Wednesday, August 01, 2007

The Tooth Fairy takes a hit

When LO lost her first tooth, I was all excited about playing the tooth fairy. Unsure of how much money to give her for a tooth, I asked one of the parents of a child in her class. The mother told me that she gives her son $20 for each tooth. $20? Geez, I was shocked since I don't think I ever got much more than a quarter or even an occasional dollar. But $20? Wow.

So, I've played along. $20 a tooth. (We actually took some of her money and bought an Israel bond. She was thrilled to think that her money is helping Israel.) Thankfully the time span between each tooth has been months, so it's never been a big deal.

This month the tooth fairy is taking a big hit. LO lost a tooth on her own...there goes $20. Then I brought her to the dentist. He explained how her teeth are crowded and that he will need to do several extractions. Two weeks ago - two teeth were extracted...there goes $40. Today another tooth extracted...another $20. Two weeks from now...another $20. LO's total for the month will be $100. This kid is raking in the cash. There has to be an end to this soon, no? I mean really, how many teeth does this kid have?

11 comments:

Diana said...

When I reached a certain age my mom donated books to my school library in my name.

Val said...

Yikes - $20? For my daughter's first teeth (extracted as they weren't coming out on their own and the new ones were growing in behind them!), we (my ex & I) gave her $10 for each tooth for each house (so she raked in $40!), but for subsequent teeth, $5 will be the prize. Though it's looking like the next 2 might have to be pulled... so who knows. But certainly not $20 for EVERY tooth- couldn't afford it! :)

Kol Ra'ash Gadol said...

Wow! I always got a quarter.

Jack Steiner said...

Maybe you can give her 20 quarters. It is more than a single twenty dollar bill.

Jewish Deaf Motorcycling Dad said...

$20??!! Wow, I didn't realize inflation was hitting so hard! I got quarters. Of course that was when dinosaurs were still roaming the Earth (okay, but it was before PC's, seriously!) My oldest is 4... I better start putting away for the tooth fairy fund now! (I loved Trep's idea of sprinking some glitter from the window to the pillow, I've stocked that in my plans already)

Hope LO is doing okay with the extractions. I had 4 wisdom teeth pulled (all at once), and was popping pills for the next few days to take away the pain.

Annie said...

Orie, wow, you are much nicer than my parents. I only got $1, and that stopped pretty quickly.

Coco said...

I suggest you count her remaining baby teeth and set aside the cash immediately.

Another meshugannah mommy said...

I give my son $1 a tooth. Thank G-d he doesn't read blogs, yet!

Jessica said...

Oy...poor kid. I had to have tons of teeth pulled at the dentist when I was a kid too. But I only remember getting 2$ or 3$ per tooth. The Israel bond is a great idea!

katfarmer said...

My DD gets anywhere from a quarter to a $1 and thinks shes hit pay dirt.

Here's the easy formula on losing teeth taught to me by a pediadontist: You lose 8 by 8 and 12 by 12 so that by 13 all the baby teeth should be gone. Just in time for Bat Mitzvah and even bigger $

have popcorn will lurk said...

My 8 year old got 50 cents for her last tooth - and she's only lost 5 or 6 so far!!!