Losing a tooth is a right of passage every child goes through... and in North America, many children celebrate this event with a visit from the tooth fairy! I do things a little different. Usually people get their kids to put the tooth under the pillow and wake up to find some money. I don't do that. Beforehand when I notice my child has their first tooth a little loose, I go to the dollar store to pick up a small wooden box. Once home I have them paint/decorate it anyway they wish. This is to keep the special fairy dust that the tooth fairy leaves behind. This fairy dust I make with sand and green food colouring. Once it is mixed well enough and dried enough I use a fork to make sure there are no clumps. Then I add golden or silver sparkles that I also got at the dollar store. When the tooth is out I get a drinking glass and have the child place the tooth on the windowsill with the glass over it. When she is asleep I take the tooth and replace it with a few coins. Placing the glass back over the coins, I then sprinkle the fairy dust so the coins are free from the dusting and its easier for us to save the fairy dust in their special wooden box. When the child wants to make a wish, she takes the box outside, takes a pinch of the dust, makes a wish and tosses the dust to the wind.
But did you know that the whole thing started because people believed burying a child's tooth in the back yard would ward off evil spirits and witches, and also allow children's new teeth to grow? As cities grew and not everyone had backyards at their disposal, people started burying the teeth in potted plants instead, and eventually transitioned to "burying" teeth under the pillow.
The original tooth fairy was actually a Tooth Mouse. The Tooth Mouse still visits children in many countries, replacing their lost teeth with money or gifts. I guess that takes a little of the pressure off the Tooth Fairy!
Of course, in our day and age, the Tooth Fairy has gone high-tech! She has her own website. At Tooth Fairy Land, kids can write to the Tooth Fairy and get their questions answered! And parents can purchase things to make their children's Tooth Fairy experiences even more magical, like a personalized First Tooth certificate, complete with a Tooth Fairy newsletter with your child in it!
How much is the Tooth Fairy paying these days, you wonder? It seems to vary from person to person. Most parents report that their children receive anywhere from twenty-five cents to two dollars for a tooth. Some say that their child received five dollars for their first lost tooth, and less for other teeth. But some people say the Tooth Fairy leaves their kids as much as twenty-five dollars!
Some people have also mentioned that the Tooth Fairy leaves their kids small gifts, such as gum, chocolate, or a new tooth brush!
What does the Tooth Fairy do for the kids in your life?
