done right and with all the presents people wanted bought with as little money as he earns "there must be a santa because how the hell do we do it every year"

That was a bitch move. You can try to convince him he's real if he still wants to believe.

there was no betrayal when I found out, I thought more like "wow my family cares enough to use this story, and give me these toys, or anything else I got." kids need things like this letting their imagination run wild.

I figured it out at 9

I believed in Santa until i was like 12 or 13 because he came to my house once... I figured that he HAD to be real and if the other kids didnt believe it's because they just never saw him. I then saw the tape of when he "came to our house" and saw my dad turn away to pull the beard down so he can eat the cookies i brought him :'(

My family always celebrated Christmas, going to the mall to see Santa and all that stuff, and did the tooth fairy stuff, but as a child my parents never made me believe them, so I figured at probably the age of 4 myself it's just a cute little thing to cheer me up. I may sound sad that I never honestly believed in Santa but it saved me a lot of embarrassment.

I still believe. Not in the person, but the concept and spirit. I'm more disappointed that it only carries this time of year. Doing good things for strangers should be a year round thing.

82 that's how it works in my parents house as well.."don't believe you don't receive.."

113- The Tooth Fairy really has nothing to do with religion, specifically in the Christian church, and if you think about it, neither does Christmas. It was actually a Pagan holiday first until it was stolen by the Christians to get more Pagans to convert to Christianity. The evidence in the Bible, even, supports the claim that Jesus was born around April or March.

142- What is so embarrassing about believing in Santa and the Tooth Fairy, have we really gotten to the point as humans where it's embarrassing to still believe in something as simple as Santa or the Tooth Fairy?

Ya damn right. What the heck is that teachers problem? No wonder the US schools have most of the lowest grades. Whatever happened to math science art ya know things a child should learn

#123 Your dad is awesome!

#69 well of course the presents from Santa were in your parents' room. he's pretty busy Christmas night, so he gets your mum and dad to put them under the tree.

My dad had a friend that was all alone. So every christmas since my older sister was born he came as Santa and celebrated christmas with us, and with half of our presents with him. This made me believe in Santa until I were about 10. My sister figured it out before me of course, but she played along for quite a while to keep me believing.

My parents never once told me Santa was real. They told me that other kids believe in Santa and I should respect them by not killing their beliefs. I argue with my wife a lot about how to handle our unborn daughter regarding Christmas. I believe not to lie to my kids even about Santa. It's just asking for the kid to get hurt later as the op has mentioned.

#71, you didn't "figure out" shit by the time you were 5, unless your parents or someone told you. Time flies by in those early years of your life. Most people's earliest memories start at around 3 or 4. Even then, you only remember a couple events and details, let alone have full thoughts. Almost all people only have basic problem solving abilities at that age and are not able to solve anything as complex as whether or not Santa is real.

So should college professors also not teach evolution because some adults still believe in creation?

Plus, 5 year olds don't give two ***** about shit.

to #82 - yea im 16 almost 17 and i still believe ..... have some of you never seen what happened in rise of the guardians.....jack even pitch all because noone believed in them...????? i believe in all......yea bye

I discovered when I was 9 but tricked parents to get more. presents until 12

Lets just say that the Polar Express is my favorite movie of all time. You crazy people think Santa isn't really, when all you have to do is believe!

Then how can they write about how they felt when learning he wasn't real? Kids that don't know what they are, aren't relevant

Or he had no common sense

My little brother is also 10 and believes

I believed in the tooth fairy until I was 13 and my parents thought I knew she wasn't real and they said they needed to put a dollar under my sister pillow for her loosing her tooth and I cried.

I was never raised believing in any mythical being that sneaks into my house... I don't really think kids should be told any of it is true in the first place. My parents didn't want me to grow up and eventually know that they were liars...

I disagree.I think it's good to tell kids that.It gives them imagination and something to look forward to.I've never heard anyway say they felt betrayed by their parents when they found out they weren't real.

176- It's not lying, it's giving you something to look forward to as a child, and being able to give you a sense of hope that Santa will bring you presents on Christmas day.

Belief in the fantastical as a child builds a strong imagination and is a major component of the development of the neutral network in the right side of the brain. Letting your children believe a fantasy helps wire their brain for creativity, essential for invention and problem solving later in life.

I remember having a sense of hope as a child, it was that my benevolent father and mother were going to give me presents to the best of their capabilities (or as much as I could understand about "capabilities"). Not a stranger... I agree with your statement #204, about imagination building being a key part of early development. However I would have to disagree concerning the necessity of those fantastical figures such as the easter bunny, tooth fairy, and santa in the role of that development. I know that in the absence of all stimuli the brain will strive to fill the gap. To argue that santa is a key part of imagination seems narrow (absolutely no offense intended). There is so much more to this world and universe to be imagined and told. I remember that I was perfectly content imagining up things about my legos, I didn't need a fat man in a red suit or a flying fairy to help me with my imagination.

It IS lying, and I understand its fun for kids to believe but too much lying will only hurt the child. It's not fun to be ten years old and paranoid because you have to rely on adults for everything and you know they constantly feed you bullshit. Its not easy going to school every day expecting to learn when you know that your teachers are just going to lie to you. SOME kids actually like learning, so its not fair to mix in lies with the truth when they go to school. They're trusting you to teach them. They have plans for the future. They want a good education, and they deserve one.

Thank you, #242!

I didn't find out until I was ten, so for a teacher to assign this to a bunch of eight year olds is extremely ignorant.

My brother is ten and still believes in the tooth fairy

Parents better unite and gather their torches and pitchforks

Woah, hang on. She told that to FIVE year olds? Telling that to 8 year olds is one thing, but kindergarteners?

#34 Love the way your comment sounds mixed with your pic! Haha F your daughters life OP. Complain about it to the school?

Yeah that's just crossing the line. Who in their crazy mind would tell 5 YEAR OLDS!?

That's bull. I agree its one thing to tell 8 year olds. In my experience, age 4-5 is when they start to really understand the concept of those things and enjoy them

I understand the difference you guys see between 5 and 8 year olds but either way, that's a horrible thing. I, as well as many other kids I knew, believed until we were 10.

Where does it become the teachers place to tell students what's real and what isn't? When I taught I made it a point to inform the older children to keep their beliefs about Santa to themselves and let others believe what they wanted.

we opened 1 present on Christmas eve and the others on the morning of Christmas day, my parents would tell me that santa was the spirit of christmas and the he lived in our hearts and souls. We used to get one present and a card every year from him.

73 yes you are alone. Santa may have been blown out of proportion over the years, but what's the harm in letting little kids believe in magic, even if it's only for one night? After all their dreams will be shattered in high school, and again in college and then life will punch them in the gut over and over, so why can't kids enjoy the wonders and fantasies even if they aren't real?

When I have children I will teach them of the spirit and joys of giving and compassion for others. I will not, however, tell them that a fat man comes into the house to put presents under the tree. The magic lies within the human heart, not with Santa Claus.

73- It isn't a false story, It's a whimsical fairy tale to give children hope. My parents were very big on keeping up the Santa illusion. They went as far as waking up at 1 in the morning to put presents under the tree, eating the cookies we put out and leaving a note from Santa, even making look like a very old man wrote it. I think it's a tradition to believe in Santa and the Tooth Fairy that should never die.

Maybe it's because I never believed in Santa, I just don't understand why teach it when it causes issues like this FML. As I stated, my parents didn't not tell us about Santa, just didn't say he was real. It distracts from the true meaning of Christmas. Sorry that no one seems to agree with me. It will not stop me from not telling my kids Santa, tooth fairy or easter bunny are real.

It's still none of the teacher's business whether the kids believe or not. I never believed either (Most poor kids don't) but I was always taught not to say anything to the other kids.

How would you complain about it to the school? "Excuse me principal, but my son's teacher's told him something that was true and didn't match up with a lie I told him at home, and he/she is very upset now. Could you tell Mrs. Smith to stop telling her class the truth?"

That's how I'm going to do it.

Not sure dignity is really the right word for the situation.

Maybe audacity is a better word

I think that the teacher assumed that the kids already knew that those things didn't exist.

Childhood is about learning and playing. If you tell a kid a lie, it doesn't ruin their childhood when they find out you're a liar. It ruins their trust in you. Which means stop lying, not keep lying until they're a pre-teen.

You guys and your pet names for "things"! :P

8 years old is in no way too young! I believed until I was 11 and my cousin told me. It's good for kids to have something to believe in.

Please don't have children, 9...

I believed in Santa until I was almost twelve. The kids at my school, jerks that they were, yelled at me that Santa wasn't real. I yelled back at them that he was, but they still ruined Christmas for me. Honestly, if they hadn't done that, I'd probably still believe, even though I'm turning eighteen next month.

I was never raised believing in any mythical being that sneaks into my house... I don't really think kids should be told any of it is true in the first place. My parents didn't want me to grow up and eventually know that they were liars...

My parents didn't teach me about any of these things either and frankly I wouldn't teach them to my kids either, but that does not give the teacher any right to ruin it for other kids. Parents should be allowed to tell their 8 year old that Santa brings them gifts if they want to. What the teacher did was completely wrong.

Yeah, its a jerk move to yell at a classmate that Santa isn't real... but the truth is that he isn't. And believing in fake stuff like that is harmful to our society. Think of how the world would be if everyone believed in Santa. We'd be a planet full of idiots. Bullying is not okay, but neither is being stupid and believing in things that are obviously fake. Use common sense to figure out if something is real or not, and do research if you're still not sure.

245 - So you're basically saying that everyone who has some sort of faith in a religion is an "idiot"? Just because there is no scientific proof of something doesn't mean it's not real. Almost everyone believes in some sort of god. Does god not exist either, just because you have no proof of him? Santa could be real. We just don't know. I consider myself an agnostic when it comes to Santa - I don't have any proof that he exists, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

245- Pray tell, how is believing in Santa harmful to society? Why would we all be idiots? Because we believed in a little whimsical magic at a young age? Totally logical argument.