Do you believe in the tooth fairy?

mummy-bh

Wed, May 07 2008, 6:25 am

All this talk of fairies had me reminiscing - when I was small I used to leave my tooth under my pillow and in the morning a shiny 50p piece would appear in it's place.

It took me until the 5th tooth to figure out that it was my mother putting the money there! LOL

What do you do when your kids' teeth fall out? Do you give them anything? Do you do anything with the teeth? My 8 y.o son has his in a box Puke

but the others all threw theirs out.

mandksima

Wed, May 07 2008, 7:09 am

I got a little in trouble when a kid in my twins' gan told them about the tooth fairy and they were very into it. They expected a little gift or money and I did put something their pillow- but I told them it really is a malach that comes because I am not familiar with fairies. Since they know the malachim watch over them at night, it was normal for them. They've lost a total of six teeth combined and haven't figured anything out. At this point there's no stopping and truthfully I love giving them little gifts, they get so excited! I keep the teeth in a special box that also has their first haircuts. I don't really think I ever would have said anything (I'm not sure if this is anti-Torah or just not our ways but I grew up with it.) if they didn't hear it from someone else before they lost their first tooth. With future kids I"YH I can plan something different or by then, my kids will be old enough to squash any silly belief of a younger sibling.

mimivan

Wed, May 07 2008, 7:30 am

Did anyone ever go to the theatrical production of Peter Pan...?

Well, I was seven year old girl who defiantly sat on my hands when Peter Pan tried to resucitate Tinkerbell by telling the audience "clap if you believe in fairies."

I was not going to believe in something patently ridiculous even to help Tinkerbell (whom I didn't believe in to begin with) survive.

Call me a sadist...a Tinkerbell Killer, but I am not going to teach shtus to my kids...and my mother (who wasn't religious) was not going to force it down my throat either (I did get 50 cents for a lost tooth, because other kids got 50 cents..but she didnt' go through the whole fairy thing..she just gave it to me)

ChossidMom

Wed, May 07 2008, 7:38 am

Strangely enough, I, who am being so preachy about teaching shtus, have always told my kids to leave their teeth under the pillow and that the malach will bring them a shekel. My 8 year old still does it even though my 10 year old told him it's ME putting the money there. They don't really care. As long as they get $$$.

Clarissa

Wed, May 07 2008, 7:46 am

We do the tooth fairy here. I made this mistake of having her leave the money in an elaborate envelope the first time I did it, and had to make these elaborate envelopes for every tooth that followed, so he wouldn't get suspicious.

When he was in 2nd grade, he wrote this autobiographical story for this big project they were doing at school, where each kid writes stories to share with the other kids and visiting parents. One of his stories was about losing his tooth, and about the tooth fairy. I was terrified that some kid who knew the truth would not only dispel his fantasy, but make fun of him for believing. When I went to school for the presentation, this girl in his class (a really smart, confident girl) came up to me and told me that she, too, believed in the tooth fairy and she thought it was great that my kid did, as well. I was so relieved.

When he finally asked me if the tooth fairy was real, I said, "What do you want to believe?" He told me that he was ready to face the fact that she wasn't, so that was that. I was really relieved that I didn't have to make those envelopes anymore.

mimivan

Wed, May 07 2008, 7:48 am

ChossidMom wrote:

at least its a malach...

yo'ma

Wed, May 07 2008, 7:50 am

I ddn't do anything, but my mother gave them, when they told her that their tooth fell out.
I have a box for each of my kids with stuff that they did and put their first tooth in there in a bag w/ the date that it fell out. They put in some of their other teeth in the box too. By the second kid, I lost the first tooth before I had a chance to put it in, so I put in the second one Very Happy

. He knew, and it was okay w/ him, especially since I didn't have the other one.

Last edited by yo'ma on Wed, May 07 2008, 8:22 am; edited 1 time in total

Seraph

Wed, May 07 2008, 8:17 am

My husband grew up with the idea of a "tooth mouse". Don't ask, guess its a south african thing?

Either way, my bil and sil tried to do it with their daughter, who told her friend who got soooo frightened, that my bil and sil had to break it that there wasnt really a mouse coming into their room, but it was really mommy doing it.

I didnt grow up with a tooth fairy or anything and I dont know if I beleive you should do it. When kids find out that their parents lied to them about something, it erodes their trust, even if its something as innocent as tooth fairies, or lehavdil, santa clause.

However, I do think I will keep a first tooth as well as hair from an upsherin, etc... my mother had a baby book with us. I so far havent made a baby book but I did collect things to put in in it one day and plan on including first haircut and first tooth.

mandksima

Wed, May 07 2008, 11:14 am

Well, telling your kids how the baby got in Ima's belly is "lying" - there are many things we don't tell our kids 100%. The idea of telling something fake to our kids that they will find out is a lie soon enough is not a great idea and I am not thrilled with it but I wouldn't call it lying anymore than half the other things we explain to our kids that we know is nowhere near the truth. We do that for their benefit of course and the only benefit of the toothfairy might be their excitement and a bribe (stay in bed all night and the toothfairy will come...if you want your prize you better not do that to your sister...) Oh... there can never be too many bribes to get you through your day...

Imaonwheels, I'd like to get your advice on how you avoid lying to your kids, do you just tell them it is not for them to know when they ask questions you don't want them knowing the answer to? Is this along the same lines as not doing the whole "stealing" of the afikomen so you don't show your kids that it is ok to steal? I wish I were that disiplined...

Seraph

Wed, May 07 2008, 11:36 am

mandksima, the diff between not telling ur kid the whole truth about childbirth is that generally u arent lying outright, you're just stretching the truth or telling a partial truth. for exaample, telling ur kid abba plants a seed- he does, just not in the usual way...

there is absolutely no truth to the tooth fairy lie

mandksima

Wed, May 07 2008, 11:42 am

Breslov, I was thinking more along the lines of the Jewish stork that brings the baby - on this forum alone I have heard some good ones. There are many who don't even tell a partial truth about how babies arrive. I'm not saying people don't have good reasons for totally lying about it and it is very different than the toothfairy of course but I'm just wondering if there are mothers who really NEVER lie to their kids and how they go about it.

Squash

Wed, May 07 2008, 11:44 am

mandksima, when you're "stretching the truth", like breslov said re: how the baby got into the belly etc you're doing it (or at least I am) for the overall benefit of the child. whether spiritually or otherwise.

how is the tooth fairy going to benefit the child other than making the child a dollar richer? so if you want to give him the dollar, do so of course. but to lie - why?

Clarissa

Wed, May 07 2008, 11:47 am

I like the image of the Tooth Fairy. I love that, as they slowly let to of childhood literally and symbolically, there's this image of a childhood fantasy person shepherding them through, with little sweet tokens on the way.

My parents gave us really old silver dollars when we'd lose teeth, from the 19th century or early 20th. I wanted to pass them along to my kids when they lost their teeth, but my older kid seemed happier with the cold hard cash, so I've given either.

Rutabaga

Wed, May 07 2008, 12:34 pm

My dd is too young for me to worry about the tooth fairy. She doesn't even have teeth yet.

When I was growing up, my parents did tell us to leave our teeth under our pillows so we could get money from the tooth fairy. I remember once the "tooth fairy" left me the money but forgot to take the tooth. I thought I would be smart and leave the tooth under my pillow again the next night. In the morning, I excitedly looked under my pillow to see if I had fooled the tooth fairy into leaving me more money. Instead, I found a note from her telling me it wasn't nice to be greedy. LOL

Clarissa

Wed, May 07 2008, 12:36 pm

newima wrote:

When I was growing up, my parents did tell us to leave our teeth under our pillows so we could get money from the tooth fairy. I remember once the "tooth fairy" left me the money but forgot to take the tooth. I thought I would be smart and leave the tooth under my pillow again the next night. In the morning, I excitedly looked under my pillow to see if I had fooled the tooth fairy into leaving me more money. Instead, I found a note from her telling me it wasn't nice to be greedy. LOL

A very similar thing happened to me. I found a pebble that looked like a tooth and left it under my pillow. She left me a note saying that it wasn't nice to try to trick her. On the bottom of her writing paper, in tiny letters, it said Tooth Fairy Stationery Company.

mummiedearest

Wed, May 07 2008, 12:41 pm

I got toys for my teeth. I remember waking up one night to find a 100 piece puzzle under my pillow. I don't know how my mother snuck out of the room without me waking up, it was a pointy-cornered cardboard box. I knew it was my mother, we all did, but it was fun.

it was good to know that you didn't have to leave the tooth and you'd still get something, cause some of us swallowed our loose teeth in our sleep. I imagine any kid who believes in the tooth fairy kicks themselves for days after swallowing one.