August 22 is National Tooth Fairy Day and with that, we thought it would only be right to celebrate one of the little white lies we almost universally tell our children in the hopes of creating memorable and fun childhood experiences for them. The Tooth Fairy is a legend! Kids love the Tooth Fairy. Why wouldn't they? The Tooth Fairy rewards them with money and gifts for accomplishing a natural biological process.
Parents, on the other hand? Not so much? Remembering to have a bit of cash on hand in the event a tooth falls out is challenging. Not to mention trying to sneak into their bedrooms at night and stick money or a toy under their pillows without waking them. Needless to say, the entire ordeal can lead to some hilarious antics. Because we're all in this together, we decided to share some funny Tooth Fairy stories from members of our MomLife panel.
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'Fun Story …'
"When my daughter was 5 or 6 her front teeth would NOT come out. They were just hanging and her adult teeth were coming in behind and making the baby teeth stick out. It was quite the look. She would not let me pull them and the dentist saw no issue. We were at a family function and I told SIL that I wanted those teeth out so bad so she convinced my daughter to let her pull them. Then my daughter showed everyone the teeth and all of her aunts/uncles gave her money. I think she made $10 or $15 on those two teeth. " — Sarah W., Oregon
My Apologies
"I have five kids, ages 9 to 22 years old. My older kid and middle kid kept some of their teeth, so the tooth fairy didn’t have to visit often! But there have been a few times where the Tooth Fairy had to write an apology note (complete with glitter and stickers) because she was so busy with other teeth that she just couldn’t make it. It worked those few times. But the older four finally realized. My last one still has a few left for the tooth fairy. The rate per tooth was $1 to $2. It’s nuts that some are $5. But there was usually an extra $1 for when she was late!!" — Carrie G., Missouri
Crushing Reality
"My kids are in their 20s now, but when they were little we had this little Tooth Fairy Pillow that had a little pocket in it. They would get $5 for their first tooth and then $1 for the other teeth. When I was a kid I believed in the Tooth Fairy for such a long time. I figured she must be real because why would my parents want my baby teeth lol. I eventually found a little envelope in a desk that had baby teeth in it and I was just crushed." — Patricia H., Indiana
Mom Fail
"My kids haven't hit Tooth Fairy age yet, but I have a great childhood story that tells you a LOT about my mom (and makes me laugh to this day). My first loose tooth was taking a while to come out and was getting brown, so my mom decided for whatever reason that she'd yank it out for me. Well, she tried, and broke the thing in half. First half went under the pillow, then I had a trip to the dentist for the extraction of the rest of it. Going rate in the '80s in my family was $1 for the first tooth, and our Tooth Fairy certainly was a literal-minded sort — she gave me 50 cents for the first half and 50 cents for the second, post dentist. No hazard pay. I think it soured me on her for a good while. " — Jennifer A., New Jersey
Just Pay Up
"My now 9-year-old said, 'I know the Tooth Fairy isn't real just like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny so you should just pay me when my teeth fall out'" — she was 7 at the time." — Kori T., New York
More from CafeMom: 11 Creative Tooth Fairy Ideas to Celebrate That First (& Second …) Lost Tooth
Accidents Happen
"The oldest lost one here while brushing his teeth a few years ago and it went down the drain … He was certain the Tooth Fairy wouldn't know. I wrote a note to put under his pillow and it was all good. " — Melissa B., New Mexico
Check Those Couch Cushions
"We are finished with the tooth fairy here, but I remember one unfortunate instance in which we weren't prepared. We managed to dig up about $1.99 in change and a few dollar bills. After that, we made sure we were ready. For the molars, we gave out $5 and for the last tooth, I think it was $10. We were never caught but the ruse was up when our child figured out that Santa wasn't real so …" — Amy O., Pennsylvania
Reverse Inflation
"We just lost a tooth here the night before last. Her older brother had a traumatic experience losing his two front teeth as an only child and received $20 and he told her the story. When she woke up the next morning, she started crying because she only received $3 and thought the tooth fairy was mad at her for something. " — Miranda L., Illinois
