Hey, tooth fairy? What’s the going rate per tooth?

So my wife and I have started down the long, slippery slope of lying to our children: Santa Clause, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy.

My seven year olds have been losing their baby teeth at about a rate of one every month. Thankfully, they’re falling out naturally, not being knocked out.

My little guys are very excited about losing their teeth. They come wake me up early the next morning to show me their treasure. Surprisingly no one seems disturbed by the fact some mysterious creature sneaks around at night, breaks into our house, enters their dark bedroom and reaches under their pillow.

So how much are we supposed to slip under the pillow at night? Cheap daddy (that’s me) keeps suggesting a quarter. My wife started at a buck. Now she’s upped it to two bucks. (Grrr) She says some other mom she knows gives $20 per tooth. (Yikes!)

This is going to get expensive fast:

20 “baby” teeth
x 4 kids
x $2 per lie tooth
= $160 assuming there’s no need to adjust for inflation over time.

What are your thoughts on all this? Please answer my poll or post a comment.
Thanks.
Roland