My son lost his first tooth. Three in one week actually. He was totally stoked and we celebrated it as a huge right of passage into the ‘big kids’ club. He had learned about the tooth fairy already, but obviously had some questions about the whole tooth/money exchange. We explained that he would leave his tooth under the pillow and the tooth fairy would come in and take the tooth and leave some money for him. I thought for sure his first question would be ‘how much money’? But, nope. This is how it went:
Us: ‘So you just put your tooth under your pillow and tomorrow you’ll find some money from the tooth fairy!’
Son: ‘So, she’s going to be in my room?’
Us: ‘Well yeah, to get your tooth’
Son: ‘Wait, she’s going to touch my head?’
Us: ‘Well no, she’ll just touch your tooth’
Son: ‘But she’ll touch my pillow’
Us: ‘Yes, only to get to the tooth. Don’t worry!’
He gave us some pretty good side eye, but let it go. I could tell he was still stewing about it, though. He was looking at us a bit warily, but he seemed to reconcile it all and eventually went to sleep.
If you think about it, my son’s reluctance about the whole situation is super valid. I was shocked that I never had such worries; I never thought too much about it as a kid. I mean, free money right? Who cares how it gets there! But, we’re talking about a stranger coming into your bedroom as you sleep and reaching under your pillow to take something. Creepy. As. Fuck. Yet we talk about it like it’s the most normal thing in the world and something they should be excited about!
I’ve heard about the parents that refuse to lie to their children. No Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, nothing. I cringe at the thought because I love the magic of Christmas, but I have to wonder- if the alternative is ‘wait, she’s going to touch my head?’, maybe it’s worth thinking about…
