Although the evidence for the existence of Santa Claus is clearly irrefutable, many boys and girls begin to question his existence at some point, something that parents await with trepidation.
Now a group of psychologists has been able to identify the average age at which this skepticism appears and which children are most at risk of harboring negative emotions when this moment arrives.
An illogical, but magical reasoning
Many children still believe in the idea that a big, bearded man comes down the chimney or sneaks into the house through the window to leave gifts. And not just in one house, but in thousands and thousands of homes in a single night. But this doesn’t really match his general reasoning ability.
“Children often begin to distinguish between fantasy and reality during the preschool years, but their belief in the existence of a unique, magical Santa Claus often extends into childhood,” says Candice Mills, a psychologist at the University of Texas at Dallas. .USA), in statements reported by The Guardian newspaper.
As this newspaper reports, Mills began to realize the “promotion” that revolved around the figure of Santa Claus when she became a mother. “I felt a little tense about it, because, on the one hand, we encourage our children to be scientific thinkers and not deceive others, but with the story of Santa Claus, sometimes the truth is stretched a little,” she says. .
“I was worried about giving my children the impression that I was lying, because I knew I was upset that they lied to me about Santa Claus,” he adds.
From belief to denial
Mills and his team wanted to better understand this transition in the little ones, from fervently believing in Santa Claus to denying his existence. They interviewed 48 children between 6 and 15 years old who had stopped believing in Santa Claus and 44 of their parents, as well as another 383 adults.
The research – although not yet peer-reviewed – reveals that for most children, disbelief gradually sets in around age eight, although some three- and four-year-olds convince themselves that Santa Claus wasn’t real. Others continue to believe in this figure until they are 15 or 16 years old.
For other children, the testimony of others who do not believe in Santa Claus is what finally convinces them.
“They may have had some skepticism based on logical reasoning – how can Santa Claus really travel around the world in one night? – but what pushes them over the edge is when a classmate tells them it’s not real,” Mills emphasizes.
Finding out late is worse
According to the study, approximately a third of the children and half of the adults interviewed expressed negative emotions when falling for the rumor that Santa Claus did not exist.
And although these feelings were mild and did not last long, around 10% of adults reported longer-lasting sadness or less trust in their parents as a result.
Such negative feelings could be linked, according to psychologists, to receiving the news suddenly or too directly, or to discovering it at an older age. In these cases, explain Guardianthese were usually parents who had invested time and imagination in making their little ones believe that the figure of Santa Claus was real, “recording videos of him in the living room or leaving trails of glitter on the floor.”
However, there were also many children who reported feeling happy or relieved when they stopped believing. “It was like they had solved some kind of riddle,” says Mills.
Despite everything, the tradition continues
The vast majority of skeptical adults and children said they would continue the Santa tradition with their own children, or were already doing so, he said. Guardian about the study.
The study also gives some advice on how to deal with curious questions from children, especially when they are not ready to give up their ideas.
Mills suggests asking the child what he thinks, talking about what “some people” believe, saying “that’s an interesting question,” or “what do you think?”, and watching the child discuss it for himself. This can help parents decide how to deal with the moment of truth.
When his own children asked him this question, Mills at first shrugged it off, but when they said, “I want to know the truth,” Mills told them. “They were very proud of themselves and celebrated,” he says in Guardian.
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