A survey conducted in the United States found the answer.
The image of Santa Claus generates a lot of excitement and emotion in young children, even in Mexico. But he is definitely a character that in the neighboring country is where he has the most relevance. For this reason, a survey was carried out in that country to find out how many children still believe in Santa.
During several interviews, 85% of the 4-year-olds assured that they believed in Santa, a figure that decreases as they grow older. 65% of the 6-year-olds and 25% of the 8-year-olds indicated that they believed in this character. The findings were revealed in a small study published by the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry in 1978.
Children’s belief in Santa begins when they are between 3 and 4 years old. Is it stronger when they are between 4 and 8 ?.? Then, at 8 years old is when we begin to see that their belief decreases, it is when children begin to understand the reality of Santa Claus? the researchers explained.
The study investigated 77 children between the ages of 2 and 10, who were interviewed after visiting a man dressed as Santa at the Norwalk, Connecticut, science museum. The questionnaires were conducted for a week, before Christmas, and the results revealed that 39.2% of the children believed that the man they visited was the same Santa who comes down their chimneys. 38.8% did not believe it was the same person, but they did also live at the North Pole and could communicate with the real Santa Claus.