Recently my eight year old was visited by the tooth fairy.  In exchange for his tooth; he received $5.00.

The next morning our son mentioned the tooth fairy’s visit.  “What am I supposed to do with $5.00?  I can’t buy anything with $5.00” he commented to his dad. He spoke earnestly and respectfully. He then
took the $5.00 bill and placed it on the night stand in our bedroom.

When my son came down stairs for breakfast, I asked him how much money should the tooth fairy have left.  “$20.00!!” was his reply.

At the risks of sounding like my mother, “when I was growing
up, I would have been lucky to get $.50!”  “These kids today are so darn ungrateful… blah… blah.. blah…”   As a kid, I probably would have gotten popped in the mouth for such honesty.  However, I’ve since learned to recognize these moments as learning opportunities for me and my children and not opportunities to berate them.

Although the thought of a tooth fairy leaving $20 in our home is hysterical and unrealistic, I managed to contain my laughter until later.

Since time did not permit for any in-depth conversation that morning, I reserved a discussion for later that afternoon.

After school I asked my son about the $5.00.  He recounted a completely different story, in his favor or course, from the one that my husband told.  He’s a smart kid and realized the impact of
his actions. Before I could respond to his version of the story he says the following:

“Mom, I realize that I could
use the $5.00 to buy some orange tic tacs. The last time I was at the store, the lady (cashier) told me that next time I could buy them for $2.  I changed my mind, tell dad that I want my$5.00 back. “

My instincts told me that he’d be back looking for the money, so before I left the house that morning, I moved the money.  When my son came home in the afternoon, he immediately went to get the money, but it was gone.  I’m so glad!  Lol!

I learned a few things from this incident.

1. The tooth fairy is a wakeup call for me to better
   teach my son about the value of a dollar.
2. A visit to Five Below or the dollar store with
   my son will show him how much he really can buy with $5.00.
3. My son initially turned down the $5 because he
   had a specific toy that he wanted to buy. He knew the toy costs more than $5, so he was disappointed that he still didn’t have enough money to buy it.  He’s
   still learning about saving money to buy what he wants.
4. To continue to strive to teach my son about
   gratitude and that giving is far more rewarding than receiving.
5. As a parent, I need to continue to laugh and to see
   humor in the challenges of raising a child.

I’m not sure what will happen if the tooth fairy returns. If she returns, she’ll probably leave even less money.  Honestly, I thought $5 was too much money or am I just old fashion?  Can anyone out there enlighten me?  What is the going rate for the tooth fairy in 2011?