My six-year-old daughter has just noticed her first wiggly tooth! So, it looks like the Tooth Fairy will soon make a visit to the Tamex household. But, how much should she leave?
Does $1 per tooth seem like a good amount? When I was a kid, the Tooth Fairy left a dime. When I wondered why my teeth weren’t worth as much as other kids’, it was bumped up to a quarter. However, some kids got 50 cents, and some even got a dollar (in the 1980’s, that seemed like a lot!) Maybe the Fairy should leave $2…that’s how much those Hamtaro trading cards she likes so much cost.
So, how much does the Tooth Fairy leave at your house?
My almost-eight year-old has only lost two teeth so far! I believe I went with $2 or $3 for each. His front teeth are now loose, and I’m pretty confident he’s expecting $5 each for those.
By the way, it can be exceedingly difficult to slip the money in there without them waking up and catching you - put it there late at night, not in the morning.
The tooth fairy bought into the organized crime racket and suddenly teeth are worth $100 a piece. If you don’t pay up Guido and Cappy will come and either break your legs or pump you full of lead.
In the early 80’s, when I was of age to get tooth fairy money, I typically got $1. I would guess getting enough cash to buy 2-3 candy bars is more than enough cash for a 6 year old.
I almost forgot to add: DON’T FORGET THE MAGIC TOOTH FAIRY DUST! My son absolutely freaked after losing tooth #1 - he found the money and started looking around for the sparkly tooth fairy powder! I managed to flee to the cosmetic drawer, grab some sparkly silver stuff, and slip some onto his cheek when he wasn’t looking. Whew!
In the days of my youth, I got a lousy quarter every time I lost a tooth. We left our teeth in these little tiny tupperware cups, and every single time, every time I would open that cup hoping, praying, expecting there to be more than $.25 in it. But never. This was also in the 80’s.
What was most frustrating was that I am pretty sure that my oldest brother an sister (8.5 and 10.5 years older than me, respectively) got the same amount for their teeth, in the 70’s. Inflation did not seem to rear its ugly head in our household.
Not that I’m bitter.
Heh. I got at least 2$ per tooth, even so much as 5.
You know what else? I wrote her a letter every year. And I even went so far as to ask for her autograph. Of course, it looked remarkably close to my antie GingeroftheNorth’s handwriting, but still…
I think I even left her a cookie one year. And I would put my tooth right beside my bed on my bedside table, on a toy pedestal that I had.
I was a strange, strange child. I would pull out my loose teeth when I got bored. Strange. Very strange.
Well, that was $2 Canadian…of course, the exchange rates were closer to even in my youth. I knew my dad -er, the Tooth Fairy, was cheap!
I had my two upper canine baby teeth pulled when I was in fourth grade. They still had the long roots on them and everything. I decided that it would be cooler to keep them than to get the lousy $.50 for them, so I did. I kept all my teeth after that. I still have them somewhere.
Egad–$5 for a front tooth! And it is a front tooth, too…the lower left one. Too bad it’s too late for her to make the kindergarten “lost tooth” list…she doesn’t seem to be upset by that, though. (I would have been if my kindergarten had had a list like that. I started losing teeth when I was exactly my daughter’s age–the summer between kindergarten and first grade.)
Maybe the Tooth Fairy should leave those gold Sacajawea dollars!
I got a dime when I was a kid, but wheedled for a little more one time when I had 10 of them pulled at once, 4 of which were ‘permanents’, when I was about 13 (my baby teeth didn’t want to come out). In fact, I don’t think I received ANYTHING for those teeth. Hmmmph.
My kids get $1 for each tooth, but in the form of a sacajawea coin, which makes it seem more special. Funny thing is that they then ask to trade it for a dollar bill later, so I never have to go out and find more sacky’s–I just reuse the same ones.
One thing to remember, parents: sometimes the tooth fairy tries to come visit, but the child must have been too restless, so it can take a few nights sometimes. This is a good excuse if you’re the forgetful type. Another important legend to pass on to the young 'uns is that the tooth fairy uses those teeth to make her castle. Our tooth fairy leaves teensy little thank you notes sometimes with the coin. It all adds to the fun.
I musta lived in the wrong neighborhood - we didn’t have a tooth fairy when I was a kid.
My daughter raked in .25 for the first few few then maybe $1 later. One night, there was a note under her pillow that said “Look on the window” and on the windowsill was another note, wrapped around the tooth, that said “Here it is!” We’ve still got the notes and the tooth.
Then one night, she blew it big time. She came to us triumphantly one morning and announced “I know you and Dad are the Tooth Fairy!”
When asked how, she said: “I gave you the ultimate test. I put a tooth under my pillow and didn’t tell you and it was there this morning.”
Whereupon we informed her that she just lost out on extra money. She hadn’t thought it through that far!
The going rate in our house is $1 per tooth. A few weeks ago, my 3 year old son fell and chipped half of his front tooth. As we were rushing to the dentist, my daughter wanted to know if that meant he’d only get 50 cents and if the dentist fixed it would that mean he’d get paid twice? She was quite upset over the fact her little brother might get more money for a tooth.
What? Fuck. All I got was $.25 a tooth. I feel gypped. If I was a parent, I’d probably give around $1 a tooth though. $5 seems a bit extravagant unless the kid earned it (a rough time losing the tooth or getting it pulled).
My kids get a dollar as well unless it was due to some trauma. My oldest son, like Pablito, had to have teeth pulled. Five of them! Unlike Pablito my son got $10 for the five of them. He also tried to pull the same issue as FCM’s child but he moves around too much and it somehow magically disappeared with no money left. I told him the Toothfairy, like his mom, can be EXTREMELY mean when someone is trying to fool her and he should count it as a life lesson. Talk about being bummed. I managed to find the tooth while he was eating breakfast. Gave him 2 cents for it that night with a note saying it is not nice to try to trick women, especially those who want to give you money.
And make them chip in part of their first $20 when you take em to buy an interplaq electric brush, tooth paste they like the flavor of and floss. No more kiddy games with your teeth dear, they’re the last set you’re gettin
Are you serious, John? $20 for the first tooth? whining Why aren’t you my dad?
I always got a buck, which was fine with me back in the 80’s. If I had a kid I’d probably give a couple of bucks. And I like John’s idea of the gold dollar coins, but you’d have to be thinking ahead to have any of those around the house.
