Is there a tooth fairy in your house?
Just as there were some of us who played Santa and some of us who didn't, we're sure some families are visited by the tooth fairy and some are not.
Our daughter has lost three teeth to date. The first tooth, she lost at school. She brought it home in a plastic bag. Apparently she put it under her pillow that night, without our knowing. The next day, we overheard her saying to a friend, "I think the tooth fairy is my mom or dad because I put my tooth under my pillow last night and I didn't tell them and I didn't get anything under my pillow.
The second tooth, she lost in a marshmallow she was roasting by the fire when we were camping last summer. She wasn't surprised when she didn't find any treats under her pillow. "The tooth fairy probably doesn't know where I am," she explained to her friends.
Yesterday, she lost her third tooth. And, in habitual form, she transferred mid-night into our bed (yes! she is 7 years old and still comes to our bed every night). In the morning, she rubbed her eyes and said, "I wonder if the tooth fairy left me anything under my pillow." Her daddy noncholantly got out of bed to "pee" and crawled back in shortly after. Wouldn't you know -- "Mama! I got two dollars from the tooth fairy!"
So, this whole tooth fairy fiasco --- do you do it? or not? If your kids' teeth haven't fallen out yet: will you or won't you?
we haven't lost any teeth, yet, but you should definitely read 'one morning in maine' by robert mccloskey (he of 'blueberries for sal'). it's a fabulously-illustrated story of how sal loses her first tooth, and then *loses* it, and how her dad deals with this. it's gorgeous and rich.
oh: i'm sure we will do the tooth fairy. everett has a highly-developed sense of faith in the magical, despite the skepticism I often display.
Posted by: sarah gilbert | February 09, 2008 at 11:53 PM
i LOVE "one morning in maine". I still have my copy, some 31 years old now. appropos of nothing.
One of my friends had a tooth fairy that left food stamps. That was before food stamps were put on cards.
Posted by: pril | February 10, 2008 at 04:46 AM
I'm going to do it in one form or the other, but I have a couple of years to think about it....we are just getting 2 year molars as we speak (2yr, 7mo). I am thinking we will be late with losing teeth too. Warning however: my day care provider's daughter just lost her first 2 teeth at the ripe old age of 4.5. According to the dentist, it happens sometimes.
Hey, if you don't let your folks know that you lost a tooth, how can they call the tooth fairy to let her know????
Also, as a Jewish kid growing up, the tooth fairy was the only magical figure we had in our lives. Our parents didn't make a big huge deal about it but they did it and it was fun. I like the tooth fairy because she/he/it applies to everyone in the world as we all have teeth and you don't have to be of a particular race, religion, ethnicity or sex to lose your teeth. I know not every culture does it, and I am sure there are some remote cultures who might be offended by it, but I don't know of any personally.
Posted by: Debby | February 10, 2008 at 08:00 AM
Two dollars!!! That is steep.
Our six year old lost her first tooth yesterday after a lot of anticipation. Last year my mom had sent the pillow that I used for the tooth fairy so that we would be ready. This morning our daughter woke up thrilled to find a dollar.
She has a great imagination and loves fairies in particular. I asked if she saw the tooth fairy last night and she did. I got a very detailed description.
Posted by: sarah | February 10, 2008 at 08:27 AM
Sarah,
I read a post on another blog where the kiddos were given 5 bucks or so for their teeth. I remember getting a quarter for my baby teeth.
We will probably "play" tooth fairy when the kids are old enough. I guess I'll have to have a roll of quarters on hand so we don't forget to put something under their pillows. We rarely have spare change or cash around.
Posted by: Becky | February 10, 2008 at 08:35 AM
We read Dear Tooth Fairy by Karen Gray Ruelle. Then we made a tooth box that he decorated, put in some cotton balls for the tooth to lay on and put it under the pillow. When he woke up in the morning, the tooth fairy had left him a "golden treasure" (a gold Sacajawea dollar). Got a roll of those and we're all set for awhile.
Posted by: Hope | February 10, 2008 at 09:12 AM
We do the gold Sacajawea dollars, too. I use silver polish to make give them a magical gleam. (I know, I know.)
But five dollars a baby tooth? Good grief. I got a quarter when I was a kid. And if there were golden quarters, believe me, the kids would be getting them. But those golden $1 coins are just so cool...
Posted by: Z | February 10, 2008 at 09:41 AM
I once read the Three-Martini Playdate, which for the most part is entertaining and silly, but one nugget of wisdom (no pun intended) I gleaned from that was the idea that shiny coins are more exciting than paper money to a little kid. As a result, when we get to that stage, I'm going to keep 50 cent pieces and dollar coins around, so my son(s) can wake up to something sparkly and fun under their pillows. I definitely don't think you need to give very much (at least while they're little and not really comparing with friends) but a little treat to celebrate this rite of passage is a fun thing to do.
One note: if you or your partner didn't grow up in this country, acquaint them with this tradition! My parents were from India, and while my mom necessarily learned about all the kid-things from other parenting peers, she didn't think to explain it to my dad. So, as my mom was in the hospital giving birth to my youngest sibling when I lost my first tooth, I woke up to my tooth missing but nothing else under my pillow. Later my dad asked me in all excitement "do you want to see your tooth" and showed me it in his coin purse and then asking me what I wanted (I opted for 33 cents; don't know why). Even then, I remember feeling disappointed that he wasn't "playing the game right" - I guess I wanted to pretend to believe in the tooth fairy, and due to his inexperience and unfamiliarity with the custom, I couldn't hold on to that pretense. (I guess somehow I'd already figured it out, but it's fun to pretend.)
Posted by: Kinnari | February 10, 2008 at 09:43 AM
My daughter, who is now 14, adored the tooth fairy. She left her little gifts with the tooth! The tooth fairy is female, and I know this appealed to my daughter who is now very interested in women's issues. When children at school confronted each other about Santa (1st grade), she came to me demanding an answer. I couldn't satisfy her with "What do you think?" any longer. So after shedding tears about Santa, she sniffed and asked about the Easter Bunny. Oh, boy. After more tears, she looked at me and whispered, "And the tooth fairy?" She found this revelation the saddest of all. However, we went on to talk about how believing in something makes it real to us. She continued to write notes to Santa and the tooth fairy. The tooth fairy used the tiniest print on the computer to produce very little letters. If you are familiar with the children's author/illustrator Tasha Tudor of New England, you might also know about her lovely fantasy play with her own children that included doll weddings and sparrow post. In this busy, busy world we need to take time to celebrate the magic of just being alive. Our children help us to reconnect with the mysterious and wonderful aspects of life.
Posted by: Christine | February 10, 2008 at 09:47 AM
We leave a shiny new quarter for each tooth. The goal is to collect one quarter for every state of the union. Each state has some special connection (that's where grandpa lives, that's where we went on vacation) and we learn geography, too!
Posted by: Zoe | February 10, 2008 at 10:06 AM
I am not sure what we will do, and our son is only 3 now. I am definitely not feeling as anti-tooth fairy as I am anti-santa. I guess maybe because there is such a build up to Christmas and the images are everywhere. Whereas with the tooth fairy it is a lot more low key, and as Debby eluded, not specifically linked to a religious holiday. I think we might do it, with a wink wink to let him know it is just for fun.
Posted by: Kathy | February 10, 2008 at 10:17 AM
I still have fond memories of the tooth fairy. In our house, the tooth fairy was very important because my mom was a retired hygenist (healthy teeth!). I love Zoe's idea of making the experience educational on top of fun.
... the teeth thing influenced more than just the tooth fairy in our house. At Easter, we'd get a little chocolate but mostly other small trinkets that wouldn't rot our teeth!
Posted by: k | February 10, 2008 at 03:25 PM
We've done the whole nine yards....Santa, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny....they are traditions I am bringing from my upbringing.
Good Tooth Fairy Story: One night, while half asleep, I realized that the Tooth Fairy had completely forgotten to swap the tooth for the cash (typically $1). I crawled out of bed, did NOT put on my (much needed) glasses, pulled what I thought was a $1 bill out of my wallet, did the swap, and fell back into bed.
Fast forward to the next morning....I was awoken by a VERY excited little girl who was thrilled to show me the $20 bill the Tooth Fairy had left.
Oops....the moral of the story: Tooth Fairy ALWAYS needs to wear her glasses.
Posted by: Sheryl | February 10, 2008 at 06:34 PM
we've had some fun tooth fairy stories at our house...mostly related to the forgetful tooth fairy ;)
our oldest is now 8 and "knows" but doesn't let on to the others. she feels very included and "adult" and, most importantly, usually has a couple bucks on hand if i don't and the tooth comes out late at night!
teeth at our house bring in $2.82 each: 2 dollars, 2 quarters, 2 dimes, 2 nickels, and 2 pennies (for the 2th fairy...of course!)
Posted by: leslie | February 10, 2008 at 06:38 PM
Remind me of the 2nd fairy... I love the concept!
Posted by: dan | February 10, 2008 at 07:09 PM
Nope, no tooth fairy at our house. Loosing teeth was celebrated, though and we have each child's teeth stored in a special little box of their own. They love to look at them sometimes and see how small the teeth are.
Posted by: philomom | February 10, 2008 at 07:15 PM
For my daughter's first lost tooth, she received a bracelet with one charm. Each lost tooth is replaced with a charm to add to the bracelet. We're now up to a beautiful eight-charm bracelet! There were some panicked last-minute moments of charm shopping, but then I stocked up at a craft store sale.
I'm not sure of the equivalent to be used for my boy. Any ideas?
One time when the tooth fairy totally forgot about getting the tooth, we ended up making it into a great treasure hunt game. "Hey T, there's a note by my bed. Let's read it! 'Dear Mom - Tell T I'd like to play a game with her. I've left a treasure at the end. Here's the first clue'..." It worked great and she's hoped for a treasure hunt each time since!
Posted by: Kristi | February 10, 2008 at 07:43 PM
I have a tip for all the other forgetful parents out there. My son doesn't want the toothfairy to take away his baby teeth, so he keeps them in a box. But he still expects to get some money for them the night after he loses them (money for nothing--now that's believe in magic!). Of course, half the time, I forget to put any coins under his pillow. So when he comes into the kitchen in the morning upset that he didn't find any money, I settle him at the breakfast table and say I'll double check for him. Then I swipe some coins off my dresser and go "find" them in his bed. Considering the wreck that his bed is in the morning, it's completely plausible that the coins fell out of bed or got shoved down under the covers or inside the pillowcase. Maybe he knows the toothfairy isn't really (probably he does) and so maybe he knows I'm pretending to find the money (again, probably he does), but he's happy anyway.
p.s. we do a dollar or half-dollar per tooth. we like to give fancy coins, but sometimes the toothfairy forgets to have those lying on top of my dresser!
Posted by: Janice | February 11, 2008 at 01:12 PM
Kristi, I've seen friends with decorated hiking staffs. Maybe your son could start one with charms, polished rocks or such for his lost teeth.
Posted by: philomom | February 11, 2008 at 02:09 PM
Our tooth fairy is very busy, a bit forgetful and gets flustered with all the countries she has to visit in one night. She often leaves coins from other countries by mistake. She always includes a 50 cent piece or dollar coin, but the coins from far away are always the most prized and have been taken to show & tell and kept in a "treasure" box.
Posted by: REMom | February 11, 2008 at 08:13 PM
I like the idea a friend had about leaving a little note for the tooth fairy if she wasn't able to make it, explaining that there was a storm front over Greenland and she tried her best...or she was sick and the Easter bunny was covering for her and messed up...
Posted by: Debby | February 11, 2008 at 09:15 PM
REMom, ooh, I love the idea of the tooth fairy leaving foreign currency. It'd give me something to do with all the European coins I always have left over after travels (that are now useless with the advent of the Euro) but which I cannot seem to bear to throw away. Wonder if he'd feel cheated once he was older though. Maybe a combo would be best. Hmmm... Fortunately, I still have some years to think about it!
Posted by: Kinnari | February 12, 2008 at 04:02 AM
Ah, the tooth fairy! I can hardly wait! My mom was a fabulous tooth fairy. She would leave me little tiny notes (in a mini version of her perfect handwriting) alongside the money she gave me in return for each tooth. One time I had to have six of my baby teeth pulled, so instead of just leaving me a lump sum under my pillow, she made it a treasure hunt, with clues on each note of how to find the next one (money accompanied each of the notes: 6, one/tooth). When I lost my last tooth, and was beyond the age of truly believing (although I didn't tell my mom that), she wrote a very long note that I have to this day. It was a very tiny scroll, about an inch wide, and she had even drawn a tooth fairy on it...but it had the very gentle story of what tooth fairies really are, your loving and proud parents. It softened the blow of losing that magic, and was such a wonderful way to get the news. Oh, and it was accompanied by a silver dollar or two. I was lucky. My parents really fostered my belief (and desire to believe) in all things magical and childlike, making sure they did all they could to let my imagination grow unencumbered. I can hardly wait to do this for my kids!
Posted by: Laura S. | February 13, 2008 at 12:15 PM
oh, i LOVE the tooth fairy bit. it's weird, as i really don't do santa, and have already spilled the beans about the easter bunny. but around here, losing teeth is a big deal.
i started a really fun tradition, when my son was only 3 and lost a tooth to an accident. we held on to it, placed it carefully under his pillow that night, and told him he could ask the tooth fairy 3 questions about her magic. i would then transcript onto a note for TF, which she would reply to and share some of her secrets, leaving little tokens for him... glittery purple pieces of her magic dress, shells from far away lands,once an old atlas of the world...lotsa good cheesy things. my mom used to read me a story that told how the tooth fairy built her castle from all the gleaming, healthy teeth from children, and that those with cavities made up the dungeon. i know, it's a bit much, but my son loved it! so when he loses his teeth, he'll say things like, "oh, that is DEFINITELY making a wall in that castle" and his questions to her, as he's grown have been things like, "how do you hold the teeth together for the walls?" (toothpaste, of course). and now that he hand writes the notes, they are my own treasures. i'm not sure why we're so much more into the TF than anything else, but is sure makes for fun memories for our family. until, of course, the truth comes out.
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Posted by: Birgit | November 15, 2008 at 10:41 PM
I say go with the tooth fairy flow! You don't want to rob your child of classic childhood fun, right? Whenever you leave a dollar or two under his/her pillow in exchange for the lost tooth, treat it as a reward to him/her for being a good kid or for doing great in school.
Posted by: Bobby Schaeffer | April 25, 2011 at 02:14 AM
We always gave a two dollar bill. Since there are so few in circulation the kids assumed that only the tooth fairy had access to them. I had to get a stash ahead of time but it was worth it to see the looks on their faces. The charm bracelet idea is really sweet.
Posted by: Karen | April 25, 2011 at 07:18 AM