I have attempted this with my daughter. “Is Father Christmas real?” “Yes!” “How do you know?” “Because [best friend] saw him!” “How do you know [best friend] is right?” “’Cos she is!” At this point I had exhausted a 5yo’s philosophical introspection.
In your position I’d be curious about her response to “Has [best friend] ever said things that turned out not to be true?”, but I’d also be worried about poisoning her relationship to her best friend in the process of asking.
[best friend] is also magical and has power over the weather, or at least making it sunny on a rainy day. Daughter’s mother and I have both attempted to gently stimulate skepticism on this point. (Said best friend has a somewhat troubled family life and I suspect is claiming to be magical to feel power over her life, so we’re happy to be gentle over this one.)
First, I got a more instrumental response from a 7yo on whether the tooth fairy is real: “As long as I find my dollar under the pillow, she is!”
Second, you were using an adult language with a small child. Asking instead what her friend saw in more detail, and discussing that instead could have been more illuminating. Or not.
I have attempted this with my daughter. “Is Father Christmas real?” “Yes!” “How do you know?” “Because [best friend] saw him!” “How do you know [best friend] is right?” “’Cos she is!” At this point I had exhausted a 5yo’s philosophical introspection.
In your position I’d be curious about her response to “Has [best friend] ever said things that turned out not to be true?”, but I’d also be worried about poisoning her relationship to her best friend in the process of asking.
[best friend] is also magical and has power over the weather, or at least making it sunny on a rainy day. Daughter’s mother and I have both attempted to gently stimulate skepticism on this point. (Said best friend has a somewhat troubled family life and I suspect is claiming to be magical to feel power over her life, so we’re happy to be gentle over this one.)
First, I got a more instrumental response from a 7yo on whether the tooth fairy is real: “As long as I find my dollar under the pillow, she is!”
Second, you were using an adult language with a small child. Asking instead what her friend saw in more detail, and discussing that instead could have been more illuminating. Or not.