Going rate for the tooth fairy?

[fyoosh]

What's the going rate for the tooth fairy these days? My son lost his first tooth the other day, and while it was still wiggly, he was saying how the tooth fairy would bring him a quarter. I thought that was kinda low, so I gave him a golden dollar coin, and he LOVED that. Someone I know said that the most she gave her son was $5, but he was complaining because a kid in his class gets $20 I cannot even imagine $20 for a tooth. I could see maybe (MAYBE!) $5 for a molar or a tooth that was exceedingly difficult or something, but $20? Is this normal nowadays? Am I just an old scrooge?

[pinecone]

We paid the same as you, a gold dollar coin.

[onlyzombiecat]

For the first few teeth we gave a small charm. Then dd lost a tooth and we didn't have a charm ready so we gave money. We've given money since but never the same amount and never more than a dollar though.
I think anything over $5 is very excessive but people do all kinds of things. I'd just do what makes sense to your family.

[NolaRiordan]

Maybe, I'm cheap, but I give a quarter.

[AuntNi]

I love the idea of a gold coin - wish we'd started with that.

My brother's kids get around $6. He told me it's on a sliding scale, with first teeth and top front teeth being worth more (because that gap-toothed smile makes such a difference in their appearance.)

At my house, the Tooth Fairy is giving a flat $5 per tooth.

[34me]

We've been giving the golden dollers since they came out. I can't tell you how many times I have had to call dh to hit the car wash change machine on the way home from work because someone just presented me with a tooth.

[JamieCatheryn]

A silver or gold dollar for the first, quarters for subsequent teeth.

[LynnS6]

one gold dollar is the going rate around here.

$20? Never in a million years.

[Thalia the Muse]

Chiming in -- the tooth fairy leave one shiny gold Sacajawea dollar per tooth at our house. She even polishes them first.

[Teensy]

It's two dollars in my neighborhood and we do the gold dollars also. The post office stamp machines in my town give them as change, so that's our after-hours where-to-get-them place.

[Kirsten]

Here it is $5 for a first or upper front tooth. The others are usually $2. When my dd2 got $5 for her first tooth, then mentioned to a friend - that mom (friend of mine also) emailed me to give me a bad time for upsetting the tooth fairy economy - as it was $1 at their house.

I think anything between $1 and $5 is pretty standard around here. I got at least two quarters way back in the 70s.

[speaking_of_faith]

A dollar bill per tooth is our rate.

[harrietsmama]

We do a dollar. My biggest worry is remembering to do the job!!!! I have forgotten half the time because my bedtime is also early and I am so exhausted by the time my kids go to bed! Then I have my daughter write a quick note to him, and while she's at school or busy I write a reallly fancy letter and put the money with it. I would put more money in out of sheer guilt if I could, but we have a very fixed income.

[wombatclay]

We're planning on charms or gold dollars. One of my neices get's 5 dollars per tooth, another gets dental care stuff...like a toothbrush, toothpaste, etc.

[oceanbaby]

My kid gets a dollar.

I wish I'd thought of the gold coin - he would love that.

[TayNKegsmama]

LOL $20 WTH?! When Keegan approached me with his first loose tooth I stressed to him not too mess with it (I had NO money on me until I went to work the next day) needless to say he lost it that night... He got stuck with 4 quarters lol. I stocked up on a bunch of gold coins after that just in case. He just lost one the other night and when he wanted me to "call the toothfairy" he asked me to see if she could leave a dollar bill time. I was so excited to leave him these gold coins I so diligently collected so I folded up the dollar crafty like and put the gold coin in it I guess I just uped the going rate to $2 dollars around here.

$20 I still cant get over that. Keegan had made the comment [when I told him we didnt have enough money to get the toy he wanted] "thats ok mom, I can lose a couple teeth tonight and we can come back" at $20 a pop he might really have some motivation to knock some teeth loose.

[nicole lisa]

Ds gets $3-4 a tooth. He did get $20 once but that was for a tooth he banged and bent off another kid's head and there was blood and pain and screaming and an inability to eat or drink (tooth was wedged so DS couldn't close his mouth to swallow at all) for the five hours it took to get an emergency dental appointment and have the tooth pulled. He definitely earned more than his usual that day. It took3 hours before he was calm enough (or exhausted enough) to let me even look in his mouth. For three hours he curled up with a cloth covering his mouth to stop the bleeding and catch all the drool and wrote "pain" over and over again on a paper. I didn't even think we were going to make the dentist appointment as he was so upset at the idea of letting anyone near his mouth. By the time the appointment rolled around he was willing and was really great in the chair.

[DaughterOfKali]

Can you get the gold dollars at the bank? Sounds like pirate coins so ds would LOVE that. (I was planning on just giving a quarter)

[TiredX2]

Originally Posted by DaughterOfKali

Can you get the gold dollars at the bank? Sounds like pirate coins so ds would LOVE that. (I was planning on just giving a quarter)

We get them at our Credit Union, but they only give them in groups of $25. That is for the new President Dollars, though.

We give our kids .25/year. So if the tooth is lost when you are 6, you get $1.50 in quarters.

I wanted to do the dollar coins but we didn't have any when DD lost her first tooth so we just did quarters.

[frontierpsych]

I got $2 a tooth (in the 90s). I'm thinking I'll either do the gold dollar thing or a gem of some sort. I'd go up to $5, depending on DH's income at the time. I don't want to go broke because my kids are losing baby teeth, kwim?