Parenting Win of the Week: The Tooth Fairy

A simple tradition that means so much more.

Tooth fairy envelope under pillow

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Tooth fairy envelope under pillow

Photo by: Peter Dazeley

Peter Dazeley

When my youngest son was three, his brother was in the prime of losing his teeth. Instead of looking up to his brother, ready for this to happen for him one day, he was PETRIFIED. And I mean scared to death. Whenever the tooth fairy would come, he would make sure that we not only closed his door, but we had to tell him that the tooth fairy always knows the right room to go into.

Fast forward and now, he is in the prime of losing his own teeth and he could not love the process more. He starts wiggling teeth that are barely even loose, guesstimating when he’ll next see the tooth fairy. He has lost teeth in a variety of states too, which always results in fun reward surprises like gold $1 coins or $2 bills.

Our tooth fairy leaves elaborate notes as well. Esmerelda is quite the humorous tooth fairy (wink, wink).

For me, the whole tooth fairy thing is one of my favorite parts of being a parent. I know that sounds kind of funny, but there are few things that bring such unbridled joy to a kid, especially as tough as things have been the past few years. Pure excitement that is not associated with any holiday (like Santa or the Easter bunny), just joy that happens at sporadic, unexpected times.

I know that the tooth fairy days only last for a finite number of years before the tooth visits will likely turn into orthodontist visits (sorry, kids!), so I am cherishing the next few loose teeth.

What are some of the tooth fairy traditions in your house?

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