A Connecticut mother has been left feeling concerned about Christmas this year after her 9-year-old son said he has found a way to test if Santa Claus is real.
Dorie, who is an elementary school Spanish teacher and Ph.D. candidate, took to X (formerly Twitter) for advice after learning of her eldest son Silas’ scheme. Posting under the handle doriecp, she explained the situation she finds herself in.
“I’ve been begging my 9 year old to write out his Christmas wish list. He refuses,” she wrote. “He finally admitted that he’s conducting an experiment to find out if Santa is real. He whispered his wish list aloud in an empty room because Santa, and no one else, could hear it. Send help.”
Dorie told Newsweek the revelation brought conflicting feelings. “As someone who’s currently working on her dissertation, I love that he’s taking a scientific approach and trying to collect data. As a mom who has to buy him presents, I’m screwed.”
There’s no wrong or right time for children to learn the truth about Santa Claus. In 2020, a YouGov poll of 1,200 U.S. adults found that one-third of Americans believe children should stop believing in Santa by the age of 10.
Perhaps it’s little wonder that Silas is beginning to question things. In some ways, his plans didn’t come as a huge surprise to his mother.
“I think this is just kind of his nature,” Dorie said. “He’s always been very inquisitive and loves to try to find answers to life’s really big questions. He says he wants to do deep-sea exploration when he grows up because there’s so much that’s unknown still.”
She recalls questioning the whole idea of Santa at an early age. “As a kid, I was always a skeptic,” she said. “I remember being very young and my mom point-blank asking me if I believed in Santa. At the time, I didn’t, but I lied and said I did because I didn’t think I’d get presents if I said no.”
In any case, Dorie has been blown away by the response to her tweet, with the post racking up 216,000 likes and close to 10,000 retweets.
“I’m honestly surprised at how divided the comments are,” she said. “Some people are giving very thoughtful advice on how to break it to him in a kind and gentle way that Santa isn’t real. Others say I need to protect his innocence and nurture his belief as long as possible.
“I think my favorite advice is the ones nurturing his scientific inquiry…like the one who said I should put a microphone in his room to record and tell him a good scientist has to repeat their experiments. Not that I’m actually going to do that, though.”
Ultimately, she believes there is no “one right way” of dealing with something like this “because all kids are so different.” Silas’ younger brother, 7-year-old Miles, for example, has asked for a typewriter and a cassette player for Christmas.
“The best we can do as parents is know our kids as best as possible and support their growth as unique individuals,” she said. “That’s going to mean different approaches for different kids.”
Dorie is planning to have Christmas at home, “celebrating with family this year.”
“They’re all coming to our house for brunch,” she said. “Later in the day, the kids will go to their dad’s house to celebrate with him and his family.”
And even if Silas ends up being disappointed with what he gets for Christmas, she already has a backup plan.
“The good thing about my predicament is that we also celebrate Three Kings Day,” she said. “So if my son is super disappointed in what he ends up getting on Christmas, I have a chance to fix it.”
Have you had a Christmas dilemma? Let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice on relationships, family, friends, money and work, and your story could be featured in Newsweek‘s “What Should I Do? section.
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This story was originally published December 22, 2023, 12:38 PM.
source: star-telegram
