Hi All, I'm wondering what the tooth fairy does for other kids. I'm a little bit older Mom and grew up in a small logging town, so I'm afraid my frame of reference is very skewed and I am probably in for a shock. Anyway, let me know if you have some fun things you do for kids and what you think the going rate per tooth is these days. Seriously, I got dimes and quarters for most teeth. The first one I think we got a special silver Kennedy half dollar, but I'm sure it is different now. ;-)
Well, the first tooth is hanging in there but the one next too it is loose too! Today we made a little "purse" for the tooth Fairy. I took a piece of felt, folded it over and cut it almost square (about 3" by 4"). Then I punched holes up the side and my daughter (with a little help) sewed ribbon up the sides leaving enough length to make a hanger after tieing a bow. I also cut out a tooth shape out of another piece of felt and we glued it on the front of the hanger. When she loses her tooth she is going to put it in the little tote/purse and hang it either from her bedroom door or bedpost. My husband has a 2 dollar bill, I have an old Susan B Anthony dollar and a new Sacagawea dollar as well as a regular dollar for this first tooth. I like the idea of glitter and will use that when the time comes. Thanks Moms for the great ideas!
What a fun time...My daughter loved that the tooth fairy left glitter (which was from her wings if course). She had tooth that she wanted to save, so when the tooth fairy came by, she left the money and there was glitter from her wings as proof. The first tooth my kids got a dollar and a small gift. After that it was about $1.00 a tooth. I also let her pick out a tooth fairy pillow when it was getting loose and she loved that too!
I just asked my daughter what she would like the tooth fairy to bring her. For her first tooth she said she wanted the tooth fairy to bring her a necklace so we got her a heart shaped locket necklace. Then when she lost her 2nd tooth she said she wanted the tooth fairy to bring her a ring so the tooth fairy obliged and brought her one. I think it's more special for them to get what they want. At 5 years old my daughter doesn't really know the value of money so it's not very exciting for her. Maybe at 6 that will play a part but right now this is working for us.
Have fun!
S.
Hi, T..
You can make this experience anything you want. I made my daughter a tooth fairy pillow. Just a little pillow, 3" x 3", with a little pocket sewn on top. We made sure it was under her pillow, but not too far for the "fairy to reach it". We've always given our daughter (she's now 10) the same thing every year. She gets a paper dollar bill and one "gold" dollar coin (my husband got these at the bank). This made is more special. As she got older she started ask questions so we had her write the tooth fairy a letter. We'd respond, in very different writing and with glitter some times or a pink lipstick kiss on the paper. She still gets a kick out of it. We're not sure if she really believes anymore but she knows that the tooth fairy (and Santa Claus) only come if you believe. She only has a few teeth left to lose now.
Good luck! M.
Dear T.,
Visits from the Tooth Fairy are a popular topic during Morning News in my second grade classroom, and based on my students' reports, teeth are currently going for around five (and sometimes up to twenty!) dollars each. I'm always a bit amazed when I hear such reports (and perhaps even a bit jealous because the Tooth Fairy never left ME even nearly that much money-hee-hee-hee!), but it's also possible that my little dears are exaggerating or not quite clear on the exact value of the bills they find under their pillows. I would encourage you, as some of the other respondents have advised, to make your daughter's visit from the Tooth Fairy whatever you want it to be. Decide on an amount of money that you are comfortable leaving, and don't worry about what other parents are doing. If you implement some of the other wonderful suggestions (like leaving a special note or sprinkling glitter around), I guarantee your daughter (and anyone she tells about the Tooth Fairy's visit!) will be much less interested in or concerned about how much money she receives! :-)
Hi T.,
I have heard from friends what they do for "the tooth fairy"...but when that day rolls around for us, we will probably just do whatever we think is appropriate. There's no inflation in teeth!!! LOL! It's totally a parent's choice! To me a quarter seems fine when they are first starting out...then if you want to "give 'em a raise" when they get older, that's up to you. I do like the collectable coin idea...you could help her start a "state quarters" collection, or give the gold dollar coins (I too remember the Kennedy half dollars, you aren't that old! LOL!). Or if she's not as into the "spending" part but would enjoy collecting, you could get some different foreign coins (various sizes and denominations), probably through your bank or even the internet, and dole those out.
We have a tiny tooth fairy pillow with a pocket in it, it's really cute. My little one is only 3 so "the tooth fairy" is a few years away, I guess (probably not as long as I am hoping, <sniffle>). Their tiny teeth are so adorable and then the gappy grins...but I remember with my stepson when he got his permanent teeth (especially the upper fronts) it looked like he had huge Chiclets in his mouth till his face "grew into them" LOL! So be prepared for that!
Best of luck with it - keep enjoying your daughter (aren't they great?)
Blessings,
S.
For the first tooth, the tooth fairy left a $2 bill. I know some tooth fairies leave either a silver dollar/gold dollar or a regular dollar. Our tooth fairy leaves a $1 bill.
