The night before while taking a bath, Hannah discovered she had a loose tooth. It was pretty loose so we were surprised that we were just now hearing about it. I was caught off guard--yes, I knew most kids would loose their first tooth in kindergarten, but I wasn't expecting it to come on us so unexpectedly. I was ill-prepared to step into the role of Tooth Fairy to say the least. And come on--it was loose for about 24 hours before it fell out, during which we were preparing for a party that never happened thanks to a sick kiddo.
I also wasn't expecting her response. She was excited it was loose for about 1 minute and then the worry set in. She declared she couldn't eat any meat till it fell out, refused her orange (a favorite) and randomly broke into tears, concerned with a variety of factors.
Would it fall out in her sleep? (well, it almost did) Would it hurt? (not that she noticed) Would it bleed? (not that we noticed) What happened if it fell out at school? (she got the rare permission to come interrupt me if it did-something she has been expressly forbidden to do)
I was not expecting her worry, although I guess if I had put any thought into it, I should have seen it coming. Hannah doesn't do things the mellow way and I now know that includes loosing teeth. However, she did do perfectly when the time came, with no tears, just plain excitement.
It fell out at about 8pm last night, while she should have been falling asleep. She quietly came out of her room (didn't wake up sick sis) and then broke into a pile of giggles. She was beside herself with joy. It was hilarious to watch. We proceeded to put it in an envelope and address it to the Tooth Fairy. We then put her back to bed, only to hear her for the next half hour giggling and rolling all around her bed. She was equally excited this morning when she found her letter back (who knew the Tooth Fairy had such pretty stationary?), along with a dollar bill and a new notebook (since, as the Tooth Fairy reasoned, it was her first tooth). She has, since then, made sure that everyone she has seen today (including the 3 church ladies we bumped into at the grocery store) be told about it. I've gotten a few "wow, sounds like Tooth Fairy inflation" comments, but in my defense, I have no idea the going rate for a tooth.
Here are few questions for you--when did your child (or yourself) loose their first tooth? did it happen suddenly? and how much should a kid get for a tooth?
4 comments:
Evan lost his first tooth towards the end of Kindergarten and then lost the second one within weeks after the first. We give him a dollar per tooth. He didn't lose any teeth in 1st grade and just lost his third tooth finally last week. Funny story he took the tooth in baggy out from under his pillow and was clutching it. When Andrew came in and tried to take the tooth from him he sat up and said, "Aha, I knew the tooth fairy was you." Sad and funny all at the same time.
I don't remember when I lost my first tooth-- we used to leave them in a glass of water on the kitchen windowsill. (don't ask me why) I wised up and tricked the tooth fairy -- if you left the tooth there more than one night, she would put more coins into the glass. As a kid, I did not put the tooth under my pillow and my mom and dad did not take it.
Give my girls hugs for me.
Love,
Grammie
I was just thinking the opposite of inflation: Teeth were worth $1 apiece in my corner of New Jersey back in 1982. Congratulations to Hannah! I had no idea these kids were on that threshhold already--but then none of my teeth fell out without help, including that of an oral surgeon when I was 11 and still hadn't lost most of them.
hans lost both of the bottom two within a couple weeks. he has an awesome lisp now. 1 dollar a tooth.
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