The Tooth Fairy
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The Tooth Fairy
Jan 2005
The tooth fairy has always left kids $1.00 for lost teeth in my
extended family, but my 8 year old son has been complaining
that all his friends get $5-$10 per tooth. So I need advice
about what the ''going rate'' is and then what to do with his
older brother (age 12) who will feel that anything more than
what he got is an example of us favoring his younger brother
more.
Nancy
We give one shiny Sacajawea dollar (the gold one) for each tooth.
Our son is 6.5 yo and has been losing teeth since his 6th
birthday, pretty much. He has a nice collection of shiny gold in
his bank.
Laurel
I just wanted to encourage you, and others, to resist the general
price inflation for everything from allowances to teeth. Kids
don't value anything that comes too easily, and just because the
wealthy parents of some classmates are handing out $20 bills for
teeth doesn't mean that your tooth fairy has to do the same.
There's a great rant on the subject in the book the Three Martini
Playdate in which she suggests using those great $1 gold coins as
tooth fairy gifts. They're special (gold!) and affordable. I
remember when i was a kid, I got 25! cents per tooth, saved the
money from each tooth, and when I'd lost my last tooth bought
myself a hat I liked with the few dollars I'd accrued. Granted,
that's the kind of kid I was, but I also think there's something
to be said for encouraging kids to save up for something they
want, soemthing they can only do when you give them LESS rather
than more money.
nelly
June 2004
What do people give for a lost tooth these days? I remember
getting a quarter under my pillow when I was little, but I'm sure
things have changed since then! I'd be interested in hearing all
kinds of answers, whether or not they involve money.
Lauren
oh I love the tooth fairy and was so mad when a friend spilled the beans
to my son. Anyway a good friend introduced us to the idea of different
tooth fairies.... a money fairy, a nature fairy, and so on. For the first tooth
we gave a crystal in a little tooth pouch and a sparkly note of
congratulations. Later all he wanted was the money fairy and he got a
gold dollar a few times. oh and this american life on npr had a great
segment on the tooth fairy a few years ago in which they asked kids
what the tooth fairy did with the teeth...you can find it on their website I
think it was called ''Kid logic''.
tooth fairy lover
The post office machines give gold dollar coins as change - I
use those to great success.
Mom
To a small child losing her first tooth, a quarter can be a big
deal. (Don't give little kids $5.00 bills and stuff; it will
just make them blase.) My daughter started out with quarters. As
she got older, I had her decorate a small box (a match box--
remember them?--works well) with wrapping paper and glitter or
whatever to house the precious tooth and receive the precious
money. I also started adding small treasures to the quarter: a
nice, shiny hunk of rose quartz or a piece of jewelry.
The biggest hit, though, were the messages from the Tooth Fairy,
written in genuine fairy runes on tiny rolled-up scrolls;
astrological symbols and made-up things will do. I would then
translate the message, which usually stated that my daughter was
a wonderful girl who was taking good care of her teeth. (She's
saved all these small treasures and messages.)
Melanie
I think about a dollar a tooth. Instead of a dollar bill,
maybe you can get dollar coins to be a bit different.
We have a very special tooth fairy who gifts our children with a
Sacagawea golden dollar coin. for each lost tooth. Our boys had
never seen them before and we never get them as change so it's
an incredibly exciting gift for them! They refuse to spend them
when they empty their piggy banks as they are too special! Our
tooth fairy also sprinkles fairy dust around her 'entry and
exit' point sort of 'foot prints' of her visit.
We have beautiful tooth boxes that hold perfectly this coin,
which magically replaces that lost tooth. So far at age 8, our
twins completely believe and so does their little brother!
I bought mine from the US Mint website, but I'm sure banks have
some on hand.
Enjoy!
Karen
The tooth fairy left a two-dollar bill one time that was such a hit! It's being
saved ''for forever''. Second favorite was a set of old-style Chinese coins
the TF had picked up on Clement Steet. Enjoy!
Sooz
The tooth fairy gives ''gold dollars'' (dollar coins) in our
house (one for one tooth), and our tooth losing kids are now
6 and 8. Some of their friends get more money (I heard $5
from one child!), but our kids are quite happy with their gold
dollars.
Orinda tooth fairy
I know kids who are getting anywhere between $.50-$5. Other
items I have heard of: decorative pencils/pens, stickers, books,
hair accessories, party bag type toys, candy, matchbox cars.
There are lots of variables... age (I know kids between 4-12yo
who are loosing teeth), gender, day of the week (On Weds. may
not be able to do more than change in pocket...) etc. I think
you should decide what will work well for your family, and go
from there. It may be worth making a bigger deal for first or
last tooth vs. all the rest. Personally, I am a fan of keep it
simple... there are a lot of those baby teeth!
Everybody's tooth fairy is different
$2 a tooth has worked well for us.
jewel
May 2004
Our daughter has her first loose tooth and she is very excited. While the Tooth Fairy
will certainly whisk it away in the middle of the night when the time comes, my
husband and I would like to keep this tooth (like we have a lock of her hair after her
first haircut). What do you recommend for storing the baby tooth? Thanks!
Lori
Our pediatric dentist recommended placing it in an airtight container with mineral oil. We used a small plastic container with
a lid that screws on.
Judy
This isn't very sentimental, but we just kept it in an empty
film canister, with a label on it! My son has kept all the
subsequent lsot teeth in another one.
Another idea - When my son had a tooth extracted, the dentist
put it into a small plastic ''treasure chest''. You could ask if
your dentist has something like that.
R.K.
July 2002
Not that this is a major issue - but I was just wondering...
What do others do with baby teeth bought by the tooth fairy?
When my little darling lost his first baby tooth - it seemed
like such a big deal. A true sign that my precious baby was
growing up! I hated to just throw away such a tangible piece of
his childhood. Well, now I have quite a collection and I'm
beginning to wonder what I'm saving them for. I doubt they'll be
meaningful to him as an adult. Do most people just toss them in
the trash - or are there other ideas? Thanks.
--- Joyce
Well, I may be weird but I don't throw them away. I have a few of my own teeth; the 4 huge wisdom teeth are my favorite. I happen
to have all my mother's baby teeth, which her mother saved in a San Antonio, Texas bank deposit envelope 50+ years ago!! Amazing
huh? I think the teeth are beautiful and interesting. I keep my son's teeth in a little velvet box--he has lost 7. I don't know why I keep
them exactly, but it has never actually occurred to me to do otherwise. Come to think of it, I collect lots of weird little things..... ;)
There is a sweet picture book called ''Throw your Tooth on the Roof'' about tooth lore around the world. Nothing especially deep, just a
survey of traditions around children loosing teeth.
Claire D.
Don't throw the teeth away! I know it's tempting...but I did
throw them out with my older child and (1) she discovered one in
the trash and was furious and very hurt (ok, she's sensitive,
but...) and (2) I actually can imagine it'd be kind of fun and
comforting to look at those little teeth and remember how small
they were when that sweet young child turns into a surly
teenager.
Sabrina
I suggest you give the teeth back to the child maybe in a box or
a pouch. This is only if you think the time for the Tooth Fairy
has passed. I kept my own baby teeth for years and thought they
were kind of fascinating. Many of them fell apart eventually
but I still have a couple in a jewelry box.
Jenine
My father kept all our teeth, and offered them to us when we
grew up. My brother was happy to have them when he went off to
dental school. I keep our kids' teeth in tiny ziplock bags --
one bag per kid. My son was tickled to see them after he
learned there was no tooth fairy.
Leslie
Joyce - I made a little decorated ''tooth box/altar box'' and gave
it to my daughter when she turned 13.
Andrea
My mom kept all my and my sister's baby teeth in little plastic
vials, one for each of us. When I was about 8 my sister and I,
the terrible snoops that we were, found our baby teeth in my
mom's drawer. That erased any fantasies about the Tooth Fairy
right then and there! My mom laughs about it now, and I still
have a little plastic vial somewhere with my baby teeth. I
don't know about anyone else, but I was just as interested in
them as I was my baby pictures as I was growing up. If your
child doesn't want them later, they can always be thrown out.
Gayle
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Last updated: Apr 17, 2005
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