But, this forced us to face a parenting pitfall we had stepped right into. When he lost his first tooth, we had the perfect storm of Tooth Fairy payment. First, we had just been on vacation with some friends whose son finally lost his double tooth after months of begging and pleading, rocking and pulling. They were so excited and, as a result, the Tooth Fairy gave him $20 (which Spence witnessed). Secondly, the night Spence needed payment for his first tooth, the "tooth fairy representatives" found themselves with only twenty dollar bills. Whatever. After a quick Google search of the number of baby teeth in a human head, rationalization that they never fall out at the same time, and the acceptance that we were too lazy to go get change that late at night, the Tooth Fairy left Spencer $20, also. All was well with the world.
Until... the next day at school. When Spence announced to his class, of whom he was the FIRST to lose a tooth, that the Tooth Fairy brought him twenty bucks. Now, you can imagine, the Johnsons were not the most popular parents on the block that night.
So... we quickly discovered that the Tooth Fairy is given a "tooth budget" each night. And, it just depends on how many kids lose their teeth on any given night as to how much she's able to pay. Completely reasonable and understood. We thought.
Until this morning when Spencer walked into our bedroom, crestfallen, and said, "She only left me five dollars."
(If you'd like to know this thought process: I thought we would have to change the amount with every tooth to make the story feasible. But, I didn't want to give him $10 this time and $5 the next - he'd surely be disappointed if it just got worse and worse. He would completely balk if we went with $1 after $20. So, $5 it was. Again, complicated in my head.)
I said, "Wow! She must have had more kids last night. But, you can still buy lots of stuff with $5 (especially if you combine it with your overflowing piggy bank, Mr. Moneybags). Wanna go shopping tomorrow?!"
This seemed to placate him.
But, seriously, I'm sorry he's disappointed, but I can stand my ground on this. Don't be ungrateful, kid. I only got a quarter for my teeth. It's time to learn to live with disappointment. Life ain't perfect.
Clink. Clink. That's the sound of more money being dropped in the therapy fund.
So, if the Tooth Fairy hasn't visited your house yet, heed my warning. Don't set the bar too high. No one will be happy with you.
P.S. Elizabeth wants you to know that she has teeth, too.
6 comments:
The girls get $1.00 at the White House. Tell him THAT!
When I lost my first tooth at age 6, your mom, age 4, immediately began trying to loosen her teeth so that she could get in on the 'bounty', too. Mama & Daddy had to promise her that the tooth fairy would bring her $1.00, if she would wait for it to come out naturally.
Yes, my kiddos only get a dollar. The TF gave Jordan a dollar bill the first time, then she got four quarters the second time and was upset with that!!!!! Kids these days.....sheesh!
Marcy,
As stated in one of the "Random Thoughts of the Day" (http://theviewfromthejohnsons.blogspot.com/2009/12/random-thoughts-of-day.html), "kids these days are soft."
My daughter's friend got money and toys when she lost her tooth. I was none to happy about it. I told her that there must be different tooth fairies out there who give different things. My kids get a quarter increase with every tooth, starting at .25.
THAT is a great idea. i should have started at .25!
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