Remember when you lost your first tooth? Remember how excited you were when you woke up to find the tooth you had so carefully placed under your pillow replaced with a quarter? Well those days are G-O-N-E gone! There have been some changes in the ways of the Tooth Fairy, and it is costing parents big time. Apparently, this century’s Tooth Fairy no longer carries spare change. She’s floating around with a big wad of bills.

Why the change in leaving loose change under the pillow? According to something I just read in the Huffington Post, it’s mostly because parents don’t want their kids to be the ones on the playground who received the lowest amount. Whatever.

One family took a quick poll around the neighborhood to find out what today’s going rate is for a tooth and decided that $5 for the first tooth and $1 dollar for each subsequent tooth would be fair. Then the daughter found out one of her school mates got $20 per tooth. Seriously?!

If you, like me, think $20 per tooth is a little pricey, wait until you hear this one. One five-year-old woke up with a crisp, new $100 bill under her pillow, along with a brand new My Little Pony toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. And, it wasn’t even a molar! Her mother did insist that the Tooth Fairy said the $100 had to go into the little girl’s college fund, but that she had also instructed the mother to give the daughter $20 to spend if she brushed her teeth every day after lunch for a month. Hmmmm. Must be an only child.

I’m sure glad my children lost all their teeth before word got out about getting $20 or $100 a tooth. With four kids, paying those kinds of rates for lost teeth probably would have meant we’d have to start living out of our car or something.

There is one new idea I’ve heard about that I totally wish I would have done. I wish I would have thought to leave a note from the Tooth Fairy. Not just a note saying brush your teeth every day, don’t eat many sweets, yada yada yada, but something more along these lines:

Dearest Child:

I came by tonight to retrieve your tooth and leave your payment; however, because of the state of your room, I had a horrible time trying to get to your bed safely. Once there, I was unable to locate your tooth, because there were too many pillows, clothes, and toys on your bed.

I will have to come by on a different night. Perhaps you can take the time between now and then to properly clean and organize your room.

Much love,

The Tooth Fairy

Now, that’s a change in the ways of the Tooth Fairy I can really get behind!