Loose Tooth Ideas

A.,

I have seen this question posed before on another site and saw someone's response that was perfect!

Have you EVER heard of a child who was angry or resentful toward their parents for lying to them about the tooth fairy, Santa, the Easter bunny...etc?

The formation of a good imagination is very important in a child's development. Good luck!

N.

We never did the tooth fairy either - for similar reasons. But it is hard for little children to part with those teeth - like losing a part of themselves. I imagine THAT is the reason for the tooth fairy story in the first place. So I bought a beautiful tooth cup for each of my three children. When they lose a tooth - they put it in their own tooth cup to save. If you like, you could even give them a dollar each time - so that they don't feel cheated when they hear about the money their friends get from the fairy (an issue that we ran into.)

And/Or - you could track the tooth loss on a special chart. When the child has lost all his/her baby teeth - then you could throw a small family "growing up party" party - or take him/her out to dinner.

Whatever you choose to do - my advice is NOT to make a huge deal of it (like a "tooth party" or a dinner out EACH time a tooth is lost.) Kids lose a lot of teeth. My daughter lost two last week.

By the way ~ please rest assured that you are not "cheating" your children out of any magical moments. Childhood is filled with magical moments - we don't need to manufacture them. My children were told the truth about Santa (what a wonderful "Story") and believe me - Christmas is still a very magical time - but their focus is where it should be - on the greatest gift of all and not on what a mythical character might bring them. (And yes, they still get plenty of presents - and they know who fills the stockings.) And as for "ruining it" for other children - that just hasn't happened for us. Moreover, it is hardly a valid reason to keep you from raising your own children according to your own values.

I don't consider it "Lying" either. I think back to my childhood and I smile. I loved that sleepless night, trying to stay awake in case Santa arrived, and I could see him. My lil brother would sneak into my bed and we would lay there whispering about what Santa would bring.
The Tooth Fairy thing was awesome too, although we tended not to believe in that for as long as Santa.
When I found out there was no Santa, I NEVER thought of it as my parents were lying. I was never upset at them for telling me anything they did, I actually appreciate the memories they helped me build and the fun and laughter in it all.
I did all this with my children, who are well beyond knowing the truth. My older brother and his wife chose NOT to follow this tradition. I can specifically remember one Easter dinner that his family came over for. My kids were sitting on the couch going throuigh their Easter baskets, when they came in. My nephews immediately went to my children and were watching them.
They asked where they got the basket with all the goodies, and my kids said the Easter Bunny! Those boys got all sad, and said why didn't the Easter bunny bring us anything? This upset my father to see those boys all distressed, he left for the store immediately and bought them all a store bought basket.
What you are doing, I find nothing wrong with and its your choice, but kids can be VERY cruel sometimes. I just hope your kids don't get flak from other kids at school about it, or that your children ruin it for others kids, just because they were taught not to believe.
By the way, my children learned the REAL meaning of Christmas even when they did believe in Santa. To this day, they will tell you the IDEA of Santa is in your heart.

Good Luck
T.

I also think that it's not considered lying. As a matter of fact, being a Christian myself, I plan on eventually just telling my kids that their dad and I are really the true Santa and tooth fairy, and explaining where the whole "saint nick" story originated. I don't remember being told when there was no Santa, but what I do remember is how excited I used to be on Christmas Eve, and how I would try and try to stay awake, and how much fun it was to write Santa my Christmas list, and how much I loved going out the night before and putting reindeer food in our yard. I think that because of those precious memories, that by letting my children believe in their own little fairy tale of santa and the tooth fairy, I'm allowing them to truly enjoy being a kid. so, it's totally up to you, but I will tell you one thing, my brother had step kids during his last marriage, and they decided the same thing, that they weren't going to let their kids believe in Santa, wouldn't even let anything that had to do with Santa in their house. And, therefore, they were the ONLY kids out of all the grandkids that didn't have the total ecstatic excitement the night before. I thought it was sad, and although I saw his point, I think that it was taking it too far with the lying thing. It's not lying, it's about feeding their imagination. Having said all that, I'm not saying that you're wrong, because I do understand your logic, but they're kids. Can you imagine not being allowed to ever believe in these magical things as a child? Those Christmas memories wouldn't be the same, would they?

I'm not alone thank you so much for this post i have the only kids i know under age 10 that do not beleive in santa though we still do pics and stuff at christmas with him but anyways they have special little boxes where they get to keep the teeth they lost, i just bought little ceramic jewlery type containers with lids and painted their names and stuff on them and baby teeth so they are safe and we can have them, then i let them help me put it in their baby books what tooth it was and the date and such and we take a picture of the toothless grin to go with it. got a question back for you though have you had any problems with your kids spilling the beans to otehr kids about this kind of stuff, we've been lucky so far but.....how do you explain that its ok for other kids to beleive ? good luck

I don't consider this to be "lying". It is a fantasy made to be fun for children. My parents did it with me and we are doing this with our children and my hubby I were not affected when we learned the truth.Let them have a fun and imaginative childhood, they are only children for a short time!

There's a big difference between lying to your kids and involving them in fun fantasies that enrich their lives. Don't you remember how much fun it was to put the tooth under your pillow at night and waking up to find a quarter (or whatever your parents did)? Why would you want to take that away from your kids by telling them there's no such thing as make-believe so early? There's nothing wrong with the Easter Bunny and Santa for a few years and, being a Christian myself, there is absolutely nothing anti-Christian about letting your children believe in such characters.
I'd think again about taking such fun things out of their lives. I think it would be sad to have nothing to "believe in" when it comes to child hood games and stories.

While I support your decision for doing what is best for your family, despite the pressure you may get from others, I am slightly offended my your post. My family also has strong christian values but still plan on letting our little one have the fun and joy that comes with Santa and the Easter Bunny and such. They are only little and innocent for so long, I don't see any harm in the memories it will bring them for years. I grew up believing in it all and wasn't a bit put out or mad at my parents when I learned the truth. In fact, being the oldest, I felt really special helping my little sister write her letter to Santa and coming up with a good hiding place for her Easter basket. I tried to make sure she believed for as long as possible because it was a fun tradition.

We do the tooth fairy, but there is no reason you can't do your own tooth bank deposit, treasure hunt, whatever. Loosing teeth is fun and you can reward with homemade coupons whatever. I kept the first few teeth in the freezer with other hair and fingerprint samples for use if ever needed for identification. I read that baby teeth usually have some DNA in them. I pray I never use them...but I have them just in case.

We never done the tooth fairy thing, my parents did and my husbands parents didnt. But as a child I always knew the tooth fairy was not real, now with our children we did the tooth fairy thing the first tooth. and left the kids a quarter..BUT grandma gives out 1.00 bills for loosing a tooth and so she got rid of the tooth fairy really quick, once the kids figured grandma did a better job at the tooth fairies job.. I think you can approach it how ever you wish and it will be fine...
just like santa claus, we never told the kids santa was real.and neither did our parents, tell us he was. We still watch all the christmas shows but keep it real, not only with telling the birth od Jesus, but also, letting the children know from the start, that the people who bought them gifts, loved them and worked hard all year long and took some of that hard earned money and bought them something they didnt have too, and that they should be very thankful for that.
N.

In your situation I would take her to the store and let her pick something out. You could also doing something special with her too. If she likes to go to a certain place you could go there as well. I think that you are very wise to tell your children the truth. I am a christian also. I do believe that you can do other things with her and give her other rewards. I would not let her pull her tooth out though because it could grow in crooked. I would let her tooth fall out on its own. It must be exciting that she is going to lose her first baby tooth. You should get something special to keep it in. Be blessed.......

You could still do the same things as the tooth fairy without actually calling it that. You don't even have to have her put the tooth under her pillow. Perhaps just take her to a store and let her pick out something small as a 'reward' for her losing her tooth. Just tell her that it's a treat for losing her tooth. I see no reason to tell her that it's the tooth fairy. Make it a special gift from mom and dad. If you don't want to use a reward, maybe do something special as a family. Make her favorite dinner and have a small tooth losing party. If you don't feel comfortable with the idea of Santa or a tooth fairy, do something else. There's no reason why your children won't experience the excitement of losing a tooth or Christmas just because you choose not to do Santa or the Tooth Fairy. Personally, I think it's unfair of people to accuse you of taking something away from your children. We all have to do what is best for our families.

check this site out, if you want the whole truth:

http://www.eliyah.com/

E.

Hummm, I never considered it lying. It was just a story to make my daughter get over her fear of losing a tooth. She knew there really wasn't a tooth fairy, but it simply made it more fun for her.
So If you consider it lying, then I wouldn't do anything about it. Just let her lose the tooth & be done with it. After all, it's something all children have to go through & theres really no tradition that goes along with losing a tooth. (that I know of anyway)
But I guess you could tell her that from now on in your family, if one of them loses a tooth you're going to have a little celebration of some sort. Like maybe taking them for a special icecream treat or something. Thats about all I can think of right now. Hopefully others will have better ideas...LOL.

We too are in your situation - our 5 year old knows who Santa really is and we have instructed him that this is something you don't share with other kids until you are older (maybe 10-12). We are proud to say that we teach our children the Truth and they were and are glad of it, too! Ours are much older than yours and I am especially proud that you are starting younger than we did! If you ever want to talk or have any other questions at ALL... just send me a message.

I love to try to help,
R.

We never did the tooth fairy...or the Easter Bunny or Santa Clause. I figured if we lied to them about this kind of stuff, what would they think about Jonah and the Whale, David and Goliath, etc??

If you want to give them a dollar for losing a tooth...just give it to them! Wouldn't it be nice to get money from mom and dad for a change? Don't feel bad! It's a big deal and let them know YOU are proud of them...not some mysterious fairy!!

A.,

I like Deuteronomy 6:6-7 where we as parents are being told to take every opportunity to teach our children about God. So, one idea would be to make it more of a celebration of the tooth that is to come in the place of the old one. Loosing a tooth can also be traumatic for some kids. Explain that it is part of growing and just as plants have to grown and change so do we which is just the way God planned it. So, it is nothing to be afraid of but a time of celebration. To celebrate make it her special day.

First of all I want to say Good for you! I agree 100% that there is no such thing as an "innocent white lie" and that telling such things to your children really does erode their trust in you. Consiously or not! Anyway, what my husband and I have talked about doing is telling the kids to leave it in a (as yet unspecified) specific place then in the morning there will be a surprise for them. If they ask we plan to tell them that it is from us.

Hi A.!
I'm a strong Christian too, but I don't have a problem with the tooth fairy thing. My daughter knows it's a game and that her parents are the real "tooth fairies." I think she would be disappointed not to get a surprise under her pillow like her friends at school do. We all play along and have fun with the whole thing. If you're uncomfortable with that, though, good luck in finding something and I'd be interested to hear what you come up with!
J. B

You can get a book from the library called, Throw Your Tooth on the Roof. It has traditions on tooth loss from around the world. It is pretty cool.

Our twin 8-year old daughters get a foreign coin with each lost tooth - I got the idea five or so years ago from Family Fun magazine. But when they wake up in the morning, there is a surprise foreign coin for them! We have a little box of such coins I have in a "secret" place in our room, and when friends or relatives travel (or when I traveled in the past), I get coins for the "travelling tooth fairy" (a term you would certainly not need to use).

Or a friend of mine, mother of four boys, started a tradition where she and her husband give a paperback book and $1 for each tooth - they call it "a book and a buck."

~A.

My family has never done this, but I am aware of a scandinavian tradition of decorating wooden furniture with baby teeth. The teeth were inserted into a piece of wood to make a picture. Kinda like a using ivory or enamel to make a design, the teeth were the ivory.

I really don't think it's a matter of being a good or strong christian for believing in santa or the tooth fairy..i think it's just how you were raised. my son recently lost his first tooth, we didn't tell him about the tooth fairy, we didn'teven know his tooth was loose until he brought it to us & asked us how much money was the tooth fairy going to leave for him..we told him we didn't know it depended on how much money the tooth fairy had and how many other kids she was going to see that night. we also told him the tooth fairy wouldn't come see him if he was awake, it worked wonders in getting him to bed & to sleep by 8pm, i had a little satchel that you pulled the string in opposite directions to close and put a dollar in it. the next morning.."liying" or not, there's nothing i would have done different if it meant losing how he woke us up the next morning...he ran intoour room squeeling atthe top of his lungs that the tooth fairy gave him a whole dollar and that he had to call myparents & my husbands' parents to tell them the tooth fairy visited him that night. i don't see why the things that give our kids imaginations and dreams some people are so quick to take it away & create drones.

I don't think it's lying, it's a tradition. If you tell your kids about the Tooth Fairy you may just be ruining it for everyone else in her class.
My daughter lost her first tooth last week and was so excited to have the tooth fairy come. Being a strong Christian doesn't mean you need to take away the fun of being a child.