August 22 is National Tooth Fairy Day.
National Tooth Fairy Day is a day to celebrate the tradition of children losing their baby teeth and the magical idea of the Tooth Fairy's visit.
It's often a time for parents to engage in imaginative and playful activities with their children, reinforcing the concept of this mythical figure and making the experience of losing a tooth a bit more special and exciting.
History of the Infamous Tooth Fairy
1908
A Chicago Tribune article in which the author, Lillian Brown, provided parents with a suggestion on how to get their children to have their loose milk teeth pulled. Her idea was to tell their kids that the Tooth Fairy would leave five-cents under their pillow for every tooth they lost. The tradition has carried along for all these years, but with inflation, the five-cent price tag has gone up.
1920
Fairies were Advocates of Health Education. Fairies were used to encourage kids to eat their vegetables, get plenty of fresh air, go to sleep on time, and clean their teeth.
1925
The Tooth Fairy image was used to advertise the Fairy Wand Tooth Whitener.
1927
Esther Watkins Arnold wrote a three-act play for children called “The Tooth Fairy,”. The book helped replace anxiety with excitement for children who lose a tooth.
1979
The Tooth Fairy landed a reference citation in World Book Encyclopedia
2010
The “Tooth Fairy” movie debuts, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Julie Andrews.
2012
In "Tooth Fairy 2", Larry the Cable Guy dons a tutu and portrayed the Tooth Fairy.
February 28
The Tooth Fairy Day is celebrated twice a year
My daughter, Alex, believed in the tooth fairy.
She would write long letters to her and enclose them with the newly extracted baby tooth.
She had a very inquisitive mind and would ask many questions, like: How old are you? How many children do you have? How big are you? How do you get around to all the children who lost teeth? How do you know when we lose a tooth? What do you do with the teeth? And on and on for all 20 baby teeth.
I would take the letters and answer each question, being as creative and imaginative as possible, with a very small font on my computer. Print it on colored paper and leave it with a dollar under her pillow in exchange for the tooth.
One night I fell asleep and forgot to retrieve the tooth and make the letter. The next morning she woke up and came running into my room crying.. "She did not take my tooth!"
I said that she must have been very busy, but would probably come tonight. That night we put it under the pillow again and I did my duties. Whew, near catastrophe avoided.
On another occasion, it happened again. This time, I said that she probably could not find the tooth. That night when I put her to bed, kissed and hugged her goodnight, I thought that I would not screw up again, so I tried to grab the tooth and letter at that time from under her pillow. She caught me!
"What are you doing?" I said that I was just checking to make sure she could find it..... I think that she was beginning to know something was up.
The final straw was when I did not have change... I wasn't going to leave a $20 bill for a tooth. We do live in Marin, but really??
She came out crying. I told her that the tooth fairy wanted me to give her some money because she did not have any change... "You talk to the Tooth Fairy?"... I was BUSTED.
