This post talks about how much the tooth fairy pays and got me to thinking about the issue. So I thought I'd ask: what does she pay at your house?
We don't "do" the tooth fairy (never did) or other imaginable characters (Santa Claus, Easter bunny, etc.) at our house, but we do give the kids $1 for a lost tooth (I offered $2 for a tooth if they'd let me pull it out, but I haven't had any takers.) Our kids are almost out of the tooth-losing age range (unfortunately they're entering the much more expensive "braces period" with their teeth), so we'll soon be able to eliminate our $1 expenditures on the TF soon.
So, what does the Tooth Fairy (or some sort of replacement) pay at your house?
I have a supply of $2 bills on hand specifically for this purpose. Since most kids (and adults for that matter) don't even know that $2 bills exist, they take on a magical quality--no mere mortal parent could have possibly left it!
Posted by: MelMoitzen | September 02, 2008 at 08:28 AM
I might start doing the same with the gold Presidential dollars I've just ordered, in which case I would leave just one of them.
Posted by: MelMoitzen | September 02, 2008 at 08:30 AM
The magical $2 bills or a gold Sacagawea coin. My daughters love this!
Posted by: TexasLouie | September 02, 2008 at 09:35 AM
"We don't "do" the tooth fairy (never did) or other imaginable characters (Santa Claus, Easter bunny, etc.) at our house"
This is not as directly finance related, but I think this would be a much more interesting topic for conversation on the blog.
Posted by: Jake | September 02, 2008 at 09:37 AM
We don't "do" fictional characters, either. My son knows that his Christmas presents come from mommy and daddy and that Santa Claus (and the Easter Bunny, etc.) is a cartoon, much like SpongeBob. But we haven't had him lose a tooth yet. I'm not into the tooth fairy, but it seems kind of harsh not to give him something when he finally does lose a tooth. I like the idea of the presidential dollars, Sacajawea coin or the $2 bill. I'll keep those in mind...
Posted by: Miranda | September 02, 2008 at 01:14 PM
No fictional characters?
I agree with Jake in that I'd like to know a little more why you don't "do" those.
Posted by: tom | September 02, 2008 at 01:45 PM
Tom --
Because I make a practice of trying not to lie to my children.
Posted by: FMF | September 02, 2008 at 01:52 PM
enough said...
Posted by: tom | September 02, 2008 at 02:09 PM
I second the $2 bill. Our kids love them. The first tooth got $5, then each tooth after that is $2.
Posted by: Terry | September 02, 2008 at 03:03 PM
Heh. My mom pulled out all of my teeth, except for the few that I pulled myself, and I never got a penny for them.
Kids these days! :)
Posted by: PartialExponent | September 02, 2008 at 03:28 PM
We don't have kids, but my sister in law was telling me that the parents at my nephew and niece's school pay $20 for a lost tooth. Maybe I need to move there!
On a different note, what's your take on Uninsured Motorist auto insurance, how much is enough? Unfortunately, my husband was rear-ended last week on the freeway. Thank goodness he is fine. This has led us to really examine auto insurance coverage. We had $30,000 Uninsured Motorist coverage, but will likely up it to $100,000.
Posted by: Grace | September 02, 2008 at 04:27 PM
Lies? More like magical thinking, imagination...there comes a time when a child realizes there is no such thing, but the sparkle in the eyes is unforgettable. I got 35 cents as a kid for a lost tooth. I hear a tooth brings upwards of $20 now. But why "pay" a kid for a lost tooth anyway, if you're not going to make a story out of it. It's a natural human function to shed teeth, there doesn't NEED to be payment involved. That's like my father-in-law (during a recent visit) paying my 4 yr old son a dollar to make a poop. Two dollars for 2 terds. Yeah, I stopped that game even before they left. ;)
Posted by: Jen | September 02, 2008 at 09:19 PM
Lies? More like magical thinking, imagination...there comes a time when a child realizes there is no such thing, but the sparkle in the eyes is unforgettable. I got 35 cents as a kid for a lost tooth. I hear a tooth brings upwards of $20 now. But why "pay" a kid for a lost tooth anyway, if you're not going to make a story out of it. It's a natural human function to shed teeth, there doesn't NEED to be payment involved. That's like my father-in-law (during a recent visit) paying my 4 yr old son a dollar to make a poop. Two dollars for 2 terds. Yeah, I stopped that game even before they left. ;)
Posted by: Jen | September 02, 2008 at 09:20 PM
No Santa Claus or Easter bunny??? That's so sad. Next you will tell us you don't believe in Big Foot either! My two boys are about to enter that tooth losing phase. Thanks for the tips....very interesting.
Posted by: Hank | September 04, 2008 at 06:34 AM
Way to rob your kids of their childhood. "Traditions" or "lies" as you like to call them are a way for a kid's imagination to take root. Teaching black&white lessons to an infant-minor is ridiculous in many areas (birth, death, sex, finances, holidays.. etc.) I've learned many lessons of "how not to raise a kid" by what my parents did to me.. but boy you just robbed many a generation of children the magic of the holidays since your kids will never be able to recreate with their own children what their peers celebrate each year. And as a parent, I hope your kid never ruins a single holiday for my kids. You might as well rush them to the hospital when they lose a tooth to show them that when body parts fall of it's serious business.
Posted by: saddened | September 04, 2008 at 04:26 PM