The Tooth Fairy By Linda Stowe
These days everyone is talking about rising prices. Some even voted for Trump because he promised to lower prices. Those people probably also believe in the Tooth Fairy.
Which brings me to my topic today, the Tooth Fairy. Unless you’re in grade school you don’t hear a lot about the Tooth Fairy. But a visit by the Tooth Fairy is something most people have in common. We all have at least one school photo showing us with a gap-toothed grin.
The first time or two we lose a tooth, we put it under our pillow and wake up to find that the Tooth Fairy has taken away the tooth and left us with a little gift, usually money.
When I went online to see what the TF was doling out these days, I noted that this is an area where prices may be dropping. In 2022, the average baby tooth was awarded $6.23, which was a record high. In 2023 the average amount dropped by 6% to $5.84. I didn’t find what a baby tooth is worth these days so I am going to ballpark it and say that these days a kid can expect to receive $5 a tooth, but it is doubtful that the kid can expect a payout for all 20 baby teeth.
There is a good bit of lore about baby teeth across cultures and time. Some cultures believe mice take the teeth; others insist on burying the tooth. Here in the US a baby tooth like everytning else has a market value. Right now it’s $5.00, less than the cost of a carton of eggs.
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Polly here. You know, I loved the Tooth Fairy, way back when, in my kid life. I’m pretty sure that I got a quarter for the first tooth I dropped. After that, the price went down to a dime. Seven kids. Lots of rotten baby teeth over the years.
It is my guess that kids in large families might get paid a lower Tooth Fairy rate. How’s that for culture?
Anyway, I thought it was so cool that she could sneak into my bedroom and get the tooth from under my pillow without me waking up. And then, that she could slip money back underneath, to boot. I mean, let’s face it. Santa “broke and entered” in another room entirely. The Christmas tree was all the way downstairs in the living room. Sure, he left big toys, like Rock’ Em Sock’ Em Robots and Fisher Price Little People. But he was downstairs. And the same thing happened with the Easter Bunny, except all he could manage was to leave the eggs we had colored the day before. The point is, they were both in other parts of our house.
But the Tooth Fairy? She had balls, by golly. She snuck right into my room. And got under my pillow. Now that is Rock Star status.
I think she might have been the reason I wanted to grow up to be a Safe Cracker there for a while.
Which brings me to this. I’ve questioned, in the past, if it is okay to “lie” to our children in this way. And as I reflect on this, I think about the magic of it all. It was wildly enchanting and captivating during my kid life.
With me, well, I think it helped me to believe in magic in this world. A belief I still hold to this very day. Because there is a lot we don’t know about our world and our Universe. We can’t possibly know it all.
And that, to me, says there is plenty of room for the magical. The unexplainable. The tremendous. The amazing.
The fantabulous.
The Tooth Fairy By Linda Stowe
