this is an intentional act and should be brought to the school principals attention... that's a book for children who ALREADY KNOW there is no Claus, NOT those that don't. And if he doesn't, you'd better tell him now because you seriously don't want him to be the last one on the playground to find out. That wouldn't be pretty :-p
A 9 year old that devours books above his grade level probably already has a very strong suspicion that Santa Claus doesn’t exist.
BTW, don’t let him watch the second season of cartoon version of “The Tick”, it will spoil it for him as well.
this is an intentional act and should be brought to the school principals attention... that's a book for children who ALREADY KNOW there is no Claus, NOT those that don't.If your son devours books, he may wish to read other books by a particular author. In Judy Blume’s case, this would lead to books like Wifey and Forever, which can be described as “erotica/porn for pre-teens.” You should steer your son clear of Judy Blume.
at a certain point a child will understand that you have lied about SC and they will lose their trust in you.....4th grade seems too old to still believe......you are at risk....I read all Blume’s books to my two boys, been years though...they were very funny and my boys loved them
Seriously, I loved Tales of the Forth Grade Nothing and Superfudge.
If he reads as much as you say, then he's going to figure it out pretty quick. I would agree that there are several Blume books that I think are targeting kids not ready for certain info (Are you there God, It's me Margret) but the Fudge books are pretty safe.
“I have not got a copy of this book. Can somebody tell me about “Super Fudge” by Judy Blume and the Santa Claus disclosure?”
It’s been a long time since I read that book (late 1970s), but here is the gist of the Santa issue.
-Peter (the main character) is the older brother of the Fudge, who is about five or six in this story (Superfudge is the second of several novels about Peter).
-Peter’s in 5th grade now, and doesn’t believe anymore. Fudge, who is a handful to begin with, drives his older brother crazy by endless talking about what Santa is going to bring him.
-Near the very end of the book, on or about Christmas Day, Fudge makes a startling revelation to Peter and admits he only pretends to believe in order to make his parents happy.
I thought my middle son knew & was going to spoil it for his little brother, so I told him. You'd think he still believed for several years after that, even after his younger brother knew. He always loved playing make believe, so it was a fun time for him when he had the adults playing along.
BTW, I figured it out with my brother's help when I was 3, but we pretended to believe for a few years, cuz we didn't want the Santa presents to stop.
Just to soften the blow a little bit, most kids don’t “find out” that Santa doesn’t exist, they just kind of figure it out. I certainly don’t remember any shock moment, just one Christmas “Santa” was the magic, and the next “presents” left by “Santa” *wink, wink* was the magic.
At nine he probably already knows the truth but once you tell him the magic is over. Christmas is a family event and as long as you're willing to pretend then so will your son (while he is at home with his family), once you confront that neither of you can pretend anymore. So long as pretending is fun for you and for your son let it go. He'll get to tell his friends that he knows but his parents don't know that he knows and you get to pretend that he doesn't and you will both be happier for it.
You know your son better than anyone else in the world, if he ask and you can tell he expects a truthful answer then give it to him, if he doesn't, don't ruin it.
I really don't believe that any child will resent you for "lying" about Santa, once they know the truth they see the fun in it.
The book is fine, but don't make an issue about Santa unless he asks and you know he wants the truth.
A few years ago, Santa brought my youngest kid a thing called a "Stomp Rocket" which was this plastic bladder connected by a tube to a launch pad that you would put the projectile onto.
When he stomped on the plastic bladder, the air pressure would launch the rocket about 40 feet in the air.
We played with that thing for a while, and on the way back home he told me "this was my best day ever."
I remember every day he told me it was his best day ever.
He still told me he believed in Santa Clause. I knew he didn't. It's infinitely more important that he believes in Jesus Christ.
are you sure that your son really does believe in Santa? i know that children sometimes play along for their parents’ sakes...
My son still believes in Santa and my wife and I would like to see if we can get another year of this for our boy.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Fourth grade is entirely too old to still be believing in Santa Claus.
When he does find out, on some level, he will feel that his parents tricked him, lied to him, and **used** his innocence to further their own emotional needs.
If he’s smart, in the fourth grade, and a good reader—I’d bet that he already knows about Santa Claus. Now, it’s always possible that he’s trying to shelter you from that truth....