$1, $4, $10, more?!? How much are you supposed to leave your child as gifts from the tooth fairy? It can be hard to know what you think will be acceptable.
Just so you know, it is normal for teeth to start falling out around 5-years-old and up. Now, keep in mind that when your kids start losing their teeth they often have friends that are also losing teeth. If you can provide a reason why the tooth fairy leaves what they do it might help the questions that come later as they compare their loot to their classmates.
Reasons why kids get different gifts from the tooth fairy
If you are here looking for reasons why your tooth fairy might leave different amounts for your kids friend, perhaps you tell them that each child/house has their own fairy. This allows for variation of gifts and amounts, but you also don’t have to give each kid different things, it can just be this is what the tooth fairy leaves our family.
Similarly, you tell your children that the tooth fairy knows what each kid needs. That way if you choose experiences or investments over coinage and legal tender you can also teach your kid to think about what they can learn from their gift.
Try to decide how much you will give before your child loses their first tooth. You don’t want to get into a position where you’re dropping $5-10 for each of the 20 baby teeth as they fall out. Then you’re out of pocket $100-200 just for teeth… that you’re probably just going to throw away.
Gift Ideas from the Tooth Fairy
There are so many ideas for what your child might receive when the tooth fairy visits. It is ultimately up to you to determine what tooth fairy magic will happen. Just know that the tooth fairy ideas have graduated and aren’t limited to a dollar or quarter. So let’s cover some of the best ideas for gifts from the tooth fairy!
With different camps of thought, there are parents that provide a flat return for your child’s tooth, while others may provide a sliding scale of return. Some parents have reported that they give their child their age in dollars as a payment from the tooth fairy.
Other parents will provide a nice little financial bonus amount at the beginning. This is to get their child excited about the concept and then roll back the amount after their child has become invested. For example, the first lost tooth brings in $5 while each tooth after only supplies $2.
Monetary gifts for fairy magic
Aside from just leaving a dollar, what are some special things your child could get from the tooth fairy that might set it apart from normal money?
You could use two dollar bills. It is a simple enough gift, but different than most of what their friends will get. It is a unique monetary gift that they can be reminded of later in life. You can find these at many banks, but there is no telling if they have them and how many until you go in. It might be good to get a few when you can because you know more teeth will fall out! They will forever think of two dollar bills as tooth fairy money.
Next, are silver dollars! Just like the two dollar bill, you can still find these at banks as well. However, just like the two dollar bill, they might not be at every bank. Still, it is legal tender and could be fun for your kids to have an extra special coin that came for every tooth.
A Tooth Fairy Coin Collection
If you are wanting to step it up a little bit, consider helping your kid start their coin collection. You could easily explain that the tooth fairy often finds shiny things and knows that little kids like shiny things, too. This would also start a tradition with your children that you could continue throughout their life.
If you wanted to start with collecting quarters from each state you could get a fun book to put them in. You could start with 10 quarters so that they start their collection off with a bang and then give two more for each tooth. Or you could flip it and start with 2 quarters per tooth and then when the last tooth comes they get a lot to finish their collection.
You can search through quarters you find in circulation or ask a bank for a roll of quarters. Doing it that way, you will still need to sort through to find the right states. Or you could get a set of quarters and map which could save you some time.
Crypto, Stock or NFT
For the younger parents out there that want a little something more, you could consider getting your child some crypto. While still a monetary gift, these other avenues to try that might be a little more lucrative in the future. If you feel that your fairy might be a little more financially savvy, consider an investment as your tooth fairy idea.
While it won’t be as exciting to see a printed image of a Bitcoin under a pillow when your child wakes up it could pay dividends in the future. Keep in mind that you can buy various levels of crypto currency. Don’t think that you need to get your child an entire Bitcoin or Ethereum share. Buying $5-10 a time when a child loses a tooth will also spread out the costs and could be a good investment strategy.
Similar to crypto and stocks, you could also purchase an NFT for your child. It might be neat for your child to see that they are the new owner of a fairy, monster or sport based NFT. Also, many parents would rather invest with the hope of getting more than just providing a $5 bill.
Experiences as Tooth fairy gifts
Rather than, or along with, giving money perhaps you want to focus more on giving your child an experience. The tooth fairy knows how important dates are.
One of the fun ways to excite your kids about gifts from the tooth fairy would be creating a treasure hunt! We all know that fairies can be mischievous and playful. Maybe your tooth fairy likes to send kids on treasure hunts. Similar to the Elf of the Shelf, perhaps your fairy can leave clues on where to find your child’s reward. They have to solve riddles and clues in order to find where their present is hidden. Kids love opportunities to show what they are learning and this can be one way to see their brains grow.
Aside from a treasure hunt, you could also leave a coupon for a date with mom or dad. Maybe your tooth fairy saw people having fun at a local frozen yogurt shop. Or fairies might know that kids like to jump at trampoline parks. Regardless, this gives parents another excuse to create memories with your children. Check out our list of 36 ideas for daddy daughter dates.
Fairy Builder
If you don’t want to go out somewhere for a date your tooth fairy might leave Lego or creation toys. This allows them to create like the most famous fairy of all, Tinker Bell.
If your kids like to be outside and you have a little garden, maybe you create a fairy garden. Your kids can leave their tooth that has fallen out in their own fairy garden. This adds to the narrative that the tooth fairy lives in nature. As a bonus, you don’t have to sneak into their room and risk waking them up. And it just adds to their little imagination. You might even add some glitter! You can say that it is just little fairy money and sprinkle it like fairy dust in your tiny garden. Glitter money is a nearly free way to enhance any fairy experience.
A Few Other Considerations
A few other things to consider leaving your kids from the tooth fairy would include a little note. A note from a fairy might help with instilling good dental hygiene. Some ideas for what your tooth fairy letter could say include:
- Thanking your child for taking care of their teeth
- A reminder that the most valuable teeth for a tooth fairy are the cleanest ones. It makes the other fairies jealous
- Saying if your child takes care of their little teeth then the fairy will give them new big teeth
Your tooth fairy might leave a tooth fairy pillow or tooth fairy box for their future teeth. To add an extra personal touch, consider making your own tooth fairy pillows for your children.
Final Thoughts on the Tooth Fairy
Your kids are only young once, so have fun with them. Choosing any of these creative ways to incorporate the tooth fairy into your kids life will help. The goal is to purposefully create fun memories for your children and yourself.
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