DailyDirt: Spoiler Alert... Santa Claus Ain't Real

Ramblings

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Tue, Dec 23rd 2014 5:00pm — Michael Ho

We've mentioned before how Santa is not quite believable, even though there are various explanations trying to defend his existence. If you have young children, you might be debating when to reveal the truth behind Santa. Maybe it doesn't really matter. Here are just a few links related to parenting kids, and maybe your kids will find out about Santa on their own someday.

Children generally stop believing in Santa Claus by age 8 or 9, according to psychology researchers. Kids aren't as gullible as you might think, though, and they'll start asking pointed questions about Santa's extraordinary abilities at very young ages. [url]
Kids are starting to trust search engines over asking their parents. In a survey of 500 kids, over half of them preferred asking Google over their parents when it came to seeking answers. So Google will probably be the one to tell them that Santa isn't real. [url]
Some parents have an urge to spoil their children rotten, and if you're one of these folks, a few tips could break your bad habits. Buying toys for your kids doesn't make up for not spending time with your kids.... [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

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Filed Under: bah humbug, christmas, parenting, santa, spoiled kids, xmas

23 Comments

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Reader Comments

The First Word

“

What is the matter with you people?

Of course he's not real, but why would you spoil a child's enjoyment of the happiest time of the year by telling them he's not real before they work it out for themselves? What kind of a selfish ahole would do such a thing? Religious people, I suspect, keen to ensure that the only magical man in the sky anyone believes in is theirs. We can't have children questioning god at the same time as time as discovering the other bearded man in the sky doesn't exist, can we?

—lee

”

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John William Nelson (profile), 23 Dec 2014 @ 5:03pm

Disagree.
Definitely real.
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Shadow Dragon (profile), 23 Dec 2014 @ 5:16pm

Well
I stop believing in Santa Claus when I was 8 after my brother showed me where my parent hid the Sega Genesis.That was 25 years ago.
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Anonymous Coward, 23 Dec 2014 @ 5:25pm

Michael stop being such a spoil sport! Stop your War on Christmas now before I tell Fox News!
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John William Nelson (profile), 23 Dec 2014 @ 5:31pm

I think Fox appreciates all wars
They are the channel of warhawks.
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Anonymous Coward, 23 Dec 2014 @ 6:12pm

What truly annoys me is that if you actually google the exact question "Is Santa real?" you're treated with a bunch of sites dedicated to perpetuating the myth. If the kid is smart enough to actually seek out the answer by themselves, tell them the truth. Bonus points for Techdirt though since now when you google the question this article is one of the top results.
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Anonymous Coward, 23 Dec 2014 @ 6:19pm

I can't remember when I stopped believing in Santa, though around 8-9 sounds about right. No 'shocking revelation', or conversation with my parents on the subject, just eventually reached a point where it was generally understood at school, and at home that Santa wasn't real.

Any research into when kids stop getting wildly excited when you get them a mere 10 or 20 dollars as a Christmas gift? That's what I've gotten my cousins' kids for the past couple of years, and it's been entertaining to see them get all excited over relatively small sums of cash.
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jameshogg (profile), 23 Dec 2014 @ 7:11pm

"In a survey of 500 kids, over half of them preferred asking Google over their parents when it came to seeking answers. So Google will probably be the one to tell them that Santa isn't real."

That confirms it, then. Google is coming after your kids and is LITERALLY HITLER.
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Shadow Dragon (profile), 23 Dec 2014 @ 7:40pm

Re:
Reminds of this song http://youtu.be/BjbeOa4uKik
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Todd Shore (profile), 23 Dec 2014 @ 8:20pm

No Santa... check
No Tooth Fairy... check
No Easter Bunny... check
No God. Hmmm. Some people take longer than others.

Telling your kids lies that they will eventually discover is never a good idea.
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funnygirl0422 (profile), 23 Dec 2014 @ 10:27pm

Kids don't stop believing at the age of 8 or 9 I have a daughter who's 11 and she still believes and a son who's 9 and he still believes too and all that is a lie
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Dec 2014 @ 1:18am

Hey man, think of the children!

In a world with terrorism and copyright infringement they need Fox News!
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Ragnarredbeard, 24 Dec 2014 @ 4:42am

No Santa?
Fuck you. Santa is real. I see him down at the mall every year. Put that in your post-modernist deconstruction hat and stuff it up your ass.
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Violated (profile), 24 Dec 2014 @ 6:36am

Every story has its origin including Saint Nicholas the little boy who gave his toys away to other poor kids. So he may be long dead but the real miracle he gave the world is to follow his example.
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Tina, 24 Dec 2014 @ 6:38am

This is a great thing to show kids santa is not real when i was about 7 or 8 years old i found out by friends and me knowing there cant be a magical person.
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lee (profile), 24 Dec 2014 @ 10:29am

What is the matter with you people?
Of course he's not real, but why would you spoil a child's enjoyment of the happiest time of the year by telling them he's not real before they work it out for themselves? What kind of a selfish ahole would do such a thing? Religious people, I suspect, keen to ensure that the only magical man in the sky anyone believes in is theirs. We can't have children questioning god at the same time as time as discovering the other bearded man in the sky doesn't exist, can we?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Rekrul, 24 Dec 2014 @ 11:29am

I'm evil...

My mother used to babysit a friend's son who could be a real brat at times. One time when he wouldn't stop going on about Christmas, I told him that I heard on the news that Santa had a heart attack and died and that there wasn't going to be any Christmas that year. My mother wasn't too thrilled with me...
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Dec 2014 @ 2:09pm

Re: Well
One year when I was probably 6 or 7, my aunt took me to Walmart and asked me to pick out a toy for my cousin. I picked out something random because I didn't know my cousin well and didn't know why I was being asked to pick something for him. The next day on Christmas, I received the toy I picked out for my cousin (who wasn't even attending this family Christmas gathering), and I was told Santa brought it.

At first I thought it meant clearly that Santa wasn't real, but then I correctly realized that I am Santa!
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Jigsy, 24 Dec 2014 @ 2:09pm

If I had children, I'd tell them the truth about Santa Claus.

I refuse to buy presents and let someone else take the credit for it.
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Jamie, 24 Dec 2014 @ 6:58pm

Really
Wow when I was ten I herd that Santa was not real but I have a friend that is 15and she still believes in Santa what the f***is wrong with her she is wow and ya
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Kevin, 24 Dec 2014 @ 7:24pm

Santa Claus for Christmas I really want a soccer shoe
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Kevin, 25 Dec 2014 @ 5:41am

Santa Claus for christmas I really want a soccer shoe.and the shoe is called Nike. The color is blue and green
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sophia, 6 Mar 2015 @ 3:26am

play online games
Waow this is really a nice Website great effort. You work quite hard when it comes to presenting.
santa games free
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shell shockers, 5 Jun 2018 @ 9:45pm

dearyou
Thanks for sharing the post
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