My kid just explained to me that Santa is real, and I don’t know how to feel about it. He’s fairly new to being 9, but young in terms of magical thinking. After he said he believed in Santa he went on to explain that the tooth fairy is 100% real, because there is no way a parent could sneak into your bedroom, move your pillow, and replace a tiny tooth with money. In other words, I am an exceptional thief. Not sure that is something to be proud of, but here we are. Where do we go from here?
I don’t want to tell him. I realize that it is part of parenting to share the horrors of the world with your kids and to help them grow up when it is time. He approached the conversation from the standpoint of others (kids? YouTube? I did not ask…) claiming the falseness of Santa. Maybe this is how flat earther’s get started. Maybe I am exaggerating a small myth that a child relies on in order to still believe there is something magical in this reality.
I did not break that spell. I have no intention of such. The Santa gift hunt will go on this xmas and maybe he will decide it doesn’t matter if Santa is a physical person but instead, as I did say to him, “The spirit of Christmas is the thing that really matters.”