# Tooth Fairy Alternative???



## atobols (Jan 7, 2010)

My oldest son has his first loose tooth. I feel like we need to do something special when he actually looses it. We don't do Santa or Easter Bunny in our house so we won't be doing a Tooth Fairy either.

I'm trying to come up with a tradition that we'll actually be able to carry out now and in the future. I'm coming up with things like exchanging the tooth for money, putting the tooth in a special container, or dinner of his choice. None of my ideas feel right.

Anyone have a suggestion?


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## ghmerrill (Feb 22, 2011)

How about taking him bungee jumping?


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## Lada (Jun 7, 2008)

ghmerrill said:


> How about taking him bungee jumping?


:clap:


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## lenii (Dec 31, 2005)

sorry, this is just so funny.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

All the tooth fairy does is exchange the tooth for money. You could get a little treasure box and have him put the tooth in it and leave it on his dresser. In the morning the tooth is gone, replaced by a silver dollar. Okay, that's the tooth fairy but the box and silver make it special. He can know it was Dad and Mom who did the deed, just in a fun way. If you are worried he'll believe in the tooth fairy, simply have Dad dress up in something silly and come in right after son goes to bed. Son watches Dad sneak in, sing a little song as he exchanges tooth for money.


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## ai731 (Sep 11, 2007)

How about starting a "Milestones" scrapbook for him, in which he can record important things in his life? I'm not big into scrapbooking, but I'm sure there are "tooth" stickers and some way to put the lost tooth in some kind of container that can be attached to a scrapbook page. Take a picture of him grinning with the gap in his teeth and put it on the scarpbook page, record the date, etc...


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## ccfromnc (Jul 23, 2011)

Not sure what you plan to do with the tooth but you could start a "time capsule" of sorts that he can use for storing mementoes through his growing years. Make a family celebration of placing the tooth in the container and make a party cake and a special hat, badge, or something he can wear to make him feel very special. I got tooth fairy money over the years but the ones I remember to this day had more to do with being made to feel special and loved than with the cash. Just my 2 cents. Hope it turns into a special day for all


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## therunbunch (Oct 5, 2009)

Every time one of our children loses a tooth we celebrate the loss of a healthy tooth by letting them pick out a new toothbrush, paste, and floss. We're weirdos, I know but we're all a little neurotic about oral hygiene and the kids love getting a new toothbrush. Don't forget to take a picture of your kiddo with their tooth, and show off the space! A scrapbook would be fun to document it all. How cool would that be to have a pic everytime he loses one haha.. wish I had thought of that with my DD who is now 10. She was petrified when she lost her first tooth but now she thinks it's pretty cool.


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## foxtrapper (Dec 23, 2003)

Have him start making his own dentures! 

Not even sure I'm joking. A roll of playdo shaped like a gumline, and plunk the tooth into it. He could do this for all of them.


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## Fowler (Jul 8, 2008)

Maura said:


> All the tooth fairy does is exchange the tooth for money. You could get a little treasure box and have him put the tooth in it and leave it on his dresser. In the morning the tooth is gone, replaced by a silver dollar. Okay, that's the tooth fairy but the box and silver make it special. He can know it was Dad and Mom who did the deed, just in a fun way. If you are worried he'll believe in the tooth fairy, simply have Dad dress up in something silly and come in right after son goes to bed. Son watches Dad sneak in, sing a little song as he exchanges tooth for money.


This ^^^^ 
The tooth fairy is a tradition. You exchange the tooth for money, and then you place it in a special container for your keepsakes.
Is it the part about lyin to your son that you dont want to do? Just curious.
Imagination is a terrible thing to waste


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## atobols (Jan 7, 2010)

Fowler said:


> This ^^^^
> The tooth fairy is a tradition. You exchange the tooth for money, and then you place it in a special container for your keepsakes.
> Is it the part about lyin to your son that you dont want to do? Just curious.
> Imagination is a terrible thing to waste


Yes, it's the lying to our children that turns us off from doing it.


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## atobols (Jan 7, 2010)

I understand that this seems ridiculous or funny to some people but this is a big deal to my son. He spent 10 minutes crying and terrified when I told him that his tooth was just loose and eventually it would fall out. It didn't occur to me that this would be a major trauma for the kid. Looking back, I should have realized that to a 5 year old this would be a really big deal. 

So, after telling him how he was growing up and loosing his teeth was actually a good thing, I decided we needed to do something to celebrate the occasion.

Now I'm off to google why people exchange teeth for money and where that tradition ever came from just because I'm curious


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

If you want to avoid "lying" about the tooth fairy just have a cake to celebrate the birth of the new tooth. Personally I think the tooth fairy is a bit of imaginative fun for kids. Do you read fairy tales or let your kids watch the Muppets? I mean there is no such thing as three talking bears who sleep in beds or Muppets who live in garbage cans and eat cookies so they are lies too - if you want to be pedantic.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

My kids got little toys from the tooth fairy. You could wrap up some little cheap presents (like the things dentist's give out) and let him pick one out of the box. You can use this for any time a milestone is hit or when a little positive re-reinforcement is needed (WOW, you went to bed last night and stayed in your bed...you didn't come and try to talk to mommy and daddy....go pick a prize).


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## mistletoad (Apr 17, 2003)

I suggest you do not put the tooth in a dinner of his choice.


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## Sonshine (Jul 27, 2007)

How bout making a treasure chest for events like this? You can fill it with little gifts similar to ones you can find at Oriental Trading Company. I have a treasure chest for my DS for homeschooling rewards.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

I would have a "rite of passage" party with a "growing up" or "Big Boy" present. Not a super big deal party, but have cupcakes at dinner and give him a Big Boy present because he has had a rite of passage. And use those words, "rite of passage". It teaches vocabulary. You could celebrate all sorts of passages, first baseball team, first dance, first haircut, first day of school, first car...... Each rite of passage could be marked and a small token kept for each one. It doesn't have to be big celebrations, but just memory suppers with something special like a cupcake or his favorite pizza or whatever. 
Keep a token of every special event you choose to mark like the tooth, a picture of him in his baseball uniform, a copy of the key with a picture of the first car he ever drives.... 
Just make a memory of the lost tooth and completely omit the magic fairy part. He could still get a small token of a present, and keep the tooth. For the present, I would take him to the store to choose his own "special tooth brush" since he is a big boy. He could get an electric one, or a special flavored toothpaste or whatever. It wouldn't have to be an expensive gift, just something small, even from the dollar store, to commemorate his rite of passage.


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## atobols (Jan 7, 2010)

DH came home for lunch so we talked about it. I ran some of your ideas by him. He laughed when I told him he had to dress up as a fairy.


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## Elffriend (Mar 2, 2003)

There's a great children's book called "Throw Your Tooth on the Roof" that tells about different tooth losing traditions from around the world. Maybe you could get him a copy and let him decide which of the many ways of dealing with lost teeth to choose as your new family tradition?


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## ai731 (Sep 11, 2007)

Elffriend said:


> There's a great children's book called "Throw Your Tooth on the Roof" that tells about different tooth losing traditions from around the world. Maybe you could get him a copy and let him decide which of the many ways of dealing with lost teeth to choose as your new family tradition?


I love this idea!


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## watcher (Sep 4, 2006)

Get a container and have him put the tooth in it and add all the teeth he loses to it. It makes for a great keeps sake. And if he's smart, a little strange and a big clown when he's a teenager he'll take them out and make a necklace out of them and wear it to school and enjoy the reactions of others. (Don't ask!)


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## Nellie (Oct 18, 2006)

I have a shelf, with little ceramic boxes that I got on sale at a craft store, in shapes that meant something to each child. Their teeth go in the box, and there are other little mementos on the shelf, and a picture of them with grins showing all their baby teeth when they were toddlers.


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## atobols (Jan 7, 2010)

Thank you so much for all your ideas.

I'm going to borrow at least 3 or 4 of them. We'll definitely be saving all the teeth in a special little box for each boy. I will be taking a special photo of to commemorate the rite of passage. I plan on doing a special celebration/party for the first tooth lost. I'll get the book and read it with my son and we'll decide what to do for the rest of the teeth that are lost.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Do a science experiment, have him take the tooth and drop it in a jar of CocaCola and see how long it takes to completely dissolve.....


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

We don't do the fantasy characters like Easter Bunny, Santa and Tooth Fairy. For teeth we get a little box and the child saves their teeth, looks at them under the magnifying glass and large view microscope, usually dissolves one in acid for fun, compares them with animal teeth. Science based reality. More fun.


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## Terri in WV (May 10, 2002)

Here the teeth are exchanged for a golden dollar.


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## copperpennykids (Sep 6, 2004)

atobols said:


> DH came home for lunch so we talked about it. I ran some of your ideas by him. He laughed when I told him he had to dress up as a fairy.


Oh this!!! I vote for this!!!! :hysterical:

There is this "cleaning lady" called FlyLady and she actually suggests that you can dress up like a Cleaning Fairy to check on your children's cleaning efforts - so your husband could be the tooth fairy and you could be the cleaning fairy and your children would know darn well that it was really you (and hubbie) but they sure would get a kick out of it! Plus you would get a LOT of mileage out of the outfit! :hysterical: :clap:


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## Grandmotherbear (May 15, 2002)

Elffriend said:


> There's a great children's book called "Throw Your Tooth on the Roof" that tells about different tooth losing traditions from around the world. Maybe you could get him a copy and let him decide which of the many ways of dealing with lost teeth to choose as your new family tradition?


This is done in Japan. I just learnt about it reading Bunny Drop, a manga about a 30 ish salaryman who decides to adopt his grandfather's love child to keep her out of a fosterhome after grandpop kicks the bucket. I'm learning a LOT about current Japanese childrearing customs!


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## Guest (Dec 15, 2011)

We kids were never taught to believe in the Tooth Fairy. We put our tooth under the pillow, and in the morning, there would be a nickle or dime, but we knew our mother did the exchange during the night.

We also knew there was no such thing as Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny, but knowing that did not diminish our fun.

I fail to understand why parents lie to their kids about those things.


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## Lada (Jun 7, 2008)

Am I the only one who thinks the idea of keeping teeth is a little creepy?


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## mamita (May 19, 2008)

our kids put their tooth in an envelope & then under the pillow. they knew there was no tooth fairy, but that's because Dad did it. it's still such a funny story my son tells about how clumsy Dad was with his big hand roaming under the pillow. anyway, we did it to actually get the tooth to toss, as I wouldn't want to keep them either. they got a dollar, and thought it was great fun.


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## Lada (Jun 7, 2008)

ladycat said:


> I fail to understand why parents lie to their kids about those things.


I always think this is an interesting way to put this statement. Young children have vivid imaginations. They believe in magic, inherently. They believe in fairy tales, and fairies, and gnomes and trolls, and all the other mystical creatures of their storybooks. They believe that the empty seat next to them at the supper table really does hold their best friend, even if the rest of the family can't see him. They believe that their favorite stuffed animal is actually and absolutely mortified at being left in out in the treehouse during the rain storm and YES you really do need to go out there in the lightening and get it. They believe. At some point, unfortunately, they grow out of it. But while they believe, why not nurture that magic? Why not look at the absolute wonder and sparkle in their eyes and reminisce about a day when you yourself felt that magic, and be a little sad that those days are gone? Why squash it? Why tell them no? Yes, I will give your imaginary friend another helping of meatballs. Yes, I will go get Sparky out of the treehouse. Yes...there is a Santa Claus.


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## tnokie (Jan 30, 2007)

Always one in the crowd,I guess I will be it! I think its sad the kids have to go thru life and not have the fun of the Tooth Fairy,Easter Bunny ,and Santa! Unless they are homeschooled,and their lives are severly censored they have to know about these from the other kids and theres no way you can convince me thaty they do not wonder why they don't get to enjoy these traditions. I've seen classmates in school like this and yes there was always a sad longing in their eyes when someone else joyfully talked about them. Sorry,just my thoughts.


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## lenii (Dec 31, 2005)

Lada said:


> I always think this is an interesting way to put this statement. Young children have vivid imaginations. They believe in magic, inherently. They believe in fairy tales, and fairies, and gnomes and trolls, and all the other mystical creatures of their storybooks. They believe that the empty seat next to them at the supper table really does hold their best friend, even if the rest of the family can't see him. They believe that their favorite stuffed animal is actually and absolutely mortified at being left in out in the treehouse during the rain storm and YES you really do need to go out there in the lightening and get it. They believe. At some point, unfortunately, they grow out of it. But while they believe, why not nurture that magic? Why not look at the absolute wonder and sparkle in their eyes and reminisce about a day when you yourself felt that magic, and be a little sad that those days are gone? Why squash it? Why tell them no? Yes, I will give your imaginary friend another helping of meatballs. Yes, I will go get Sparky out of the treehouse. Yes...there is a Santa Claus.


I agree with this well written reply. They are only young and innocent once, and Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy are all part of the fun..My kids loved their childhood and are not damaged by "lies"...Life is serious enough when we get older!!:sing::sing:


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## Guest (Dec 15, 2011)

tnokie said:


> Always one in the crowd,I guess I will be it! I think its sad the kids have to go thru life and not have the fun of the Tooth Fairy,Easter Bunny ,and Santa! Unless they are homeschooled,and their lives are severly censored they have to know about these from the other kids and theres no way you can convince me thaty they do not wonder why they don't get to enjoy these traditions. I've seen classmates in school like this and yes there was always a sad longing in their eyes when someone else joyfully talked about them. Sorry,just my thoughts.


Yes we knew about Santa etc, there was no longing because the other kids believed they were real, we didn't tell the other kids they weren't real, instead, we just shared in their fun, knowing it was all make believe.


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## RedTartan (May 2, 2006)

I'm raising a nephew now in addition to my own four boys. He's lived with me for the past 18 months now. When he lost his first tooth here he wanted me to put it up for the tooth fairy that night. We don't do the tooth fairy here.

I told him that the tooth fairy doesn't come to my house because my St. Bernard plays with chickens to death and the tooth fairy is almost the same size as a chicken. So I told her not to come for her own safety because of the dog. It made perfect sense to him. He saved the tooth to take it to his Dad's house on the weekend.


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## [email protected] (Feb 24, 2005)

I taught my kids to spit water through the new whole in their mouth. Of course that meant when they lost the back teeth I had to be their captive audience while they tried to spit through those openings. I also liked taking pictures of them with their missing teeth, they were so cute. I love the toothbrush and paste idea. I never thought of doing that.


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## andabigmac (Jan 10, 2011)

atobols said:


> I understand that this seems ridiculous or funny to some people but this is a big deal to my son. He spent 10 minutes crying and terrified when I told him that his tooth was just loose and eventually it would fall out. It didn't occur to me that this would be a major trauma for the kid. Looking back, I should have realized that to a 5 year old this would be a really big deal.
> 
> So, after telling him how he was growing up and loosing his teeth was actually a good thing, I decided we needed to do something to celebrate the occasion.
> 
> Now I'm off to google why people exchange teeth for money and where that tradition ever came from just because I'm curious


My ds had the same reaction when he had his first loose tooth. We bought this book for him. It is so cute. The boy in the book thinks he's falling apart because of normal bodily functions; peeling skin, loose teeth, boogers, etc.

http://www.amazon.com/Parts-Picture...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323965138&sr=1-1


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## dragonfly65 (Sep 29, 2002)

We never "believed" in Santa etc and neither did my kids. That doesn't mean we banned them from the house either - I have a Santa ornament on my tree now along with a couple elves. My parents were dirt poor and she told me (as an adult) that they worked too hard to get the money for the few presents we got for Santa to get the credit for it. My kids watched Santa cartoons and take down stockings on Christmas morning - they just know Mom put the stuff in them. We also do "Brownies" on Christmas eve and have as long as I can remember. We were taught (and so were my kids) not to spoil other kids belief in Santa because that was their tradition and it would be rude and mean to spoil their Christmas. We did tell them the story of the real Saint Nickolas though.

Our Christmas centers around Jesus' birthday - my mom even made cupcakes with a candle in one of them and we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. Our nativity set has an empty manger until Christmas morning and the kids always had fun trying to figure out where I had hidden baby Jesus (my 21 year old still does).

Oh, and the "tooth fairy" left us money in place of the tooth under our pillow, but we knew it was really our mom - the fun was trying to stay awake long enough to catch her doing it (we never could).


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## Guest (Dec 15, 2011)

dragonfly65 said:


> We never "believed" in Santa etc and neither did my kids. That doesn't mean we banned them from the house either - I have a Santa ornament on my tree now along with a couple elves. My parents were dirt poor and she told me (as an adult) that they worked too hard to get the money for the few presents we got for Santa to get the credit for it. My kids watched Santa cartoons and take down stockings on Christmas morning - they just know Mom put the stuff in them. We also do "Brownies" on Christmas eve and have as long as I can remember. We were taught (and so were my kids) not to spoil other kids belief in Santa because that was their tradition and it would be rude and mean to spoil their Christmas. We did tell them the story of the real Saint Nickolas though.
> 
> Our Christmas centers around Jesus' birthday - my mom even made cupcakes with a candle in one of them and we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. Our nativity set has an empty manger until Christmas morning and the kids always had fun trying to figure out where I had hidden baby Jesus (my 21 year old still does).
> 
> Oh, and the "tooth fairy" left us money in place of the tooth under our pillow, but we knew it was really our mom - the fun was trying to stay awake long enough to catch her doing it (we never could).


They weren't banned from our house either. My mother even took us to the mall every year so we could sit in Santa's lap and tell him what we wanted for Christmas.

We knew all about the Tooth Fairy putting money under our pillows, but we knew it was just a pretend game and my mother was the one doing it.

We had every bit as much fun as kids who "believed", the only difference being, we knew it was all pretend. And it was so fun to pretend.

I have never lost that magic of pretending. Maybe because I was never hurt and disillusioned from discovering the truth.


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## Jackie (Jun 20, 2008)

Lada said:


> Am I the only one who thinks the idea of keeping teeth is a little creepy?


Nope! We do tooth fairy here and tooth fairy sticks two bucks under the pillow, grabs the tooth and tosses it in the garbage! yuck.


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## flowergurl (Feb 27, 2007)

> Nope! We do tooth fairy here and tooth fairy sticks two bucks under the pillow, grabs the tooth and tosses it in the garbage! yuck.


This when my kids were little.


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## Lada (Jun 7, 2008)

ladycat said:


> I have never lost that magic of pretending. Maybe because I was never hurt and disillusioned from discovering the truth.


I think playing Santa, and all the pretending that goes along with it, is almost as much fun as being a kid at Christmas. I grew up believing in all the good stuff and never felt lied to. It was just stuff I figured out on my own as I grew and my brain developed more mature reasoning. Just like I eventually figured out that my bear was really inanimate and just stuffed with fluff and didn't come alive and stand sentry over my bed when I went to sleep at night. :shrug: Now if my parents would have told me from the beginning that I was crazy and the bear was just a bear, then that might have scarred me for life.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

therunbunch said:


> Every time one of our children loses a tooth we celebrate the loss of a healthy tooth by letting them pick out a new toothbrush, paste, and floss. We're weirdos, I know but we're all a little neurotic about oral hygiene and the kids love getting a new toothbrush. Don't forget to take a picture of your kiddo with their tooth, and show off the space! A scrapbook would be fun to document it all. How cool would that be to have a pic everytime he loses one haha.. wish I had thought of that with my DD who is now 10. She was petrified when she lost her first tooth but now she thinks it's pretty cool.


I don't think it is weird at all - that is a cool Idea!


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

atobols said:


> I understand that this seems ridiculous or funny to some people but this is a big deal to my son. He spent 10 minutes crying and terrified when I told him that his tooth was just loose and eventually it would fall out. It didn't occur to me that this would be a major trauma for the kid. Looking back, I should have realized that to a 5 year old this would be a really big deal.
> 
> So, after telling him how he was growing up and loosing his teeth was actually a good thing, I decided we needed to do something to celebrate the occasion.
> 
> Now I'm off to google why people exchange teeth for money and where that tradition ever came from just because I'm curious



I'd be interested to see the history of it too-! even though I could never not do Santa, Easter Bunny ect ect- sounds like you are doing an excellent job of making traditions and making the moments "your own"- I applaud you for that keeping the fun in something


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## Joshie (Dec 8, 2008)

Kids "do" Santa, et al. I've never said an item is from Santa but the kids always believed. I fill in the "To" part of a gift tag but. It the "From". 

For missing teeth we just put money under the pillow and take the teeth. I really don't want teeth on the floor so I'm not leaving them there. I guess I like these innocent and imaginative childhood beliefs.


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## jif (Sep 3, 2020)

atobols said:


> I understand that this seems ridiculous or funny to some people but this is a big deal to my son. He spent 10 minutes crying and terrified when I told him that his tooth was just loose and eventually it would fall out. It didn't occur to me that this would be a major trauma for the kid. Looking back, I should have realized that to a 5 year old this would be a really big deal.
> 
> So, after telling him how he was growing up and loosing his teeth was actually a good thing, I decided we needed to do something to celebrate the occasion.
> 
> Now I'm off to google why people exchange teeth for money and where that tradition ever came from just because I'm curious


i was just doing the same thing we dont do santa or easter bunny either . but they still celebrate the holidays.


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## audacity (Feb 14, 2020)

Lada said:


> I think playing Santa, and all the pretending that goes along with it, is almost as much fun as being a kid at Christmas. I grew up believing in all the good stuff and never felt lied to. It was just stuff I figured out on my own as I grew and my brain developed more mature reasoning. Just like I eventually figured out that my bear was really inanimate and just stuffed with fluff and didn't come alive and stand sentry over my bed when I went to sleep at night. 🤷 Now if my parents would have told me from the beginning that I was crazy and the bear was just a bear, then that might have scarred me for life.


Right.

Every kid 'grows out of' all these stories in their own time as they grow up. Having a parent willing to play pretend and indulge fantasies was part of the magic. I have never known anyone who grew up feeling angry that their parents 'lied' to them about Santa Claus or imaginary friends.

To each their own, though.


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