How to Make the Job of the Tooth Fairy Easier
The Tooth Fairy recently spoke up on our Offspring Facebook group when a parent asked if the phrase “Fairy makes money for teeth” could be completely skipped. During the discussion, one of the parents had an excellent proposal to exchange teeth for money in a somewhat unconventional (but simpler) way …
Don’t put your tooth under the pillow.
Instead, put it in a small bag with a handle and hang it over your bedroom doorknob. The parent in question uses one of those little organza pouches ( such as these ) that you often fill with gifts at a wedding, but any pouch will do.
I see at least three advantages of this method:
1. You do not risk waking the child up.
As a child, one of my colleagues woke up when her mother crawled under the pillow for a tooth. This is how she realized that the Tooth Fairy does not exist; THEN she used her deductive powers to infer that many other magical holiday creatures weren’t real either.
2. It is less intrusive.
For kids who don’t really like the idea of a tiny fairy fluttering around her room at night, now the fairy doesn’t technically need to walk in at all. (My son is not afraid of the Tooth Fairy, but he has a real problem with the Easter bunny marching through our house, so I’m guessing it might be a problem for some kids.)
3. You won’t forget to pay.
You are more likely to see a doorknob bag when you retire overnight than to remember that there is a tooth hidden under your pillow. It’s super exciting the first couple of times they lose a tooth, but to tooth # 7, the novelty has worn out and you can / forget.