Milk teeth and tooth fairy tips
A couple of months ago, N had 1 wobbly tooth. Only 5 days later, he then had a gap where 2 teeth were, plus half a new tooth through and a little white tooth just about showing through the gum. Oh, and then 2 weeks later a 3rd fell out. Yes, those milk teeth started falling out at the age of 5, the same age I was when I lost my first.
It seems so young. There are 3 boys in his class who’ve lost teeth, and of online friends a handful have 5 year olds who’ve lost teeth. But it seems most mum friends are saying their children were 6 or more when they lost their first.
N didn’t have a lisp with his gap like some children do and it’s not putting him off eating. And it doesn’t look as strange seeing him with a gap as I thought it would be. But his new teeth were filling that gap quickly, and only 2 months later, all 3 are in place (with a few little gaps between waiting for more bigger adult teeth to come through.
What N managed to do is something that would never have occurred to me. I mean, my brother and I lost all our teeth as you do, and every single one was in our hand ready to put under our pillows for the tooth fairy. But N lost his first 2 teeth and we had no idea where or when exactly he lost them.
The first one we think he must have swallowed in the night because it was there when he went to bed, then he got up and the first we noticed he had a gap was when he came back from having breakfast at the farmhouse. We turned the bedrooms upside down looking for his tooth and didn’t find it, so unless it’s somewhere in the gravel on the drive, then it was swallowed.
The second tooth he lost sometime between 1.30pm and tea, because he was eating at teatime when I noticed he’d lost his tooth. Again, either that tooth was lost somewhere outside on the farm, or he’d swallowed it.
At least with number 3 it came out somewhere he noticed it, and he proudly produced it wrapped in a tissue from his school book bag. So one tooth did go under the pillow.
I thought N would get excited about getting money from the tooth fairy. But he’s quite relaxed about it. He tends to go over to the farm and show Granny his new gap, she’ll give him some money, then he’ll get some from the tooth fairy under his pillow. But in the morning I had to remind him to check if the tooth fairy had visited. This, despite him asking lots of questions and imagining to himself what the tooth fairy was like and how many there were.
I’ve made him a record sheet so we can keep track of when he lost each tooth, and he’ll be able to put this in his keepsake box. Although at the rate he’s going, there’ll not be many actual teeth to show him when they fall out unless he stops losing them.
Tooth fairy (and parent) tips
Make sure the tooth fairy visiting your house knows these points to be ready at all times (unlike ours):
- Have plenty of change. The going rate when I asked on and offline was £2 for the first tooth, then £1 a tooth. But our tooth fairy only had £1 the first time, and second time. And the third time had to borrow some from N’s money pot only to return a new one in a few days later
- Keep a record of loss dates. You will get asked, and it’s good to know so you can answer instead of floundering.
- If you want to encourage writing, then make sure they write a letter to the tooth fairy. And don’t forget to get your OH on board with this otherwise you may find that your alternative tooth fairy jumps the boat before the child has chance to write. You’ll then miss any chance to write in future too.
- Be prepared for a lot of questions. Some may be surprising so get the story straight so you’re all saying the same answers to avoid confusion. We found it was all factual questions rather than about the tooth fairy.
- Enjoy the imagination. N was really excited about the tooth fairy. He had his own ideas about what and who it was, what she looked like, and how many there were. It’s very sweet to hear.
There’s no sign of a fourth tooth being wobbly yet, but I’m looking forward to further discussions then.
What age did your children lose their first tooth? Do you have any tooth fairy stories to tell?
My son has lost four teeth now (hes 7) and he loves it when the tooth fairy is coming!
I don’t actually know what age I was when I lost my first tooth. My mum used to write us letters from the tooth fairy in really small writing with little glitter footprints leading up to it. I used to love those! (Lucy/R is for Hoppit)
The tooth fairy has gotten generous since I was a child. My mother in law tried to convince my little girl that the first tooth got a crisp £5 note, thankfully I had already made clear that you get a big £2 coin #sharewithme
You should have told her that £5 is fine if she’d been paying! Cheek
I haven’t had the pleasure of doing the tooth fairy yet… although I really cannot wait till it happens. It was always £1 a tooth in my house, I felt so rich haha the record sheet sounds great!
Jordanne || Thelifeofaglasgowgirl.co.uk
My eldest lost her first one at 5, which was about the same age as me I think. Only the two eldest have lost teeth so far but it’s a big deal in our house. They each have a special pillow with a pocket. Thanks for linking to #sharewithme
My son is only just getting his milk teeth so we’re a while off this yet but the list is very handy. Particularly the tip to have a story ready – I’d end up panicking making up some nonsense about the tooth fairy living on mars!
Oh we haven’t had the tooth fairy yet, my boy has just turned 6, so I should imagine we will be getting a wobbly tooth very shortly!
Love the idea of a record sheet to put in the memory box 🙂
I remember the excitement for the tooth fairy when I was younger. It varied between 25p -50p in my house haha!!
I remember losing my first tooth when I was a kid, I always used to help put money under my brothers pillow for his teeth x