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In today’s cashless society, kids still eagerly anticipate a visit from the Tooth Fairy when they lose a tooth. For parents, however, it often turns into a frantic hunt for loose change or small bills. Do you spin a tale about the Tooth Fairy’s schedule? Do you offer an IOU instead? And just how much should you be prepared to give?
According to research from experts at Delta Dental, who have been tracking Tooth Fairy payouts for over two decades, the average gift has climbed to about $4.70 per tooth. Given that this data was compiled in 2021, prior to inflation, it’s reasonable to assume that the current average is closer to a solid $5.
To illustrate, I reached out to my sister, knowing my 8-year-old niece, Mia, has been losing teeth rapidly. “We give her five dollars,” she replied. “Last time, I think we used quarters, which we borrowed from her own piggy bank.”
Setting aside the regifting of a child’s own money, let’s do the math. Kids typically lose 20 baby teeth over the years. At five dollars each, that totals a whopping $100 that children can earn between ages 6 and 12, when those teeth start to come out. Essentially, every five teeth means they can treat themselves to a 16-inch plush toy, which seems like a fair exchange.
A quick look at Reddit shows a wide variety of what American children are receiving. One user mentioned that peers were getting “quarters, dollar bills, glitter money, and even a $20 bill.” Glitter money? Is it even spendable? And who can afford to keep up with a $20-a-tooth trend? Are you really ready to shell out $400 for a child’s entire set of baby teeth?
Some Reddit users proposed a clever alternative: giving out a $2 bill or a dollar coin. Kids under ten often find a dollar coin more exciting than a five-dollar bill. In my experience, those coins were treasured by my children, as they were rare and only came from the Tooth Fairy. The challenge was simply acquiring them. While banks will exchange them for paper bills, I usually opted for the easy route—buying a subway ride with a larger bill to get some dollar coins in change.
My kids were going to ask me for plush toys anyway, and their grandma typically sends $5 bills during holidays. The dollar coins, while not as glamorous as glitter money, allowed me to navigate the tooth-loss years with just $20 per child.