Declan lost his first tooth on December 18, 2009. Since then, we’ve been navigating the Tooth Fairy path for our family. I mention these notes periodically on Facebook, and my awesome friend Darcy asked about seeing them in our blog. So now I’m posting them here. (Thanks for the great idea, D! xo)
The first note turned out to be a big deal for me. I thought we’d just leave the treasure (a $1 coin) in response to Declan’s note. But he asked questions, and I was thrown for a loop. How should a Tooth Fairy note appear? What are other things people do in Tooth Fairy traditions that I’d never think of?
Here’s what I ended up with after (literally) hours of checking on our HudsonValleyParents.com website, random Internet research, and crafting something sustainable we could repeat over and over again, for both kids for years (?) to come. The Tooth Fairies messages are written in a tiny font size, in special fairy-font style, printed and cut out and left under his pillow with the $1. Declan collects *everything*, and I was sure he’d be disappointed to miss out on keeping his lost teeth, so the Tooth Fairy invites him to decide whether to keep it or not, guessing correctly that he’d want to hold onto it himself.
1) Dear Declan,
Congratulations on losing your first tooth! Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Tooth Fairy! I’m so happy to come visit you! I’ll be back for every tooth you lose. Thanks for your note. I love notes!
You asked what I do with the teeth I take. Different tooth fairies do things differently. Here’s what I do — I ask the child. Do you want to keep the tooth or shall I turn it into fairy dust? (Fairies need lots of fairy dust!) Either way, you get a little something from me. I’ll leave your tooth here tonight. You can write back and let me know if you to keep it or let me take it.
See you soon, for your next tooth!
Love,
The Tooth Fairy
Now, Quinn hasn’t lost any teeth and probably won’t for a while, but she wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy, too. So she always gets a note under her pillow now, too. But, what to say? Here’s what she got for the first note:
Dear Quinn,
Thank you for your note! When you are five or six, you will lose a tooth like Declan.
I love to fly. Thank you for giving your note to me!
Love,
The Tooth Fairy
The second note to Declan for Tooth #2 was pretty basic:
2) Dear Declan,
Congratulations on losing your second tooth! I love your notes. Have a grrrrrrrrreat day!
See you soon, for your next tooth!
Love,
The Tooth Fairy
It happened around the time of Quinn’s birthday in March — here is the note she got:
Dear Quinn,
Happy Birthday! I’ll bet you got lots of good presents and had a wonderful party.
Love,
The Tooth Fairy
Now, for the third one around his 7th birthday, Mike helped the Tooth Fairy out and handwrote the notes, and I can’t find them right now to share here. But the content had to do with how many Tooth Fairies there are. Mike said something about it being Regional, like one Fairy covers a particular Territory. Here was my draft before I went to bed that night:
3) Dear Declan,
Congratulations on losing your third tooth! I love your notes – great pictures, too!
You asked how many tooth fairies there are — there are
Have a wonderful BIRTHDAY!!!
Love,
The Tooth Fairy
D’s two latest teeth were lost recently within the past week. The first of the two came out while he was eating a Chipwich after we went swimming. I was waiting for him to get in the car with it, when he started freaking out and trying to spit something out. He was so upset, he doesn’t like the blood aspect that happens when the tooth is released. It turned out to be a totally different tooth than the very, very loose top one we’d been waiting for. He doesn’t like to wiggle them, he says he likes for them to come out on their own. So he doesn’t really tell us how things are progressing unless we ask, and if we ask too much, he won’t say. So, this tooth taught me a lot. I hadn’t really understood up to this point how much the loose teeth bother him, and how much the blood taste bothers him. He’s told me in the past (the last tooth, actually) that he can tell what day the tooth will come out, because it becomes extra annoying in his mouth. Well, this one caught all of us by surprise. So the Tooth Fairy note addresses this in her message, as well as answering the questions he asked in the note. He copied a ruler onto his notepaper and asked her how tall she is. I found the note D wrote to the Tooth Fairy, I’ll post any others as I find them again.
Dear Tooth Fairy,
I would like to keep my tooth. And please draw a line on the ruler to tell me how tall you are. Are there boy and girl Tooth Fairies? Love, Declan
p.s. — Please leave this note here.
4) Dear Declan,
Congratulations on losing your tooth! Well *that* was a little unexpected, wasn’t it?
As you requested, I’m leaving your tooth here for you to keep. And I have a feeling
I’ll be back again soon……
I love getting your notes when I come to visit you while you’re sleeping! Thank you!
Yes, there are boy and girl Tooth Fairies. Which do you think I am?
Also, you asked how tall I am — I’m about the same size as the dollar I’m leaving here for you.
Great questions!
Love,
The Tooth Fairy
And for Quinn…..
Dear Quinn,
How are you? How are your teeth doing? Were you surprised when Declan lost his tooth?
Love,
The Tooth Fairy
So, here we are, at tooth #5. I feel like I’m really starting to get the hang of how the Tooth Fairy rolls at our house. This tooth was hanging on by a thread, and when Declan bent down to pet Casey on the way to taking her out the door, she got him in the face with her leg from being so excited. When he stood up, the tooth was gone and he was in shock like, “What happened??” We are planning for Declan’s trip to the dentist soon, and it occurred to me that the Tooth Fairy might be a helpful advocate for us around any dentist/cleaning/examination anxiety. D and Q are also playing some on-line fairy games, where each fairy features a particular Talent. This got woven into his note, and in the Tooth Fairy’s response:
5) Dear Declan,
Congratulations on this latest tooth! I just knew I’d be back so soon! You got kicked by
Casey, right? No problem, it was definitely ready to come out. Sometimes teeth just
need a little help coming out, and our animal friends love to help!
So, yes, you guessed right — I am a girl Tooth Fairy. How did you know? Now, about my Talent. Yes, all fairies have a Talent. Mine is Tooth Tinker. I help people celebrate their teeth no matter what age they are. I help kids celebrate teeth that come out, but I also help when someone goes to the dentist for a cleaning or has a cavity or needs braces or whatever, I come back and visit you while you’re sleeping to help you feel better about it if you have questions or anything.
I LOVE being a Tooth Tinker! What’s one of your Talents?
Thanks for your notes and pictures. I love them.
Love,
The Tooth Fairy
And Quinn’s note, a PSA for good brushing habits…..:
Dear Quinn,
How are you doing? Are you helping your teeth feel clean every time you brush them?
You have such a beautiful smile.
Love,
The Tooth Fairy
With this on-going correspondence with the Tooth Fairy, Declan feels like he’s got a real “In” on understanding fairies, including size, Talents, etc. He’s been sharing some of this knowledge with friends when it comes up, but it leaves lots of room for other families to experience fairies differently. And Quinn wiggles her teeth periodically to check to see if she’s got any candidates to offer up.
So far, so much fun! 