Tooth Fairy Wisdom From My 6 Year Old
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This past Saturday night, my 6 year old lost his first tooth. It was a momentous, proud occasion for him. A coming of age. Yet another major event in the "firsts" of a 6 year old's life that up to that point includes things like first burp, first giggle, first solid food, first words, first steps, first day at preschool and first day of kindergarten.
But losing that first tooth is different from all of these other firsts because it involves "losing" something for the first time. And in turn, this loss is parlayed into something bigger, better and more exciting...a visit from "The Tooth Fairy."
And so yesterday, when I received my wife's emailed picture of my newly toothless little guy, that my next step was to create a Tooth Fairy certificate to accompany the next morning's under-pillow excitement. Been there, done that. I don't recall such fanfare when I was a kid. But my wife is really into this stuff.
Losing your first tooth is an exciting time indeed, an experience shared with the entire family. Cheers, hugs, smiles, knuckle bumps and high fives ensued when they got home. And later that night at bedtime my wife gave him careful instructions for proper placement of the tooth in a special box, under the pillow. He was amped on sugar and would not go to bed. I took care of that by mentioning I would email The Tooth Fairy and tell her to skip our house if he didn't go to sleep. That worked.
Today's going rate for teeth, according to my wife, is $5. That seemed a bit steep to me, considering I received in the neighborhood of 25 cents to 50 cents when I was a kid, but hey, who am I to argue. So yesterday morning my toothless wonder excitedly displayed his Tooth Fairy certificate and $5 bill.
Last night, we had a serious discussion about The Tooth Fairy as inquiring minds want to know what goes through the head of a 6 year old at this exciting time of his life:
Me: Who is The Tooth Fairy? Him: It is a man (for boys) and a lady (for girls) who takes your tooth and gives you money for it. (Confirmed with the certificate, which had a male fairy image on it.)
How does The Tooth Fairy get into the house? The same way as Santa.
Does The Tooth Fairy know Santa? No because Santa is resting now. He's tired.
Where does The Tooth Fairy get his money from? He gets money from the teeth.
How does he do that? He has a machine that he brings to your house and he puts the tooth into the machine and it gives him the money. He also has a much bigger machine at his house that he can put much bigger things into to get more money.
There you have it. All you wanted to know about The Tooth Fairy, courtesy of my kid.
