Tooth Fairy - Need Advice ASAP!

Hi A.,

The tooth fairy brings my kids a $2 bill. It's unique and special and they get the same thing every time. I keep a stash because I have twins and it seems that teeth are falling out all the time. I wouldn't recommend giving a larger amount for the first tooth - I've had friends say that the teeth after the first one is a huge dissappointment when the kids think they are getting the big dollar amount and then don't. My kids have to put all of the tooth money in the piggy bank. All other money they get from grandparents, etc is split for saving/spending/giving.

I hope this helps.

C.

Something stimulating is good like the tooth fairy getting him gymnastic lessons or a trip to Great Wolf Lodge. Otherwise pretty much however much money you set up is really going to be what he expects to receive. They have this same question on shine www.shine.yahoo.com last week and I loved one lady's answer. She said whatever she gives she sprinkles glitter on the pillow (fairy dust) I thought that was definitely cool.

Just as a thought, instead of worrying/arguing over the amount, couldn't you give something special (as another post put) a silver dollar, or the coin dollars or a $2 bill? I'm pretty much with the other moms on this one, until later when they compare with their friends, its just about getting something, they don't put a lot of emphasis on the monetary amount at that age. I have a friend that leaves little toys.

What ever happened to $.25. I think we expect our kids to expect too much money. We need to learn to moderate. My parents didn't hand me things like that an I learned to appreciate it more. Yes, we all want our children to have the best but why do we need to give them that kind of money for a tooth. We are just showing them that no matter what it is, they can get a large amount of money. Stick a note from the tooth fairy with the $.50/$1.00 and call it a day. There are what, 20 more teeth.

Okay, I have to say it. I'm really tired of "the first" always getting the special treatment. Why is it that if it is not the first, it isn't special. Do you treat your first born child special because they were the first and any following children are treated "cheaply or less special" because they were not the first. Everything should be treated as special whether it was the first, second, third, etc.
V.

I gave my daughter $2.00 for the first tooth and $1. thereafter. In your case, since you divvie it up three ways, I'd go with $3.00.

My concern is always with setting too pricey a precedent for things like this--but we tend to be broke more often than we tend to be flush with cash! LOL

Congratulations to your son on losing his first tooth!

Whatever you decide to give I think you and your husband should be in agreement.

I can tell you though that we have four kids (ages 7, 8, 9, 11) and we have never ever given anything other than hugs/kisses and congratulations for our kids loosing teeth and it has never phased our kids. Over the years in talking with other parents I've realized that this is becoming more and more common.

Good luck and happy (toothless) smiles!

Hi A.,
I did $5 for the first and $2 for the others. The $2 was in the form of a dollar bill and a gold dollar- Sacajawea (sp?) or presidential, so they had something cool to find.

I gave my daughter $2 for her 1st tooth (because that's what I had in my purse) and am giving $1 for every tooth after that. I did want to give her more for her first tooth but I hadn't been to the ATM and couldn't go the night she lost it.

I also discussed with her how much SHE thinks the tooth fairy will bring and she seems to think it's whatever the tooth fairy has in her pocket at the time...makes my job easier! LOL

Then I found out that my cousin gives her kids $20 for the 1st and $5 or $10 for the rest. I was sort of shocked! She called me cheap and mean, which I thought was rude and mean. I guess I just figured that a six year old wouldn't care, as long at the tooth fairy came. She also gives her oldest more money than the rest...not fair because it's creating a bit of a fight between her two daughters.

It's all up to you and how deep your pockets are. It's wonderful that you have them saving and giving to charity. That's a WONDERFUL thing to teach your children. I think $5 or $10 for the first tooth is good. then drop it down to $1 or $2 for each additional. I am thinking as she gets older I may increase a bit.

Happy Toothing!

I might be willing to pull a few teeth for payments like that! lol My kids are thrilled with a dollar!

I personally think that much money is over the top! Make his first tooth loss special by taking him out to eat somewhere, get him a special gift or something. There are plenty of ways to make it special without that amount of money. My kids got $5 for the first and $1 every one after that. I don't think the tooth fairy is how kids should be funding their purchase of electronics or bikes. I think it should be a little extra spending money to have in their pockets. 10 and 20 dollars I think sends the wrong message to kids that they are "entitled" to cash for things that are not necessarily cash worthy. I might be in the minority here because I also refuse to give my kids an allowance for helping out and doing chores around the house. They have jobs to do on a regular basis - empty dishwasher, take out trash, help with pets as needed, pick up toy room and bedrooms - and I want my kids to learn that helping out and doing your part is what being a family is all about, not about how much money you will get for helping out. Getting $10 or $20 for losing a tooth just seems excessive to me and sends the wrong message about how a person "earns" or makes money.

We did a dollar coin and a cute book about teeth for the first, dollar coin for the rest. It can get tight when they both go through losing teeth at the same time and we have to make sure there's always $$ coins in the house. Hope this helps.

My daughter lost her first 2 teeth in 3 days. Since she's an 'oldest and only', we had to ask around to see what the going rate is. We ended up with $10 for the first one and $5 for everyone after. It's way more than the quarter that my husband and I used to get, but less than what my brother's kids in Boston are getting!

Don't set a precedent you won't be able to continue. That's a lot of money for a child losing his tooth! We did $2 for the first tooth and continue to do $1 for each other tooth...and that can be a challenge sometimes when both kids are losing teeth at the same time!

Holey Crap... :) I have to say that it way too much for a tooth as well... Its up to you in the end, but i think its setting him up to expect to much. At this age, he most likely doesn't truely even understand how much that is. I think a shiny silver dollar, or other gold ones, with a little picture maybe of an activity/outing that you can do together would mean more in the long run
Good Luck :)

A 5 1/2 year old doesn't really understand the difference between $10 or $1. If you go with $10 now what will he want when he becomes a teenager and understands the difference between $10 or $1 or when he starts to drive? If you start out big now, he will always expect something big. Don't start something now that you may not be able to continue for the rest of your life. I work in the Financial Industry and I see parents supporting their adult children and hear the stories of how it is their fault because they always gave the child more than the average. Just my opinion.

Wow- you are definitely very generous- next time my daughter's tooth comes out will make you her tooth fairy!!! LOL!
It's always been $1.00 for me!!!
I add little notes for her that's the part she loves the most. She still doesn't have an idea of what money is really worth- so she's more excited about what the letter will say. I'd like to keep it that way until she figures it out- until then, no need to mention anything
good luck!

Good grief. My kids are only 4 and 2 so I have not had to worry about this yet, but $10-20 for a TOOTH????? It seems like some parents these days are too quick to overly reward kids for things that happen naturally - where does it end? ...Sure, it's fun to find a present from the tooth fairy under the pillow, but a loving note or shiny silver dollar (as some other moms have mentioned) sound like much nicer gifts than vast quantities of cash. You could also treat this as a special event in that if they receive money, they don't have to split it in thirds... this they get to keep all for themselves.

My son got $1 from us and a Sacajawea dollar from my parents. We did have one tooth that got caught on his collar when my husband was yanking his shirt off so it ripped out and he got an extra $.25 from us.....and there was the time the Tooth Fairy was scared of flying during fireworks (4th of July) that she came the next night and paid an extra "late fee".

My daughter just lost her first tooth about a week ago and lost another one this week. You want to talk about school pictures? Anyway our tooth fairy leaves $1.00 per tooth. Think back to when we were little. I am close to your age and I remember getting 25 cents. If I were you I wouldn't want my kids to expect a huge sum of money every time. What if one time you just do not have the extra?
My daughter was so excited both times for a dollar that she woke everyone up in the middle of the night. Also a thing to remember is that you are setting the example for your younger child who will expect the same treatment.

A dollar or 2 is fine no more. I think we gave our daughter and son 2 dollars for the first tooth and I think we stay with a 2 dollars a tooth. No more than that unless you have a 5 and he has two teeth and you don't have change. But than again tooth fairy sometimes gives quarters to spice it up. Lol!!!

I'm afraid that if you start high, that is what will be expected, and your son will be dissapointed when he gets less later. I used to give the kids change to equal about a dollar, and then it was a learnining experience counting change at the same time.

Usually I side with the wife, but I'm going to have to side with your hubby on this one!
I am not at that stage yet, but my best friend's daughter just lost her 1st tooth and they gave her $5, with the plan to give $1 or $2 for all other teeth. I even thought $5 was on the high side, but I just think $10 is too much for a 5 year old. I know I may feel differently when my daughter gets to that point, but even then, it will not be more than $5 for that first tooth.

My son's kindergarten teacher provided him with a "tooth taxi" when he lost his first tooth. It was an old 35mm film case (black plastic with a grey cover) which had a home-made label that was black & white checked that said "tooth taxi". He was more excited about putting that little tooth in the new tooth taxi than anything else. He put it under his pillow that night and the tooth fairy left nothing but coins. No set amount, just filled that little taxi up with coins. He was so happy to wake up & shake that taxi & find it full of various coins. There's no expectation to live up to and the tooth fairy money isn't funding anything major, just fun money.

Shoot, we got jipped! I always got .50 cents from the tooth fairy! I think a dollar or two is fair. I would be afraid that giving $10 for the first and then $5 for the second would be setting him up for disappointment. Start small and alternate amounts. :)

kids won't really understand why they got so much for the first and not for the rest. when my daughter lost her tooth she just got $1, i only got 50 cent pieces when i was young those were cool.

$10 or $20 for a lost tooth is crazy! $1.00 per tooth is more than enough. I took a picture of each child smiling with the empty space showing for the first tooth lost. Then I put the picture in their scrapbook with the story of how they lost it. I think they would enjoy this more in the future than just the memory of lots of money. (We only got 25 cents per tooth as kids.)

I gave my daughter $20 for her first tooth (partly because it was her first and partly because it got knocked out in a bike accident WAY before it would have naturally)....for the rest of the teeth she got $1.....she didn't notice the difference in amounts, probably because it was over a year between teeth and partly because at that age they are just happy to get something green.....I like the one mom that suggested putting change in there for a "learning" oppertunity but then not EVERYTHING has to have a lesson attached so maybe do that for every other tooth......I like your 1/3 thing you have going on but wonder if Tooth Fairy money could be excluded because you really can't buy much with $1 anyways and I agree with the moms that have expressed concern at making our children expect to much.....your family so your rules just my thought.....first tooth is special but the rest are only woth $1

Hi A.,
My son just lost his first tooth too!! I also didn't know what to give him. We gave him a dollar and he was thrilled. He still has it and shows it to everyone. So I don't think it will matter much to your son. I think they get excited for whatever they get. Good luck.
Chris

A.,
I'm with your husband on this one. I think that is way too much money for someone that age. Yes a first tooth is a special occassion, but still. There are ways to make this special for them without going overboard on the funds. I gave mine $2 for the first and a dollar after that.

I'd love for you to adopt me!!!!

$10 for a tooth? No way, Jose! Your son doesn't see the reason for the value of his teeth. You're potentially teaching him a slightly bad idea about the value of a dollar.
I gave my kids a dollar per tooth. Maybe 2 if I had to help them take their teeth out. And by the time they had to have their wisdoms out there wasn't any tooth fairy.

Of course it all depends on if you have that kind of money to spend. The economy being as it is. $20 for the first tooth is beyond ridiculous.

We always gave $1 per tooth, even for the first one. But we had a neighbor who gave $10. To cover the discrepancy, we just told the kids that each child has their own tooth fairy who takes care of their baby teeth! Also, we do the same thing with allowance that you do--have the kids divide it three ways. But we make an exception with money that is given as a gift (like tooth fair money). They can do with it whatever they wish. Good luck deciding how much your tooth fairy will leave!

Get silver dollars from the bank - shiny and new and the kids don't see them in change much, if ever, so think they are really special - works a dream with my 2!