Yes, Your Kid's Probably Googled Whether Santa Is Real

Each year, Google searches for “is Santa real?” surge. 

Kathy Leatherbarrow, former Ofsted inspector and early years specialist at Eden Training Solutions, suggests the rise could be tied to children’s screen time. 

“Over the past decade, smartphones, tablets, and other devices have become fixtures in British households, dramatically increasing children’s digital consumption,” she said. 

She’s not wrong – the amount of time those aged 5-15 years old spent online rose from an average of nine hours per week in 2009, to 15 hours per week in 2018.

“And with excessive screen time, they are inadvertently exposed to information that could challenge their creativity and imagination,” she noted.

What to say if your child asks if Santa is real

Generally, children begin to question the existence of Santa and his helpers between the ages of five and seven, Holly Zoccolan, a parenting expert and founder of The Carol App,previously told HuffPost UK. 

“It’s around this age that some children may learn the truth from older siblings or school friends,” she added. And if it’s not from them, it’ll be the internet.

If your child does begin to show curiosity around whether Santa is real, Leatherbarrow recommends answering their questions truthfully – after all, if they’re not satisfied with your answer, they will probably look online, or ask others, instead.

“When children start asking direct questions, resist the urge to deflect or lie outright,” she said. 

Her suggestion is that you could turn it back on them, asking: “What do you think?”

“This opens a dialogue and lets you gauge where they are emotionally,” she said. “If they seem ready for the truth, you can gently explain the facts to them.

Zoccolan advised a gentle approach of “encouraging the child to think about what they believe and guiding them towards the understanding that Santa can be a wonderful tradition of giving and magic, even if not a living person”.

Explaining the historical roots of Santa Claus and the stories that led to the modern-day traditions can also be a positive way to transition from believing in a literal Santa to understanding the symbolic meaning.

Leatherbarrow continued: “For younger children still believing, a simple ‘Yes, the spirit of Santa is real’ can satisfy their curiosity without deception.”

And once a child knows the truth, they can be invited to join the “giving” side of the tradition, helping to choose and wrap gifts, and perhaps even becoming an “elf” for younger siblings or family members, too.