By Momie Tullottes,

Many children learn about Santa Claus and celebrate him during the December holidays, but at what age is it appropriate to start fostering that belief? Also, at what age should you stop encouraging children to celebrate Santa?

That determination must ultimately be made by each individual family. However, here are a few ideas to help.

Section: Holiday Guide

MedicineNet.com makes the point that children need to be able to use their imagination. Using fantasy to act out those imaginary skills can actually be a good thing for children. Since imagination and fantasy play a key role in each family's individual way of celebrating Santa Claus, you may want to wait at least until your child shows clear signs of being able to use his or her imagination.

According to an MSNBC report, a child can develop the needed skills for imaginary play around 18 to 22 months of age, which means that children younger than 2 years old may be able to understand imaginary concepts and other difficult concepts that may be used in conjunction with celebrating Santa Claus.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) states that a child generally starts to practice make-believe play by the age of 2-years-old.

To figure out if your child is ready for more complicated concepts, first observe the child while at play. If the child seems to remember where certain objects are and recognizes certain people, places and items, he or she may be ready to start learning about and remembering concepts. By observation, parents can generally tell whether their child is going to understand something or not.

Between ages 1 and 4, objects such as Santa Claus and his reindeer may be viewed as reality, rather than fantasy, according to MedicineNet.com. Some may view this as a problem, but on the issue of whether kids should be led to believe that Santa Clause is real.

Tasha Howe, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at Humboldt State University feels that the parent is the best person to ultimately make the decision.

"It's a personal choice. Whatever choice you make, I don't think it's going to harm your child," she said.

Once your child is between 4- and 6-years-old, they may start to wonder and even ask questions about the reality of Santa Claus. Questions may include things like "Reindeer can't really fly, can they?" or "How can Santa Claus get to everyone's house at exactly the same time in one night?"

Children who are 6 to 8 years of age are the most likely to start not believing at all. From these statements, you can make the assumption that the earlier you tell a child about Santa Claus, the longer the belief will be enjoyed.

However, telling a child too early could result in the child not understanding the concept of Santa Claus at all and you may end up wasting your time.

The best advice on the matter may be to simply observe your own child's actions and make the determination at the first sign of readiness to ensure that the child receives the most benefit from experiencing what the idea of Santa Claus has to offer.