Tooth Fairy? - Seattle,WA

Updated on August 31, 2010
J.D. asks from Seattle, WA
35 answers

My 5-year old just lost her first tooth. I am wondering, do people still do the "tooth fairy" thing? If so, does she still leave money under the pillow? How much? Any other ideas for something fun to do to celebrate? Thanks!

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H.G.

answers from Portland on

Yes, a quarter. Don't give them too much money or they will become greedy. Books & learning toys are better.

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D.W.

answers from Gainesville on

My son just lost his first tooth too and we got some of the golden dollar coins from the bank and left 1 under his pillow. He thought it was the coolest thing ever. Told everyone about his golden coin!

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H.D.

answers from Seattle on

I leave dollar coins for my kids. They are like receiving gold coins without knowing that it's just a dollar.

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D.K.

answers from Washington DC on

Here's a copied and pasted copy of the answer I gave for a similar questiona few months ago.. Have fun with it!

"It's usually a good amount of time before it's loose enough to fall out on it's own, like maybe 2 or 3 weeks, however, once it's loose enough that we can see the top of the tooth (meaning the part that used to be embedded in the gum) and we can see the pulp in the center of the tooth when it's wiggled certain ways, then we pull it out. It bleeds a little bit, but nothing that a good rinse with cold water won't take care of.

My kids get $5 for the first tooth and $3 for each tooth after that. That's probably a lot more than most tooth fairies give, but our tooth fairy has a sliding scale depending on the health of the tooth. Since she uses the teeth to build her castle she doesn't pay as much for teeth with holes in them (cavities) because they let in a draft (our tooth fairy is small like Tinkerbell). So there has to be room for the sliding scale. So far she hasn't had to accept any teeth with cavities in them yet.

Our tooth fairy also leaves a pretty note in glittery marker on the occasion of the first tooth telling our kids congratulations and to keep brushing because they're doing great so far. Sometimes she'll leave them a packet of floss if they've been forgetting to floss recently.

Also, every time she visits, she comes in the window, even if it's shut (because she has magic of course) and we know that because she always leaves a trail of glitter from the window to the bed and back. We figure that it's magic dust that falls off of her wings and wand.

Also, I made my son a special tooth pillow. It's small and fits under his pillow perfectly. It's got a tooth shaped pocket in the front that he puts his tooth into. I made the pocket out of jersey (an old T-shirt) so it would drape around the tooth and keep it in place.

My son lost a tooth at his dad's house over the last summer and they LOST the tooth, so no tooth fairy visit for him there. I was PISSED! It was so careless. I mean, I've DUG THROUGH THE GARBAGE for a tooth that accidentally got thrown out when my son wanted to hold it and wouldn't go put it in his pillow like I told him to (I found it too!). So anyways, the tooth fairy left him a note next time telling him that she went back and looked for his tooth. She found it so she was leaving him the money from last time too.

I love being able to do all of this for my kids. I believe in keeping the magic alive for as long as possible! :)"

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B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

I loved being the Tooth Fairy! I had a special little box that I got from some jewelry my husband gave me. We'd put his tooth in the box and put it under his pillow. Next morning he'd be so excited to find 10 quarters in the box! (10 quarters per tooth - it's not so much about the amount of money as it is clinking 10 coins of 'treasure'.)
He swallowed a few teeth over the years, and once or twice he lost 2 teeth at one time. Then his last baby tooth came out just before he started braces. For that last one, I had a special note from the Tooth Fairy (all done up with glitter) thanking him for being such a good customer and keep up with the brushing and a small velvet bag with 100 quarters under his pillow for the last time. They grow up too fast sometimes!

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A.C.

answers from Boston on

My Daughter got $5 for her first tooth (because it's special), and $1 for every tooth thereafter. Occasionally she would lose one while staying with her Grandmother, and would get more there too, only because I couldn't stop my Mom. And because the Tooth Fairy is extremely old, (she's been around since "even before Great Grandma was just a little girl!") she would sometimes get confused and leave the $ at the wrong house or forget for a couple of days. Once she even put it under my pillow. Then there was the year that she lost the tooth on Christmas Eve... The Tooth Fairy and Santa were so happy to run into each other, that they both left her personal notes, and extra $, but the Tooth Fairy forgot to take the tooth, and they made quite a mess with the cookies and milk. My daughter admitted that she knew the truth long before she let on about all of the holiday mascots, because I made it so fun for her. And just to add even though it's a different subject, Santa doesn't wrap presents in our house. He's way to busy for that sort of thing, he just tosses them and wherever they land is where they are.

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M.L.

answers from Colorado Springs on

A friend of mine, who has several children - at her house the tooth fairy is on permanent retainer - does something I love. When any child, of any age, loses a tooth, he/she receives a new penny, a new nickel, a new dime, and a new quarter. Mama goes to the bank to get the shiny ones to have on hand. Her children aren't going to get rich on their lost teeth; they get something that's fun, and the tooth fairy's "supply center" isn't too depleted!

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A.G.

answers from Houston on

i left my daughter a dollar, a quarter, and a little note thanking her for the supply of clean brushed teeth.......promising more money later for the same.,,,,3 days ago

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T.F.

answers from Seattle on

Yes, do the tooth fairy! Money replaces the tooth under the pillow. We only do a quarter, except for the first tooth which is a dollar. Check out some books from the library for Tooth Fairy stories.

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A.H.

answers from New York on

my kids told me that the tooth fairy leaves a book and money... they must have heard it at school.. so that's what i did... i bought 3 books from the store..kept them hidden.. and when they lost a tooth.. 1st tooth got 5 dollars... and a book.. they loved it.... i would usually give them 4 single dollar bills and lots of change to make up the 5... then for just another tooth..i would give them more than a dollar but less than 3... whatever i had around..

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R.J.

answers from Seattle on

We do!

I use golden dollar coins (as in one per tooth). Once when I was "out" kiddo scored, because I happened to have a 2euro coin, so that's what he got.

The bank always thinks it's really funny when I go in and say I need some "tooth fairy money"... but it ALSO means they find the shiny ones for me. :) :) :)

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A.R.

answers from Yakima on

We give $2 bills and a book. My kids stay up late, too, but it's worth a little lost sleep to see the looks on their faces the next morning! I have a container for them to put the tooth in & the t.f. replaces them with money.

M.L.

answers from Houston on

My tooth fairy wrote me teeny tiny notes about how proud she was that I kept my teeth clean, and to always remember to eat healthy fruits and veggies, and how she would use my teeth in her shiny little tooth garden.

I kept my tooth in a silky pillow and she left the note in there along with floss or a new toothbrush and a dollar and her note.

Her name was Misty.

S.H.

answers from Spokane on

My son got $5 and a small toy for the 1st tooth and then the gold dollar coins for the rest. I also put on bright red lipstick and plant a little kiss on his cheek!

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C.S.

answers from Seattle on

I do the tooth fairy thing and my kids love it. When I was a kid the tooth fairy left silver dollars as it was special. I went to the bank to buy some and now they sell them in gold, so now my kids think these are treasure and since they don't see them often it is something they love.

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C.B.

answers from Tampa on

Oh gosh yes and it's so much fun for the kids. Let her experience the tooth fairy. THey are only little for so long

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D.H.

answers from Indianapolis on

The Tooth Fairy does live on.........whatever you can afford is what I would give.........just remember, she will lose more and sometimes two at a time....so don't break the bank at the house!!!

Have fun and good luck............you might also get the movie tooth fairy.......I think it's ok, I've not seen it for a while.........Dewayne Johnson is in it.....

Take care.

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P.H.

answers from Portland on

We do $1 gold coin per tooth. The kids have never left them under the pillow because I was afraid of waking them up. We have a small shelf by the front door and would leave them there. Sometimes the fairy would get confused and forget our house. Oops.

I have a friend that is on the tooth fairies 'schedule'. They are on the Friday schedule. (The tooth fairy only stops on that day.) She has 4 kids and it was easier to keep track of things that way. I think they also do $1/tooth and she has a coin jar set aside since you never know when the tooth fairy will get busy!

C.S.

answers from Medford on

First, congratulations! What a big step. As far as I know everyone still does the tooth fairy thing. MY 5 year old has a loose tooth. I plan to do the tooth fairy thing, but I prefer to "mail" the tooth and have the tooth fairy send a package to her instead up putting it under her pillow (she is not a great sleeper and I don't want any reason to interup her sleeping time). :)

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A.F.

answers from Columbus on

My daughter swallowed the first two teeth she lost while she was eating so we had to leave a note for the tooth fairy to explain what happpened. She eats very carefully now when she has a loose tooth :) We give her $1 per tooth. One time the tooth fairy had too many teeth to pick up so she did not come (AKA Mommy forgot) so she got $2 for that tooth the next night.
You got some good feedback but I must say the one that amazed me is the Mom who dislikes the Tooth Fairy b/c she lets her kids stay up so late. That just sounded funny to me.

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P.W.

answers from San Francisco on

Yes!! Do the tooth fairy! It's so cute!!!

As much money as you want. 5 bucks? 1? 10? I gave quarters, but that was many years ago. There's been inflation since then.

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J.B.

answers from Atlanta on

Of course! You can even buy or make really cute tooth fairy pillows -search Etsy.com. It's really up to you. Some of the amounts I've heard lately are a bit ridiculous but I think anything betwee a buck and $5 this day and age should work.

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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Yes! We do the tooth fairy at our house. As for the amount--that's up to you--we did more for that first tooth. Some people have poor tooth fairies and some people have rich tooth fairies!

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C.G.

answers from Chicago on

I think you received a lot of good ideas. I'll probably do $1 per tooth, maybe $5 for the first. Maybe.
My step-daughter received a $20 for her first tooth, a $10 for the 2nd and I think a $5 for the rest (from her mother). Ridiculous. Parents need to keep in mind that these kids go to school and compare notes. It's not fair for one child to get a dollar when another gets a $20, you know?

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K.J.

answers from New York on

Yes, we do the "tooth fairy" act, we give our kids $0.25 for a dirty tooth (cavities) and $1.00 for a nice clean tooth.
There are books you can buy about the tooth fairy that come with a little bag for the tooth.

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D.C.

answers from Portland on

I still plan on doing the tooth fairy thing. I don't plan on giving more than a dollar though. The pillow thing is so hard so I plan on coming up with a different routine. My friends daughter was scared about the Tooth Fairy getting under her pillow. I found the cutest Tooth Fairy box at a Hallmark shop. It was perfect for little girls. Good luck and have fun with it.

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J.C.

answers from Anchorage on

We do the tooth fairy. She leaves 2 gold coins and some stickers and a small toy if we are prepared, and for the night tooth we did not have time to plan for he got 5 dollars :). My boys each painted a special treasure box for the tooth fairly to use, they put the tooth in there instead of under the pillow so there is no risk of me waking them up.

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R.D.

answers from Washington DC on

Ugh, I really dislike this! My kids stay up so late that it is SO hard. But yes, the tooth fairy still exists. I asked my husband the other night if he remembered to put one under our daughter and son's pillow becaues they both lost one on the same day, and he told me he put his tutu on and all :). haha...but yes, there is still a tooth fairy. In my house at least. They got $10 for their first tooth (thank you Grandma) and $5 for their second. Now it's $1 per tooth. If we forget because they stay up too late, sometimes she will sneak in while they are playing outside or if we leave one of us will take longer to get out to the car. good luck!! (Oh, and I know some friends that will leave books, or slim toys too!)

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M.L.

answers from Seattle on

There's a cute website (catchacharacter.com) where you can take a picture of your child sleeping, add a picture of the tooth fairy and then give your child the picture in the morning. It's $10 but might be fun! You can add a little glitter to their nighstand and window sill (or even your yard!) to enhance the experience.

Personally, we don't plan to do the toothfairy for the same reasons we don't do santa or the Easter bunny. :)

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S.B.

answers from Chicago on

We made a bag with a little pocket that went on the door knob. DD put the tooth in and the tooth fairy would replace it with $$$. We got the gold colored dollar coins at the bank. Be sure to save the teeth for when she is grown up...

L.G.

answers from Eugene on

Yes We leave a one dollar coin and a fifty cent piece.
Once when we were in Canada working and our grandson was with us. We forgot he'd lost his tooth. I told him the tooth fairy did not know he was in Canada. We'd let her know.
Then we put Canadian money under his pillow. Later in the day I asked if she had come.
He called to us "She gave me Canadian money." He was distressed but we explained to him that he could spend it in Canada if he wanted.

R.S.

answers from Portland on

I did the tooth fairy thing with my 2 children and I would recommend doing things that keep some magic in childhood as it goes so quick. Having a little pillow or pocket that you bring out after each tooth loss is better than putting it under a pillow, as a child could loss a tooth at night and put it under their pillow and not tell you, but if they have to ask than you know when to supply a treat.
We told our children that because there are so many children in the world there are lots of fairies and you never know if you'll get one that will leave a dollar, a crystal stone, or a little toy, etc... so it was a surprise, plus in a pinch we could find something to come up with. Enjoy the magic !

Y.C.

answers from New York on

Oh man, yes we did until one day she found her mail to the tooth fairy, ups.
We use to give her $10 for teeth but told her that the tooth fairy only takes good tooth.
I still have some of her tooth saved.

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B.F.

answers from Chicago on

I think that the tooth fairy is a very cute and exciting tradition. However, make sure that you know when he puts his tooth under the pillow. My son lost one of his teeth at school. He brought it home and forgot about it for a few days because he couldn't remember where he put the little treasure chest that he brought the tooth home in. Once he found it again he put the tooth under his pillow without me knowing it. He was pretty disappointed when he woke up the next morning and the tooth was still there, but no money. LOL.
The tooth fairy in our house pays $5.00 per tooth.

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J.N.

answers from Seattle on

Absolutely! The tooth goes into a glass of water and is *magically* replaced by 4 quarters. We also leave a little box next to the glass for the tooth fairy to put the tooth in for their mommy....

:)

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