The Tooth Fairy came up in our Offspring Facebook Group recently when one parent asked whether it was OK to skip the whole “A Fairy Brings You Money For Your Teeth” thing. In the course of the discussion, one parent had a great suggestion for trading teeth for money in a slightly non-traditional (but easier) way…
Don’t stick the tooth under the pillow.
Instead, put it in a small bag with a handle and hang it from their bedroom doorknob. The parent in question uses one of those little organza bags (like these) that you often get filled with favours at a wedding, but any little pouch will do.
I can see at least three benefits to this method:
1. You won’t risk waking the child.
As a child, one of my co-workers woke up when her mum was going under the pillow for a tooth. That’s how she figured out the Tooth Fairy wasn’t real; THEN she used her powers of deduction to conclude that a variety of other magical holiday beings weren’t real either.
2. It’s less intrusive.
For kids who aren’t totally keen on the idea of a tiny fairy flittering about their room at night, now the fairy doesn’t technically have to enter at all. (My son isn’t scared of the Tooth Fairy, but he’s got a real issue with the Easter Bunny parading his way through our house, so I assume this could be an issue for some kids.)
3. You won’t forget to pay up.
You’re more likely to see the bag on the doorknob when you retire for the night than you are to remember there’s a tooth stashed under the pillow. It’s super exciting the first couple of times they lose a tooth, but by Tooth #7, the novelty has worn off and you can/will forget.
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