Jodie’s kids won’t be expecting the man in red this year (Picture: Jam Press)

When did you learn that Santa wasn’t real? Well, A mum from Kent has decided her kids will never believe in him, as she believe she’d be ‘gaslighting’ them.

Mum-of-two Jodie Keith said that she ‘just can’t look [my children] in the eye’ and tell them a magical man is going to shimmy down their chimney to deliver presents. 

She also broke the news about the tooth fairy.

The 27-year-old blogger doesn’t believe in ‘conditioning’ her one-year-old Ada and three-year-old Arthur – who aren’t expecting a visit from the man in red this year. 

‘I’ve told my toddlers Santa isn’t real – it feels like gaslighting,’ said Jodie, who lives with her children and partner in Ebbsfleet, Kent. 

Jodie remembers growing up in a household that wasn’t ‘truthful’, which she says left her with trust issues. So now, honesty is one of her family’s biggest values. This includes the tale of the man who eats the cookies left out on Christmas Eve. 

‘If trust and honesty are two of my biggest morals, how can I look my kids in the eye, years on end, and tell them there’s a magical man flying around the sky in a sleigh, delivering presents and coming into our home?

‘For me, it raises so many problems and I think I’d be conditioning them into lying.’

Jodie with her 3-year-year-old
(Picture: Jam Press/@jodetopia)

She argues that if the lie of Santa is deemed ‘OK’ by society, this risks teaching kids that all lies are fine – which is confusing when we also teach them not to tell porky pies. 

‘I think once this lie has been started, you’ll be forever lying and the hole gets deeper and deeper.

‘We have to lie about how the presents are made, who bought them, who ate the cookies and drank the milk and once they get older, they start questioning everything.

‘I teach them about consent and “stranger danger” – but here’s a stranger coming into our house uninvited and then I’m expected to tell them it’s OK to sit on this person’s lap too.

‘I personally could never look them in the eye and continue this.’

Festive fun is still on the cards for the little ones, Jodie says – she just hopes to spread the message about the ‘true’ meaning of Christmas instead. 

They visit grottos knowing it’s someone dressed up as Father Christmas, just like you may see someone dressed up as a TV character. 

Jodie said: ‘I won’t come up with a crazy story, that is essentially false, to explain why they just saw Santa walking into a shop down the road, but now he’s dishing out presents while also being in the North Pole.

She says they still enjoy Christmas – without Santa (Picture: Jam Press)

‘A lot of people think telling the truth takes the magic away, but I totally disagree – we still love Christmas.

‘It’s a season of snow, fun, games and giving to those we love and less fortunate than ourselves.

‘This way, we have fun, without an elephant in the room or big act to keep up.’

There’s no trying to get on the nice list in the Keith household either, as Jodie doesn’t ‘like the whole ‘nice vs naughty’ terminology – children are children.’

She added: ‘I want my children to know that I will always tell them the truth and we’ve never pretended Father Christmas is real from day one.

On Instagram and her website, Jodie explains that she teaches her kids that ‘mythical’ characters aren’t real. 

She said: ‘My children are encouraged to have a wild imagination and playful fun, but things like the tooth fairy are magical creatures.

‘We encourage the use of the word ‘game’ with all these characters and some people choose to believe the game and others don’t.’

She’s stressed the importance of not ruining the game for those who believe, so other kids won’t get upset to have their reality shattered. 

Jodie stresses that she ‘respects other families that wish to keep the character alive’. 

‘There’s no shade on my end,’ she added. 

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‘I personally could never look them in the eye and continue this.’