‘My 12-year-old still believes in Santa… should I tell him the truth?’

“He’s a smart kid, well-liked – I just can’t fathom how he hasn’t found out yet. I’m worried he’ll be made fun of,” the mum reveals.

The mum couldn't believe her son was 12 and hadn't found out the truth about Santa Claus. Photo: iStock

With some kids and Santa, the jig is up pretty early on.

Maybe they hear a rumour about it at school, or maybe a helpful older sibling reveals the truth to them.

Regardless of how they find out, most kids find out there’s no such thing as Santa Claus by the time they’re eight. 

Adelaide’s son though has bucked the trend, keeping the faith alive even though he’s in year seven and closing in on 13.

“He is in honours classes, makes honour roll, is social and has many friends, but he still believes in Santa Claus,” she said in a Reddit post.

Not quite believing it could be true, she went to his older brother to see if he was keeping up the charade for her sake, but he said no.

Adelaide wondered if she should be the one to break the magic.

After all, a 12-year-old would surely be teased for believing in Santa if any of his peers found out.

“But I fear him getting upset with me for lying to him for so long,” she said.

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The mum couldn't believe her son was 12 and hadn't found out the truth about Santa Claus. Photo: iStock

Reddit weighs in on 12-year-old believing in Santa

Most people thought it was at worst, harmless, and at best, sweet.

“To this day, my parents have never told me Santa Claus doesn’t exist,” one person said. “They say if you stop believing in him, he won’t bring you any presents. I’m 48. I still get presents from Santa Claus.”

“Same here,” said another. “My dad always said, ‘If you believe, you shall receive’.”

“I put two and two together a long time ago (Santa used the same wrapping paper and had the same handwriting as my mum), and I don’t ever really remember having a big revelation or telling my mum I didn’t believe,” said a third person. “It’s fine.”

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Some people thought he was protecting Adelaide’s feelings.

“He probably does know and just isn’t say anything to ruin the Christmas magic,” one person said. “There’s no way a 12-year-old in today’s world hasn’t looked it up online or had friends or kids at school tell them. Just leave it be.”

Others didn’t think it was so harmless though.

“I taught a 13-year-old student who completely believed in Santa and elf on the shelf,” one person said. “She was ridiculed and I felt horrible for her. Being teased isn’t the way I’d want my child to find out Santa isn’t real.”

“I have a co-worker who believed in Santa still at 12. It is a pretty great anecdote now that she’s in her 30s, but she recalls how incredibly crushed she was when her mum sat her down and had to explain it was all a ruse, but she was also grateful her mum did because it would have been more embarrassing to find out at school.”

Originally published as ‘My 12-year-old still believes in Santa… should I tell him the truth?’