What age should you tell the truth about the tooth fairy, and father christmas?

My 10 yr old went along with a friend whom had a dentist appointment. To cut a long story short, she over heard discussions and realized there is no tooth fairy. When she came home and asked me out right, I felt I had to tell her the truth, as her friend obviously already knew. She then followed to ask about father christmas. I felt terrible as I had always made a big deal of it, giving her letters from her personal tooth fairy etc. She was broken hearted, as she had felt close to her tooth fairy. I think it was too early for her to loose the magic, and I feel so guilty now. How can I take back what I have said?

What age should you tell the truth about the tooth fairy, and father christmas?
I don't think you can. There comes a time when every child just sort of figures it out. Sometimes its messy, sometimes not. I wasn't too heart broken when I found out. I realized that the important thing was the spirit behind the symbols and I was eager to carry on the myths with my younger cousins who still believed. My little sister, on the other hand, was pretty upset. In time, however, she came to accept it and felt that it was kind of cool to be on the adult end of the consipiracy.


Does your daughter have any younger children around, cousins or siblings, for whom she can help to carry on the traditions with? That's what really helped us when we were little.


Good luck!
Reply:Wow she still believed at age 10 you were lucky to have her believe that long
Reply:10 or 11.
Reply:ten years old may be a little too old, i found out when i was eight all by myself, i just decided that there were no such thing as fairy's
Reply:10 year old? I think she believed it very long. My parents told me when I was 8, I was broken hearted but it passed fairly quick. You cannot take back what you said, you will look like a liar to her and that will hurt her even more. It will pass, we grew up fine knowing there's no tooth fairy or father xmas and we are doing ok, aren't we?
Reply:My mom did the same thing with me and she'll eventually be grateful for all the things you did, just as I am. there isn't a way to take it back, but you can tell her that the tooth fairy is a part of you and that you were so blessed to be her tooth fairy. And that the tooth fairy may not be anyone but parents, but that there is a tooth fairy in everyone and that though she's not someone separate, the spirit of tooth fairy is very real...Love and sadness that your baby is growing up. that is basically what my mom told me and it meant the world to me. The magic is always there. I never liked the whole Santa thing because my best friend didn't have much money and Christmas was very limited, whereas from "Santa" my bro and I got a lot. I resented him saying that Santa was mean because my friend was good. at ten, 4th or 5th grade, most everyone will tell her that he isn't real. My brother is that age also. It is so sad to see it go. it is way too young. what has the world come to? I don't know. but same thing is true for father Christmas as is for the TF. He will always be real in the spirit of Christmas. Make sure if you tell her, that she always knows that.
Reply:You have carried it on as long as anybody possibly could. She will get over it. Actually, when I revealed the truth to my children (now all grown up)-- I told them that Santa is not a fairy, but a saint: an angel who visits Moms and Dads at Christmas time each year and makes us want to buy nice things for our children. I've told my children many times over the years that I DO believe in Santa...and why ELSE would Mom %26amp; Dad spend so much money, if Santa was not a real spirit?!?





The same can be related to the Easter Bunny, tooth fairy, etc... in a slightly different way. That it is the spirit of giving.





That way, it's not conceived as a lie, so much as a part of your faith that you want to give to your children and make their lives special.
Reply:The right age to tell the kids the truth about the tooth fairy and santa claus is 16.
Reply:Ounce of prevention.





I've never told my five-year-old that these imaginary people exist. I'm a Christian, so is my husband, and we don't observe Xmas or any other pagan holiday (no we're not JWs either).





You have to play it straight with your children, or they won't listen to you when it really counts.
Reply:You can't take it back. But you can explain about the tradition of the Tooth Fairy and Santa, and talk about how it was when you were a kid, and why it was important to you to share the magic with her, and how you feel honored to have been able to give her that for so long.





And I'd probably reinforce that it wasn't a malicious lie, but a tradition passed down to her. You don't want her to begin to think you lie to her on a regular basis, you want her to understand that Santa/Tooth Fairy/etc are different.