Hi Mamas! My oldest daughter is five, soon to be six, and has her very first, very wiggly tooth. I haven't even thought about what to do when the tooth comes out. What are some ways to honor a child's first lost tooth, what is the tooth fairy giving out these days, and what do you do with your kids' teeth as they lose them over the years? Any other advice/suggestions?
Thanks!
Glitter.
The tooth fairy must have lost some of her fairy dust when she took the tooth. I sprinkled it on the pillow, bed and even some on the floor. That is what my daughter talked about and told everyone about, and not what the tooth fairy left.
i gave my daughter .50, took a photo of her with a big grin, and put her "fairy tooth" in a hidden jewelry box. That was 20 years ago!
My daughter saved all of my grandson's baby teeth. Then in 4th grade he used them for a science project, seeing which beverage decayed the teeth the fastest. He loved being able to use real teeth.
We do the gold $1 coins as well. Our post office gives them out as change when you purchase stamps out of the machine (so you can usually get them at any hour of the day). I'm sure banks carry them as well.
We also have a note (I've saved it on the computer and tweak it for each tooth. Basically, it's from the tooth fairy and congratulates them, tells them they're doing a good job on keeping them clean (or reminds them then need to floss better, use their rinse more regularly in the evening, etc.) She also might note something about how quickly or how long it took for the tooth to come out, etc. And she reminds them that this tooth will be replaced by an adult tooth... something the'll have for the rest of their life and need to take very good care of.
Just a side note to think about... When my kids' friends started losing teeth, they all started "comparing notes." Most of them got a similar dollar amount, but we noticed that different families had different rituals. First of all, in most of these instances (Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc.) I admit to my kids that I've never seen or met them. Then I speculate options with them... maybe the Tooth Fairy is really a bunch of fairies, kind of like Tinkerbell has other fairy friends, and that whenever a bell rings, a fairy gets its wings. So maybe her friends have a different tooth fairy than we do. Just a thought before you start locking in your answers.
Good luck!
www.familyeguide.com Your guide to affordable family activities in Denton County.
I purchased one of these tooth keepsakes:
http://www.babytoothalbum.com
I had also bought a book at 1/2 price books it tells a story and then your child puts thier tooth in the little purple sack to put under their pillow. We've always done $2 and you can also find printable note from the tooth fairy to leave:
http://www.toothfairycity.com/index.htm
The first tooth that falls out our kids get $20 (may be a little too generous, but when the oldest lost her 1st one we only had 20's so we had to be fair!) My kids each have a little wooden box and they write the tooth fairy a letter asking her if she can leave their tooth. I am a sentimental sap I even kept our dogs teeth when they fell out! HTH
Kristi :)
The tooth fairy gives 5.oo for the very first tooth, then 1.oo or less for each additional tooth. I keep them in a trinket box that they won't look in, but I think most of my friends throw them away. We use a felt fabric(with real beans) heart shaped beanbag with a pocket sewn to it and my son's name written in puffy paint. Hope this helps!
We have had a lot of fun with the tooth fairy at our house. Sometimes she leaves coins from different countries, sometimes a couple of golden dollar coins and sometimes she will leave a small bracelet for my daughter or some small polished rocks(we've done amythist, indian tear-drops, tigers eye, ect.) for them. The rocks have been by far the favorite thing to recieve- They will usually get a gold dollar coin and five small rocks and they love it.
You don't have to give lots of money- it is soon gone and forgotten, but a small gift or something that might start her on a collection,(charms for bracelets would be another fun idea) would be great!
Have fun!
~C.
My son was 1 week from starting 2nd grade when he lost his 1st tooth. He was the last of all his friends to lose one. So, the tooth fairy gave him $5. For the other 3 (so far) he's gotten $1, with the exception of the last one he got $2 because he was brave and pulled it himself for the 1st time. I kept the first 1-2 but probably won't the rest.
if you want to save the teeth you can get little tiny zip lock bags at Hobby Lobby (or some other craft store) just put a sticky label on them with the child's name and date on it. We give $1 per tooth... a far cry from the dime I used to get when I was a kid!
my Mom bought my two kids a tooth fairy kit and gave them to me, each kit contained small zip lock bags for the teeth, labels for the tooth bags, a special envelope for all the tooth bags to go in, a soft cloth pouch for under the pillow, and tooth fairy envelopes to put their $ in, each with a special note pre written, each note different but all creative and easy to use with different situations. it was really a cute idea... but then I had a surprise third child and I contacted the company that made them and they were discontinued, so I've been saving the envelopes from my first two kids to re use for my third when his turn comes around, but I love my kits because it keeps it all organized for me!
best of luck!
I use $2.00 bills. That way if the girls see one in public they know someone has spent their tooth fairy money. The dollar coins work great too but they didnt start making the new ones until i had already found the $2.00. If you do something unusual i suggest you stock up.
We always gave $1 per tooth, with $5 a tooth that had to be pulled at the dentist. We stocked up on the golden dollars because that made it more special. If you can, try to start your tradition where the kids leave the tooth on a bedside table or something other than under the pillow. It makes it a lot easier for the tooth fairy to leave her gifts if she's not trying to maneuver under a pillow!
I kept all the teeth at first, with the intention to scrapbook (took a cute picture right after it happened), but ended up mixing up the kids teeth and couldn't tell them apart, so I threw them out, LOL! My mom saved a bunch of my teeth, but when I discovered them in my 40s I thought it was weird, so I figured my kids would think the same thing. Just save the first one if you want, but I don't think you need to save the rest.
I'm like KD....I have all of my daughter's teeth and my dogs teeth as well....LOL sentimental. Each are stored separately of course in a box.
We always gave $20 a tooth.
I do a scavenger hunt for my son. I remember the tooth fairy leaving me clues to follow when I was young and I loved it so much that I do it as well. It takes a little more effort, but he loves it. Usually I write 4 or 5 clues and he goes all over the house following them. When he gets to the last place he finds a gold dollar hidden. Since I have two kids, I bought a whole roll of gold dollars and they stay in the safe. He was at his Dad's house the last time he lost a tooth and the tooth fairy only had $5, so that is what he got. Looks like he is going to try and pull teeth there from now on...I don't blame him!
at my house we give stacks of coins..... the better care the kid took of said tooth determines what kind of coins!
Go to a library and find the book Alice the Fairy to read together! It is a precious book about a brand new tooth fairy trying to prove that she is up to the job on her own, and can start a fun tradition of notes to the tooth fairy and back again. Be sure to have a special glitter ink pen for the 'tooth fairy' to write back in!
this is the link to the book on amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Alice-Fairy-David-Shannon/dp/043949...
I second the idea of a special coin, such as a gold dollar, for each tooth lost. It does make it more special than just money. We did give more when my son had to have teeth pulled for braces... I think we did $5 per tooth for those!
Good luck and have fun! These memories are special...
Remember keeping it simple is so much fun too. We roll a $1 with a tiny thread and stick under the pillow. I had a friend that used washable stamp ink and put tiny footprints around the child's pillow.
We aren't fancy, but honestly, my son likes the "note" from the tooth fairy the best. I used power point and downloaded a picture of the toothfairy to put on the note and my son LOVES that. I just put a dollar under his pillow. Then, I put the tooth under my pillow. In the morning, he finds the dollar and then looks in my bedroom for the tooth. That way, I can keep the tooth and he thinks the toothfairy left it for me.
-L.
When I was a kid, the tooth fairy always left me either a silver dollar or a half dollar (coin). That was always special money since it is not used as common currency. To keep the tradition alive with my kids, the tooth fairy brings a gold dollar, a silver dollar, and a paper dollar. Recently the tooth fairy has aquired some 2 dollar bills and is awaiting the next tooth loss!
Our friendly dentist told my kids (before he told me) to put the tooth in a glass of water. When they woke up the tooth was gone and the water had turned the color of the tooth fairy's wings. Kind of fun...but don't get caught without some food coloring or you will be searching for a substitute color in the wee hours of the morning.
We left a dollar, but put little emphasis on the money and instead just enjoyed the spirit of the event.
For my daughters first lost tooth when she was 6, the tooth fairy gave her $3, two dollar bills and a gold coin dollar. Every tooth after that she gets one gold coin dollar. Also, I have found a way to make it more magical and fun for them! I mixed some regular gitter with some baby powder and sprinkled it in her room on the floor and down the hallway to the front door. She loved it! She was so happy that the tooth fairy left some 'fairy dust' behind, she just loves it so much and it makes it more of a..... magical experience! :) good luck!
Hi C., You'll no doubt get lots of response on this, but This is how we handled it in our family.
First of all, we do not believe in all the fairy tale , and miths, of telling our children lies, or false truths. (When they find out later, they will know you lied to them, easter bunny, santa, etc..) So when the tooth comes out , I said May I have your 1st tooth? The dad said he wanted it, so we offered to buy it from child. My granddaughter said daddy gets the 1st. but Nana gets #2. My granddaughter is now 23, and child of her own, but I still have the teeth, and locks of hair, and a diagram of the position of the tooth.I never paid more than 50 cents for them, but we had fun bartering over it. Hers are in an album, with all other special things, for Nana. Please don't think I'm critizing anyone else for their beliefs, not so, .We have always tried to use the Bible , to teach our children, and there aren't tooth faires in there. Maybe make your own day special, instead of following man made traditions, which are so commercial anyway. My 2 cents worth. Have a nice day. bf
I love to scrapbook - so my daughter and I wrote a note to the tooth fairy and said...my mommy loves to scrapbook and I would love to have my first lost tooth in her scrapbook, so if its ok with you tooth fairy, can you please leave my tooth here for my mommy. The next morning she found a gold dollar, the tooth and the note, all of which ended up in her scrapbook! I hear the tooth fairy leaves bigger amounts, but my kids never minded the gold dollars! Just be sure to have them around so you don't have to search for one at the last minute!
My daughter just recently lost her first baby tooth. My husband and I decided $2 was plenty.I have heard many moms and dads giving much more but I wouldn't recommend it at all. Especially in these times right now.
One idea that I found to be a favorite of my daughter is that I would make a flower or a star out of the money, usually $5.00. I'd attach a colorful pipe cleaner to hold it together and be creative. I wouldn't recommend giving her more than $5.00 just in case one year she loses 5 teeth. One mother I knew started with $20 and had no where to go but up each time her child lost a tooth.
I take the tooth and tape it to an index card, writing the date and her age when she lost it.
She's 13 now and found the teeth in my dresser drawer several years ago and asked how I got them. I told her that the tooth fairy usually returns the teeth to the mommies after several years, that way Mommy's can put them in their baby book. Other ideas are taping bill's together like a page and putting her picture on it. Or you could buy a little silk bag with a drawstring and put quarters in it. You can even buy her a little chest to put the tooth in or a tooth fairy pillow. Good Luck!
My best friend had a great idea that I thought was really cute - to sprinkle some sliver or gold glitter from a window or door to her pillow! I know it sounds like a mess, but how cool would it be for your child to wake up & see the "fairy dust"!
