Family Life
Curious about how much the Tooth Fairy is leaving these days? In a world where cash is becoming less common, children still anticipate a reward for their lost teeth. But for parents, this often means a frantic search for a few bucks. Should you tell them the Tooth Fairy only visits on certain nights? Or maybe you’ll have to explain an IOU? So, what’s the going rate?
According to the experts at Delta Dental, who have tracked tooth fairy trends for over two decades, kids are currently receiving an average of $4.70 per tooth. This figure, from 2021, likely sits closer to a neat $5 today due to inflation.
To get a real-world perspective, I reached out to my friend Alex, whose 8-year-old daughter, Mia, has been losing teeth like it’s going out of style. “We usually give her five bucks,” he messaged me. “Last time, it was in quarters, which we might have borrowed from her piggy bank.”
If we do the math, kids lose a total of twenty baby teeth. At five dollars each, that adds up to a whopping $100 kids can earn between the ages of 6 and 12. Essentially, for every five teeth lost, they could treat themselves to a 16-inch Squishmallow, which seems like a fair trade-off.
A quick look at Reddit revealed a range of tooth fairy gifts across the country. One user, named Dreamer21, mentioned peers receiving “quarters, notes, glitter money, and even a $20 bill.” Glitter money? Is that even spendable? And who can keep up with the $20-tooth trend? Are you really willing to part with $400 for all twenty baby teeth?
Other Reddit users shared a creative workaround: gifting a $2 bill or a $1 coin. Kids under 10 tend to get excited about those shiny dollar coins more than a $5 bill. My children were always thrilled to receive them because they felt special, and they only appeared from the Tooth Fairy. My struggle was just getting my hands on them! Local banks will exchange them for bills, but I often found it easier to snag them from subway-token machines, where a single ride would yield a handful of those coveted coins.
While my kids would inevitably ask for those pricey plush toys, grandma also sends $5 bills for special occasions. Those dollar coins offered a unique touch—if not as enchanting as glitter money—and allowed me to navigate the tooth-loss years for a mere $20 per child.
This article was originally published on March 13, 2022. For more engaging content, don’t forget to check out this other blog post.
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