Warning****This post contains sensitive information that may not suitable for young children who still believe****
Hannah and I had "the talk" tonight. No, not THAT talk! Thank goodness...
Nope. We had the Santa talk, and here's how it went down:
Hannah-"Mom, how can Santa fly all around the world and deliver presents to every child all in one night?"
Me-"How do you think he does it?"
Hannah-"Well, it just doesn't seem possible to me. How could one person do all of that?"
I told Hannah that we should wait a few minutes to finish talking about this, so she finished helping me fold the laundry, and we headed upstairs to put it away. I told her that now would be a good time to talk about it since the boys were downstairs.
Me-"So what do YOU think about Santa?"
Hannah-"I don't think he can do all of that"
Me-"Do you believe in Santa?"
Hannah-"I don't think he can be real"
Me-"Does that make you sad?"
Hannah-"I don't think so. But if he's not real, why do kids believe in him? And where do all of the presents come from?"
I told her that a long time ago, there really was a person named St. Nicholas and about how he used to deliver gifts to the children in his village. And because it made the kids so happy, parents started carrying on the tradition of Santa Claus. She seemed to understand the reasoning, but then something else dawned on her. With a huge grin on her face, she said,
"You mean, YOU AND DAD gave me my bike last year?"
OOOPS! We've been outed!
We talked a little bit more about why it's very important that she not say anything to her brothers and her friends at school because it would be very terrible to ruin the excitement for other kids. She asked me if she was too old to find out about Santa, and I told her that she was right on target, that most kids stop believing around her age or a little older. She wasn't sad at all to hear this news, in fact she acted rather pleased. It was as if she had just found the missing pieces to a puzzle she had been working out in her mind.
My little girl is growing up, and although it's a bit sad to me, I'm glad that she wanted to talk me about her questions, instead of asking the kids at school. Hopefully, it will be the same when it comes time for that OTHER TALK!
Saturday, October 06, 2007
The end of innocence
Posted by tharker at 8:05 PM
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15 Thoughts:
That's much better than how I found out that Santa wasn't real. I won't tell the world how I found out, but since you know my Dad, I'm sure you can figure it out. What a great way to handle it though. I bet Hannah loved being a "grown up" now that she knows about Santa. And will you tell her to stop growing up so fast. I can't believe how old she is.
Yeah, Dad made it very clear to me when i was young that there was no Santa, I could never figure out why my friends were so dead set on him being real, then Grandma came one Christmas and her and Dad got into it when she tried to tell me that Santa was real. Fun memories.
That is funny, cuz I remember asking my mom the exact question about Santa. You did great with your answers and the way you talked about it. It sounds like she handled the news well. I'm only shocked that she thought about it in Oct. when Halloween is around the corner and December is still 2 months away! :)
I think in some respects.. I never stopped believing in Santa. I know there's no Santa, but sometimes I still find myself listening for those bells in the sky Christmas Eve....lol! You did a great job. I think Breigh is starting to figure it out too, but I don't have the heart to tell her. Hopefully I can do it as well as you.
P.S. I totally miss you too!
It sounds like the conversation went really well with Hannah and you did a good job. It makes me sad though because I think I love the thought of Santa more than my kids. A huge part of me doesn't want Carson to figure out the truth. I love his excitement on Christmas morning.
Conversations with my children have been very similar to yours with Hannah. I have told my children that it is okay to continue to believe in the spirit of Santa Clause, and although it is parents who carry out the actual surprises, that they do it in the "spirit" of St. Nicholas.
You did a wonderful job of being sensitive and loving with her questions. These are the times when being a parent is so rewarding.
There is actually something touching about the way this all went down. Beinng the fifth kid, I don't ever remember believing in Santa Claus, but I do remember telling my mom that I knew santa wasn't real. Christmas was still a lot of fun, though.
What a story! I think Caleb was about that age when we finally broke it to him. He still won't let me forget how I "ruined christmas for him."
I am just wondering what Shells was told. Was it a similar to the story about Mother Nature? How are we not scarred for life? Or are we?
I like how this talk went down. I think I will need to have the same talk with Samantha in a year or two. The whole idea of an actual Santa is starting to not make sense to her anymore. Maybe I will just have her ask my dad about it.
All of you Harker kids joking about your dad is making me smile.
Marshall told us once about how your dad gave you all doorknobs for Christmas one year, we still kind of laugh about that. Hopefully you guys laugh about it too and are not scarred for life.
I love the doorknob story!!! Best gift ever!
This was really sweet to hear her curious questions, and it is sad that they stop believing so young. I love the idea of magic at Christmas and the way I feel during the season. When I took Kendle to see the Polar Express, I think I enjoyed it far more than she did.
Nicely handled, Tiffani! We have one who knows the truth in our house and he's not allowed to tell the younger ones. He loves knowing the "secret" and plays along willingly. I love having my kids believe, but I guess they have to grow out of it sooner or later.
Do tell the doorknob story!
Yeah, I hope she comes and talks to you when it comes time for that other talk, too. :)
I'm glad she wasn't sad about finding out the truth about Santa. Some kids find it devastating.
mum if you want I can have "that" talk with her and maybe i could get her knickers off after and we could experiment
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