When your child starts losing their first baby teeth it is an occasion worth being celebrated.  Many children will leave their tooth under the pillow when the go to sleep and wake up to find a little money tucked under the pillow where the tooth once hid.  That’s how things worked when I was little, it is how things still work.  However, have you considered becoming a little creative with the idea of the tooth fairy?  Shaking things up a bit, making a big deal out of a lost tooth, bringing the kids in on the fun.

Children typically begin losing their baby teeth around age 5-6.  Children this age are right smack dab in the middle of believing in the magic of things like Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny.  This makes becoming a little creative in your approach to the Tooth Fairy all the more fun.  Here are a few suggestions on things you can do to mark the special occasion of a lost baby tooth:

• Have your kids make a special little container to store their tooth under their pillow.  Buy a small box at your local craft store and a bunch of stuff for your child to decorate it with.
• Create a letter from the Tooth Fairy to put on your child’s pillow along with whatever little treasure she will be leaving.  This website has some great letters you can print off if you don’t want to write your own.
• Create a certificate to give your child when they lose their first tooth.
• Consider leaving something a little different under their pillow like a book, a coloring book, a little toy.
• Fairies leave behind fairy dust.  Sprinkle a small amount of sparkles on their pillow and on the floor as a sign the Tooth Fairy made an appearance.
• Make your kids a special breakfast to commenorate the lost tooth event.  Pancakes shaped like teeth!

Whatever you decide to do just remember that this is a pretty big deal for your child, especially if they are losing their first tooth.  Making the experience special for them doesn’t have to mean leaving few bucks under their pillow.  Doing a few special things for them will mean more to them later than any money left under the pillow.

What does the Tooth Fairy leave at your house?