Last summer, my daughter, Lily, had a rather unfortunate incident on her bike. I had just added pedals to her balance bike, and she was getting the hang of it. But during a trip to the store with her mom, she got a bit too confident and ended up losing both of her front teeth. It was a pretty traumatic experience for her—and for us too.
If you want to hear a child complain about their misfortunes and demand endless popsicles, just wait until they wipe out and lose their front teeth. My partner and I felt really sorry for Lily, especially since she now had a cute little whistle at the end of every sentence. To cheer her up, we decided to invoke the magic of the Tooth Fairy.
Lily placed her lost teeth under her pillow, and the next morning, she woke up to find a brand-new toy and a note from the Tooth Fairy praising her bravery after such a big loss. In earlier days, we would’ve left just a dollar under the pillow, but given the circumstances, we decided to be a bit more generous.
To be honest, the dollar we usually leave is already more than I ever got as a kid—I think I received a quarter for each tooth. But that was back in the ’80s, when a quarter had a lot more buying power than it does today. It feels like parents have really started to go overboard with the Tooth Fairy experience lately, no matter the situation.
I’ve seen some pretty extravagant posts on social media about parents really going all out for the Tooth Fairy. In our own informal survey, it seems most parents stick to a sliding scale, giving more for the first tooth and then less for the others—typically around one to two dollars to start. However, I’ve heard of some parents shelling out as much as $50 for the first tooth! Can you imagine? That adds up quickly—20 lost teeth at $50 each equals a whopping thousand dollars. For many families, that’s a significant expense!
I also can’t help but think about all the kids in the lunchroom discussing their Tooth Fairy windfalls. It reminds me of a recent post from a social worker who pointed out that when parents give extravagant gifts like iPads from Santa, it can make less fortunate kids feel like they were bad or that Santa doesn’t like them as much. I imagine a similar dynamic occurs with the Tooth Fairy.
And then there are the parents who take it to the next level. Some are preserving their children’s teeth and turning them into a tooth monster doll for the kids to keep as they grow older. While that might appeal to some, I’d be a little freaked out if my parents gave me a doll filled with my own teeth! This one commenter shared that their mom saved all their teeth to make a necklace, which still gives them the creeps to this day. Yet, they still hold on to it, so it must have some sentimental value.
Some parents go as far as painting the money gold or sprinkling glitter around the room. One even created a little door in their house for the Tooth Fairy. That idea seemed charming until I remembered that my daughter’s bedroom door never really closes properly, so maybe I should focus on fixing that first.
Many parents have shared their tales of waking up in the middle of the night and accidentally leaving behind a larger bill than intended. I can relate! Some parents skip the whole Tooth Fairy tradition entirely or just do a casual handoff, where dad pulls out his wallet and the child hands over the tooth.
One trend I found endearing is when kids write heartfelt notes to the Tooth Fairy. It’s sweet to see their genuine emotions captured in those letters. However, after reading countless comments on the Tooth Fairy, it seems that most parents stick to leaving a quarter or a dollar, and many admit they’re inconsistent about the Tooth Fairy’s visits, often depending on what they have in their pockets late at night.
As a dad who often sees parents going above and beyond for the Tooth Fairy, reading through these comments was refreshing. It reassured me that many of us are just figuring things out as we go along. There’s no need to stress about making every little thing magical; at the end of the day, your kids will love you just the same.
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In summary, the Tooth Fairy tradition has certainly evolved, with parents feeling the pressure to make it more extravagant than ever. While some go all out, it’s clear that many of us are just trying to get by, and that’s perfectly okay.