If I’m honest, I wish I’d thought more about our family tooth fairy and the traditions it would bring before the need had arisen. My eldest, Danny, lost his first tooth before the thought had even crossed my mind.
I only knew when I picked him up from school and he had a gap in his front teeth. It was quite a shock for us both and really marked a milestone of him growing older. Unfortunately his first tooth had fell out onto his school dinner plate and was whisked off by the dinner ladies. Danny was upset, so I explained about the tooth fairy magic and reassured him that the tooth fairy would still visit him, find his tooth and hopefully leave a coin.
That night, he wrote a note for the tooth fairy and put it in a decorated envelope under his pillow. During the night, the tooth fairy swapped this for a coin. I think it was a £2 coin as it was a first tooth. When I was little we were thrilled to be left a 20p coin.
Over the years, we have continued this very simple tradition of leaving the tooth and the coin in envelope. Usually, we do have the actual tooth to leave for the tooth fairy but my girls also seem to follow Danny and we have had more “lost teeth” over the years- lost in school, gone down the sink and so on.
We’ve also added books about teeth and the tooth fairy to our bedtime story collection. Money wise, we usually give £1 but give £2 for special ones.
In a couple of years, we will start going through these traditions with Isabelle too. I’d like her to have a special place in her room to leave the tooth rather than under the pillow (it’s not that easy for the tooth fairy to collect the tooth from there!). I’d like to make something, but for inspiration, I love the tooth fairy mouse, cushions and bag pictured above.
We have lots of books to read to her about it so we are prepared. This tooth fairy has also learnt to always keep a few £1 and £2 coins spare in the house for late night wobbly teeth!
Of course, the most important thing is to look after your teeth and clean them properly. We have a timer in our bathroom to make sure we brush them for long enough. We want to leave healthy, shiny teeth for the tooth fairy. We also drink mainly water and cut down on sugary sweets. When our kids do eat cakes or pudding, we make sure it’s after tea when the teeth are most protected. Regular dentist visits are important too but it can be difficult nowadays to find a good dentist. Websites, such as Toothpick can help you find a dentist in your area. I like how you can filter the results to find dentists that “treat children” and “treat nervous patients”. Our kids also have extra dental screening and protection treatment in school as part of the Designed to Smile Program.
What tooth fairy traditions do you have in your house?
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Tooth Fairy Mouse £16 / Tooth Fairy Cushions £9.95 |
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Tooth Fairy Door, £19 |
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Tales of the Tooth Fairy, £19.99 See Inside Your Body (Usborne Flap Books) (Usborne See Inside) |
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