Tooth Fairy - Ashburn,VA

T. - I feel you need to give what you feel is right. My daughters get $1 for each tooth and they are thrilled with it. Sometimes it comes as a crisp dollar bill and sometimes it is 4 quarters. They are always very excited! I do have a friend who gave her daughter $20 for a tooth and other friends that leave gifts instead of money, but that is not for me. I used to get 25 cents so I want to continue the tradition (yet allow for inflation [smile]). Hope this helps.

Hi Tracey, we're not there yet either - we have a 4yr old DD also. We decided a while ago to get a roll of the gold dollar coins to use. I wanted the Susan B Anthony ones, but they are not being minted anymore, so we'll just get president ones now I think. We're only going to leave one coin ($1) for each tooth and a little note. I figure the neat gold coin (which is rarely seen) will convey how special it is, and can fit in her piggy bank. I agree with the other poster who said that kids this age don't really understand money values anyways, so why go overboard?

You should do whatever you are comfortable with doing and don't worry about what her friends are getting. Its harsh, but true. It only gets worse from here, so better to start strong with the "it doesn't matter what others get, this is you" kinda thing. In middle/high school the parents of my friend who lived in the house across the stree from us paid her for her grades - she got $100 for every 'A' on her report card!! ($75 for Bs and $50 for Cs)-- man, I woulda been rich! = ) I was stupefied!

There will always be parents who make different decisions than you (everything from bedtimes to allowances to curfews when they are older), and you have to live with your kids thinking its not "fair" - better to start early to set expectations around what you think is right and then stick with it. = )
<off soapbox now> = )

Good luck!

Hi T., I've never compared with others but left $2 until my son turned about 9 -- now I leave around $2.50 - $3, depending on what I have in my purse. The trick is to remember! I don't do anything special, other than play it up before bedtime and ask about it in the morning. Bev.

Hi T.,
For our daughter's first lost tooth, the Fairy left a silver dollar and a note. For the other teeth she has left a regular paper dollar and usually another note. The silver dollar was exciting to our daughter because she never sees them much. I know others may leave more money but we wanted to keep it simple. Good luck! --A.

My 6 year old son lost his first tooth this past fall. I got out a small velvet pouch that some jewelry had come in and put four quarters and a dollar bill in it. Then I used some frosty eye shadow to put small tooth fairy "finger prints" on the velvet pouch. My son was thrilled when he woke up and found the money, and even more excited about the finger prints. At this age, he is just learning about money. He still has no real concept of the value of coins and dollar bills. They think coins are worth more than the paper dollar bills. I'm not sure what the going rate for teeth is, but for my son, $2 is a treasure, especially because he got coins! We made a big deal about putting it in his piggy bank. He's looking forward to losing more teeth. Good luck! - T.

I think a dollar is fine. Whatever you decide, just remember that you will have to do it multiple times and sometimes with little warning. A friend used to leave a silver dollar from the toothfairy. They ran into a problem when their son lost a tooth late Saturday night. They didn't have any silver dollars on hand and the banks were closed.