The tooth fairy is an age-old tradition that has lasted the test of time, and brings a bit of magic to the excitement of losing a tooth.
However, recent reports have found that some children are receiving items like video games, iPhones, and even Louis Vuitton bracelets from the tooth fairy.
Reports in the New York Post recently from parents found that the art of gifting for losing a tooth has taken on a life of its own. These reports pale in comparison to days gone by when a first tooth saw the tooth fairy leave a pound note, while other teeth received 20p.
A lot has changed now from those days gone by, but when it comes to how much the tooth fairy should be leaving under pillows these days the answers can be tricky.
What if one child got €50 while another got just €1 for a first tooth?
How do you explain that to a child who is wondering who is making these types of calls at Tooth Fairy HQ?
Montessori teacher Sinéad Laffan says that, over her many years of teaching children who have come into school following the excitement of losing a first tooth, the best advice she could give to a tooth fairy is to keep things simple.
She says that she sees more joy from children who receive a coin rather than a note.
“Children at that age relate coins to play money, and when they get a coin for themselves there is great excitement. At that age, children don’t understand the value of money.
If a tooth fairy leaves €20 under the pillow, it doesn’t mean that they will be more excited than if they received a €2 coin.
“I would say the best approach is consistency. Getting €2 for each tooth, whether it’s the first or last. Keep it simple and I would say the tooth fairy should start as they mean to go on.”
Financial expert and the founder of MoneyWhizz, Frank Conway, said that he believes the tooth fairy should not necessarily have to leave money, but if they do it should be a token amount.
“Perhaps €1 or €2 and that is it. I think parents could consult with the tooth fairy and use the occasion to turn the event to a moment of imagination, that may yield more positive results for a child over the long run. In other words, it should not just be about money. I think this feeds a sort of buying off the child, whereas the original idea is that the tooth fairy is a source of imagination and should remain that way.”
Mr Conway says that if a child is expecting money from the tooth fairy, then parents could use the opportunity to is to build their own story around money for the child. They could explain, he says, that money can be used to create magic and that it can magically grow over time.
“If the child is patient and is prepared to be patient, the money can grow. Perhaps the parents can top up this magic money over time. So turn the magic around to make a connection with money, magic, patience, and growth,” he says.
Sinéad also says that if a child is confused about why their friend got more money than they did, parents could explain how the amount given depends on how many teeth are collected in a night, but that it doesn’t matter how much the tooth fairy left under the pillow as all money is magic and the fact that the tooth fairy came was special in itself.
John Lowe, of moneydoctors.ie, says that he thinks these days some children’s expectations are a lot higher than they used to be years ago.
“Sometimes the parents are like onlookers in a financial transaction.”
He says that the tooth fairy leaving money is a way of children receiving money, but there is also the risk that there may be wealthier families in a child’s class that may have tooth fairies that are more generous.
“It is a fact of life that there are some families richer than us. I think the threshold therefore should be at a maximum €20, and you could encourage your child to save most of it and use it as a rainy day fund, for Christmas and birthday presents, or for emergencies. If a child does not have a bank or credit union account at this stage, now might be the opportunity to start one.”
“You don’t want your child to be like the little girl in the Cadbury’s advert who goes into the sweet shop to buy her mum a birthday present — which is a large bar of chocolate — and gives three buttons with the shopkeeper still looking at her. She adds another which is a tiny unicorn paper horse, to which the shopkeeper says as she is about to leave the shop: ‘You forgot your change…’ and hands back the unicorn. You don’t get many shopkeepers like him.”
