The End of Childhood

Where do you draw that line between childhood and adolescence? When does a child creep quietly from the magical land of wonder into the skeptical territory of the tweeners? I used to think that for most kids, 6th grade marked the advent of adolescence. Now with girls starting puberty at 9 and 10, it's harder to put an age to it.

Kids seem to know so much more than they should by age 10 these days, too. They can see more violence on tv and in video games than I hope they would ever see in their lives. Of course, though, I'm one of those mean moms who won't let her kids watch or play that kind of stuff.

The other day my sweet, beautiful 9-year-old boy broke my heart. He gave me that sly smile, the one that says "I'm smart. I'm very smart. And I know it." He told me that he went to Google, typed in "Santa" and clicked on "define" and learned that 'Santa is a mythical creature.' He said "mom, that means Santa is made-up. And now I know the parents really buy the presents." Ah, but see, Santa only brings presents to those who believe. (Santa only delivers one present to each believer in my house. I know he delivers 10-20 to other kids, but that's just because he feels so very sorry for them since their parents don't get them any presents at all!)

Now let's stop and think about this for a second, folks. Some other kid didn't tell him. He didn't find out because a nasty teacher thought it was time (happened to my oldest). He didn't learn it from an older sibling. He didn't just ask me directly. He GOOGLED Santa! And he found the answer he sought.

And now, my sweet, adorable, magic-filled child has crept into adolescence and suspicion over childhood myths is only the beginning . . .