How old do children stop believing in Santa Claus?

It turns out that our kids take the existence of the main winter wizard very seriously.

In his book “Memoirs of a Baby”, the famous network author Oleg Batluk described in one of the chapters the New Year as it was in his Soviet childhood. Dad dressed up as Santa Claus, whom little Olezhka met at the age of three, demanded rhymes, and gave gifts in return. Until the age of six, the boy certainly firmly believed in miracles. And now children grow up earlier, for sure they don’t believe in Santa Claus from the age of five. Or not?

This question was asked by the experts of the Mikhailov & Partners. Analytics”. They interviewed 800 parents who have children aged three to fourteen, and asked if their children believe in Santa Claus and what they ask for a gift from the wizard.

It turned out that most children begin to doubt the existence of Grandfather at the age of 9-11.

“It is at this age that the proportion of skeptical children is growing rapidly. However, even among those who have already turned 12, there are children whose parents believe that their child has not lost faith in the New Year’s miracle, ”the agency said.

True, there are not many such “gullible” kids – only 14 percent of the respondents.

We also asked parents other questions. For example, about New Year’s entertainment. It turned out that 83 percent of the respondents would take their children to Christmas trees and festive performances. But only those children who have not yet turned 12 years old. For children from 12 to 14 years old, only two-thirds of parents have planned entertainment. Moreover, they often get by with free matinees in schools and kindergartens.

But children are always looking forward to gifts, regardless of whether they believe in Santa Claus or not. Moreover, the desires are similar to those that their parents had: dolls, cars, constructors. True, there is more technology: children have stopped dreaming about sweets, but they crave various gadgets. Smartphones, tablets and other electronics are leading the list of children’s preferences. And relatively few people want bicycles: children like winter sports equipment more.

And, by the way, modern children are well-versed in brands. Much better than their parents think, so hand over a fake instead of your coveted iPhone or Mattel Barbie.

“Attitudes towards many brands are formed in childhood. This also applies to “adult brands”: a child sees the reaction of others, fixes it at the subconscious level, and it is this factor that further affects his choice as a consumer. In this study, we see that as a child grows up, the importance of a particular brand for him increases, and the peak of interest falls on the age of 9-12, ”notes Lyudmila Goryunova, General Director of Mikhailov & Partners. Analytics”.

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