Day 22: Nick and the Lost Teeth

My 7-year-old son Nick has lost quite a few teeth since turning 5. He knows all about the Tooth Fairy. We've always told our sons that the Tooth Fairy needs them to keep their teeth healthy by brushing, flossing, not eating too many sweets, and having regular checkups because she takes their teeth and gives them to the new babies being born.

However, Nick has a special gift for losing the teeth he has lost. More accurately, swallowing them. Of all the teeth that he has lost over the last three years, I think he has put a total of two or three under his pillow. 

If anyone knows 5-year-olds, one thing they know is that they can be incredibly sensitive and emotional. The first time this happened, he was in tears for hours. Every time he felt the hole where his tooth used to be, he burst into a fresh round of tears. Being the primary grade teacher I am, I came up with something to turn things around. (Maybe I read it somewhere, but I'm not really sure.)

I told him that if he found a pebble the size of his missing tooth, and wrote a letter to the Tooth Fairy explaining what happened, she could use her magic to turn the pebble into a tooth. So now, whenever he has a loose tooth, he tries to be hyper-aware of how loose it is getting and when it is almost ready to come out. If he somehow swallows it (which just happened this morning...again) he is ready to go hunt down the replacement pebble. I'm sure going to miss the days when he will accept my stories so easily.