Creative ways to present baby teeth to the Tooth Fairy

After all that wiggling and wobbling, it’s so exciting when children lose their first baby teeth! And with a little planning, you can turn that milestone into a special family tradition.

Most children start losing their baby teeth when they’re around six years old, although it is not uncommon for that first tooth to fall out up to two years earlier or even two years later. At the same time, some children will long for a gappy grin, for others, losing their first tooth may be a surprise. Either way, it’s an important milestone worth celebrating.

It’s become a tradition for kids in Australia to pop their tooth under their pillow at bedtime for the Tooth Fairy to collect overnight, exchanging it for a shiny gold coin. But sometimes the Tooth Fairy has trouble retrieving teeth wedged underneath sleeping heads, so here are some alternatives you may like to consider:

• Glass of water: Fill a glass with water, let your child pop their tooth in there, and place the glass on their bedside table for the Tooth Fairy to retrieve. When the Tooth Fairy swaps the tooth for a coin, pop in a few drops of food colouring to tint the water with a hint of fairy magic.
• Tooth pillow: Sew or glue together a sweet tooth-shaped pillow using felt, complete with a slot to slip in a tooth. Add a ribbon hook to the top so the pillow can hang on your child’s bedroom door handle to make it easier for the Tooth Fairy to retrieve the tooth without waking anyone. Check out this adorable free tooth pillow pattern and instructions.
• Miniature envelope: Help your child make a fairy-sized envelope to pop their tooth in. If you like, add a tiny note to the Tooth Fairy. Here’s a simple tutorial with a free template to print out using coloured paper and washi tape.
• Tooth box: Have a rummage around for a small container your little one can decorate to be their special tooth box. You could repurpose, for example, an empty matchbox, a Tic Tac container, an empty tin of mints, or an old lip gloss pot. Alternatively, pick up a cute jar from your local discount shop and follow this tutorial to make a tooth fairy jar.

Tooth Fairy tips

• Stockpile special coins: Visit the bank and ask for their shiniest newly minted coins. Sometimes the tellers will keep special coloured or commemorative coins aside and may give you a few (in exchange for your cash, of course). Tuckshops or school stalls are also great places for coming across special coins, so keep your eye out when volunteering and take some cash with you to swap.
• Set an alarm: At the end of a long day, it’s easy to forget the Tooth Fairy will be visiting. Set an alarm to remind you before you fall asleep!

Losing a tooth at Edge Early Learning

Please let your child’s educators know if your child has a wobbly tooth. We’ll keep an eye on them and, if it falls out while they’re in our care, we’ll be sure to wrap it up safe to take home at the end of the day. Unless they swallow it. Yes, that does happen! In that case, we suggest a note to the Tooth Fairy to explain what happened. And we hear she usually leaves a coin behind in good faith.