Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion but we still believe in Santa and the Tooth Fairy!

I had that book as a child and loved it! I found it at Barnes and Noble, I think, a year or two ago and bought it for the girls.......so sweet!!

I agree that Ruf's levels were helpful to our family, especially in terms of my family being so gifted denial.

I disagree with this approach: The all or nothing attitude. I think you are valid with the fact that her case study was minimal but to then jump to the conclusion that her work is equal to quizzes in magazines ... really not a fair comparison. I know that a lot of parents laugh at the line up of their child(ren) to Ruf's levels and yes it is not absolute and Ruf admits that in her book but her work definitely has its place in the gifted community. She really opened my eyes for what I was seeing. And yes my daughter is the poster child for Ruf's levels through the infant and toddler years.

my HG+ DD4 asked me one day what the trucks did that had the word "FEDEX" on them. I said they deliver packages. So she replied that FEDEX brings christmas presents, not santa.. So i said, you are very clever little girl, always thinking! (but did not really agree or disagree about the santa thing).. That was a year ago. Now she believes in Santa again and has dropped teh FEDEX idea. So some of it is what they want to believe, but the difference being that they are thinking about it in a more advanced way then their peers who would never question it.

irene

Well I guess I need to revise my last reply. I took DD6 to the dentist this morning to have her two bottom front teeth removed, big teeth coming in the back and the baby teeth weren't coming out. These are the first baby teeth to come out. At home I asked her if she wanted to put them in a envelope and put them under her pillow. She said "oh mom, I don't believe in the tooth fariy" My 4 year old let me know that she still believes

My DS started questioning Santa last Christmas. He was 4 then. I answered his questions with questions. Over the summer, he was 5 then, he announced one night at dinner that Santa didn't exist. I told him that Santa lived in his heart and if he believed in the spirit of Santa then he must exist. So far this Christmas season he hasn't denounced Santa again, not sure if my little talk with him helped this summer or if it's too close to Christmas to take a chance on getting presents or not.

I would say he is a very logical child, math is his strongest area, but he does have a fancy for the "supernatural" and prefers to read and watch movies like Spinderwick, Chronicles of Narnia.

DS6 has questioned Santa and the tooth fairy since he was 4 but not to the point of disbelieving. He asks questions, but he never asks enough to result in NO MORE SANTA. I'm not sure if that's by design or not. We had this conversation a month ago:

Mom: "I wonder what the tooth fairy looks like?"
DS6: "Um, a fairy, Mom. She looks like a fairy. And, you knew fairies are only in fairy tales, right?"
Mom: "Even the tooth fairy?"
DS6: "Well, maybe the tooth fairy is real, or maybe you or dad just sneak in my room after I fall asleep and put $2 under my pillow."

As for Santa, last year he wanted to set up a hidden camera to see if he could catch Santa in action. His assumption was that if Santa is real, he'd see him. So, we set up the camera, and ds went to bed. Dh dressed up in a Santa costume, made noise by the fireplace, and stomped into the room carrying toys back and forth from the fireplace (which was just out of view of the camera). You could see all of Santa from the mouth down, so he never could see the full face to ID dad. He could even see him eating the cookies and drinking milk, but again it was only from the mouth down. He even caught Santa scratching his bum. It was hilarious!

Have you heard of Elf on a Shelf? It's an elf doll that visits each December and hangs around watching kids to see if they are naugty or nice. At night it reports your behavior back to Santa and reappears at a new place in your home each morning. The kids run around looking for it each morning. You can't touch him because it takes away his magic or something like that. Anyway, again, we had to pull out the video camera. Ds videoed the elf disappearing in a flash of light with a loud "magical" noise. Thank goodness for digital editing software. It's awesome. I don't think I've laughed that hard in years. Our friends all showed the video to their kids too, and I think we'll all get a little mileage out of that one. My guess it it helped to extend the believing years by at least a year. I'm not sure we have much longer; Unfortunately, I'd say it's probably our last year. : (

When I was 8, I finally asked my parents if Santa was real, and my dad told me the truth. Interestingly, I was one of only two children in my entire grade who believed any longer. I wouldn't belive the other kids until I heard it from my parents!

My CJ8 still believes but then again our family is one to be enthralled by the magic of it all. We embrace the wonder of each thing.

At 4/r he noticed the wrapping paper was the same on some presents from Santa as those for other family members. Since then he has his own special paper that has to be hidden to maintain the secret. They grow up so fast and see such ugliness that I want him to appreciate the simple things as well.

I've told Wolf that Santa is the Spirit of Giving and lives in all of our hearts. Did I mention I still believe in Santa?

My DD3 still believes in Santa as far as I know, but I have to be on my toes since she doesn't miss a thing. I want her to enjoy this magical time and to indulge in fantasy a bit. For all I know this may be her last Christmas believing since so many start to question around four. If we go to visit the mall Santa and another Santa and they look different in any way, which they will, she will notice and ask. I am surprised others don't, but I think she wants to believe.

Wyldkat, we do almost exactly the same as you. Santa is part of the 'Spirit of Christmas' (open-heartedness, giving etc. which we celebrate at this time of year). This helps a lot when I have an 8 year old who 'knows', and I don't want to seen to be lying to the younger siblings or having lied to him. DS8 and I can 'believe' in Santa too.