Tooth Fairy visits: How much does she bring your kids?

The tooth fairy made a visit to our house on Saturday night. She flew in silently and left a gift (a new purse) and a one dollar gold coin for my 6 year old, Audrey, under her pillow. It was the first time she lost a tooth. The purse was a special gift, and every other tooth will be exchanged for a $1 gold coin.

Audrey lost her lost tooth and since it was her first lost tooth (we think she swallowed it), but we explained that the tooth fairy knows since she sees you smiling while you dream, and we were sure she’d get something.

The tooth fairy has made many visits to our house, but in recent months my girls have been influenced heavily by their peers and learned that some of their friends receive quite a bit more cash or gifts from the tooth fairy. A $20 bill was mentioned, an expensive doll was also mentioned. I don’t know what all the kids are saying, but my girls latched on to the idea of the biggest and best presents that their classmates received and wondered to me why they didn’t get the same thing.

Fortunately the idea of a gold coin has been met with lots of appreciation. It’s unusual, and neat, and the girls somehow think that gold is worth more. You can get $1 gold coins from your bank, or some machines offer them as change.

As part of Mom Monday I want to know what you do in your house. Please share with me in the comments.

If you have kids what did the tooth fairy bring them? Did they get something special for their first tooth? Do you not “do” the tooth fairy in your house?

If you don’t have kids, did you get cash for your lost teeth? How much did you receive?

Kelly

photo credit: kevindooley

About Kelly

Kelly Whalen is the founder of The Centsible Life, a blog where motherhood and money meet. Her goal is to help readers live well on less. Kelly is a mom to 4, and loves that she can stay at home with her kids, and still pursue her passions for writing, personal finance, and social media. You can often find her on twitter and Facebook talking money and motherhood.

http://www.best-home-loan-refinance.com/ JT@settleyourtaxdebt.org/

My parents used to give us a dollar each. There was 6 of us so that added up lol
http://drrearden.com/ Jesse Hake

When I was a kid, I always get a buck, but there are times I get a five for every tooth I lost. But you know, what’s important about losing a tooth isn’t just about the tooth fairy, it’s more on taking another step in growing up.
Jacques Weiss

It doesn’t really matter if your kid gets a buck or a twenty, what matters most is that there is a merit on what how they took care of their teeth.
Anonymous

Ummm when I was a kid it was nickels and dimes. I think the readers missed the boat on the dollar gold coin though. The coin pictured (if it is the one they gave) is no Sacajawea gold dollar. It is a real gold dollar smaller than a dime weighing in at about 1/10 ounce. At $1K an ounce that sucker is worth about $100. Now that what I call a tooth fairy par excellence.
Cunninghamsl

We do the gold dollar coins here, too. My older daughter just lost her first tooth last week (at age 7 1/2). We didn’t do anything special for the first tooth, but we did make a huge fuss about it, and she was thrilled with the coin!
http://writtenbytoothfairy.webs.com Elfstacyrose

My son received $20 for his first tooth because it was late evening and that’s all we had in the house. After polling our friends, we found the going rate was $5 so that is what he has gotten ever since. We told him the first tooth was extra special. I have heard other parents give more for molars so that is something we will consider too when the time comes. I like the gold coins idea. It makes the experience more memorable because you don’t see those coins very often in circulation.
Anonymous

Thanks!
http://www.betterbusinesselectronics.com/Cassida-C100-Coin-Counter-Sorter-p26.html Digital Coin Sorter

Awesome idea! Hmm for me I make it for about $3 gold coin for a tooth
Tina

I have a 4th Grader, and a First Grader. I know my 4th Grader knows but life is too short. Why take away a great make believe character? She's very smart, so I know she knows but it's fun to believe so I still give her money for lost teeth. Besides, if I take it away, what's not going to stop her from telling her 6year old sister? I have been giving $2-3. It's hard when I don't have change and forgot @ the last minute but the tooth fairy always comes through.
Pingback: March Links Roundup: Yakezie Challenge Edition | Zero Rich Party Advice
Pingback: March Links Roundup: Yakezie Challenge Edition
http://sahmcfo.wordpress.com/ Stay at Home Mom CFO

No Tooth losses yet in my house yet, we're still in the “cutting teeth” phase. I like the $1 gold coin idea. Maybe for their first tooth I'll do a $2 bill, they're pretty cool too!
http://twitter.com/TheDebtHawk TheDebtHawk.com

I six year old little girl just recently lost her first two teeth. For her first tooth, the tooth fairy left $5. For her second tooth, she left $1. I like the idea of using gold coins to make the $1 special.
simpleinfrance

Hmm, I think I remember only getting coins. But I still have one pesky baby tooth left. When it goes, after 33 years, I demand something better.

But seriously, what's with people giving such expensive stuff for the tooth fairy. The fun part is being a kid and thinking a fairy was under your pillow!
http://www.iCaughtTheToothFairy.com/ Steven Lockhardt

A picture is worth a thousand words. A picture of The Tooth Fairy is priceless. Better than money….

http://www.iCaughtTheToothFairy.com
http://twitter.com/faerievert Jacqui Pittenger

I got a quarter per tooth. I'm 27 now. There was nothing special for the first tooth. Then again, I was perfectly aware that my mom was the tooth fairy within the first year (I knew she was santa and the easter bunny too).
I was shocked when I found out my husband (same age) got a whole dollar per tooth! And he had this silly little pillow he had to put them in.
http://twitter.com/GotSpawn I once was real

Oh, and my kids know that their are no fictional characters giving out money and presents….Mom is Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, etc. They know that as a recently divorced mother of 4 on a fixed income that all “treats” come via me and that I deserve to be thanked. I appreciate getting the credit when I have to make a sacrifice in one part of our lives to keep these traditions alive.
http://twitter.com/GotSpawn I once was real

I got coins including pennies in a glass of water, usually weeks later. My kids get $5 a tooth, due to one of them needing to have an abscessed tooth removed at the dentist. The deal was struck and now they all think their entitled. Nevermind that one brother hit the other with a skateboard leading me to spend $200 at the dentist taking care of the issue, ugh, kids. I get 5 free teeth though now, I sold the PSP at Gamestop and used the trade-in for a bunch of “new to them” games…so that is the new deal, shewww!
Laura

$5 for the first tooth and $1 for every one after that.
http://www.observingcasually.com/ Kosmo @ The Casual Observer

$20? Are you %^^%$ kiddding? Out kids (2 1/2 and 3 months old) haven't started losijg their teeth yet, and we haven't nailed down the tooth fairy amount, but it will probably be in the neighborhood of $1.

When I was a kid (I'm 34 now) I got a quarter, and I was plenty happy with that.
marabelle

I love the idea of the gold coin (“fairy gold”). When I was little, it was just a quarter, or assorted change. A few years ago, I found some of my baby teeth in a wooden box in my mom’s workshop. They were so tiny!
http://www.fiscalfizzle.com Wojciech Kulicki

Wow…talk about a touchy subject. You want to teach your kids about the value of money and how it's irrelevant to compare yourself to other people, but they feel completely dejected that this “fictional being” would deny them the same goods that she gave someone else. I can see why kids would feel inferior… (same goes for Santa, etc, etc…).

I think you handled it well with the coin…it's a unique approach and definitely something special. I think the key is to make kids understand that whatever the fairy brings them is unique to their personal situation…how you do that is beyond me though. I am still a many few years from having to face this issue.

Maybe explaining that the fairy “knows” when kids feel they have “enough”-enough love, attention, needs are being met, etc. and doesn't have to bring them $20 bills.

I mean…I understand inflation, but $20? Geez!
http://laughingburnsmorecaloriesthancrying.blogspot.com/ Denise

My kids get $1.00, too. The gold coin idea is even better, though. My son got a bunch of them for his birthday once and he was SO excited!

We gave $5.00 for my oldest's first tooth, but that's only because it came out after a collision with his little brother's head! He was very traumatized, and the $5.00 took his mind off of it. The tooth fairy let him know that the going rate was $1.00 and not to expect $5.00 every time!

I get so tired of the peer pressure stuff. I think that expensive gifts and $20.00 is crazy!
reallifesarah

When I was little, it was a quarter, but my kids get a dollar. I love the idea of the dollar coins. That makes it more special!
http://www.moneymanagement.org/Community/Blogs/Blogging-for-Change.aspx Kim at MMI

Our tooth fairy also gives dollar coins for “regular” teeth. She splurged with a $2 bill for each of their two front teeth.

I’m curious how you explained the difference between tooth fairy gifts. Clearly, the Tooth Fairy made a mistake when she left $20!