I got home a little later than usual last night. I had a grueling – yet satisfying – day at work and had kept my mind off of wallowing in the self-pity of my travel delay.
As soon as I walked in the kitchen, Little Zo Peep ran to show me that she had lost her first tooth during her school day.
Thus began our extremely interesting adventure with the Tooth Fairy.
As background, I think I have unintentionally frightened my daughter about any creature (Santa, Tooth Fairy, and Easter Bunny) who may come into our home while she is sleeping. It all started 2 Christmases ago when Zo Peep was 3 years old and was just beginning to understand the concept of Santa.
I gave her the whole spiel about how he, “knows when you are sleeping and knows when you’re awake.” I also told her that I purposely arranged the furniture in her bedroom in such a way that it would be easy for Santa to peer in through a clerestory window beside her bed to confirm that she was sleeping before he came down the chimney.
That’s when she freaked out.
No longer was Santa a Jolly Old Elf. He now was a Peeping Tom intent on Home Invasion. That Christmas Eve I put her to bed with a reading of The Night Before Christmas. I thought she was sleeping when I heard a little ruckus coming from her room around 11pm. Turns out she had awakened 10 minutes earlier having to use the bathroom. She was so afraid that Santa would see her empty bed while she was in the bathroom that she stayed put and wet herself instead.
After changing her bed linens and pj’s , I threw a blanket over the clerestory window and stayed with her until she fell asleep.
Fast forward to last night. and the Tooth Fairy. We found a lovely trinket box made in Asia to place her precious tooth in. We tucked it under her pillow and I kissed and hugged her goodnight. About 15 minutes later she was in the TV room with her box and her blankee looking very distraught.
“What’s wrong honey.”
“I’m afraid the tooth fairy is going to come.”
“Don’t you want the tooth fairy to come?”
“Yes, but can I sleep in your bed with you so we’ll be together when it comes?”
We put a note to the tooth fairy on her pillow telling it (Him? Her?) where Zo Peep (and the tooth was). Then, I put her to bed in my bed and assured her that the tooth fairy would not come until Everyone (including me) in the household was asleep. Therefore, she could be confident that I would be lying next to her when the Tooth Fairy arrived.
Right before turning off the light she made one more request, “Can I just put the box on the nightstand and not have it under my pillow.”
“Why, baby.”
“I don’t want the Tooth Fairy to reach under my pillow while I’m sleeping.”
“Well, honey. We can give it a try.”
Fortunately, the Tooth Fairy found her way to my room last night and noticed the little box sitting on the nightstand. When Zo Peep woke up this morning she immediately opened up the little box and proudly extracted a shiny quarter. Crisis concluded.
She still has 19 Baby teeth left. I need to help her get over the trauma of the Tooth Fairy before the next tooth falls out.
As soon as I walked in the kitchen, Little Zo Peep ran to show me that she had lost her first tooth during her school day.
Thus began our extremely interesting adventure with the Tooth Fairy.
As background, I think I have unintentionally frightened my daughter about any creature (Santa, Tooth Fairy, and Easter Bunny) who may come into our home while she is sleeping. It all started 2 Christmases ago when Zo Peep was 3 years old and was just beginning to understand the concept of Santa.
I gave her the whole spiel about how he, “knows when you are sleeping and knows when you’re awake.” I also told her that I purposely arranged the furniture in her bedroom in such a way that it would be easy for Santa to peer in through a clerestory window beside her bed to confirm that she was sleeping before he came down the chimney.
That’s when she freaked out.
No longer was Santa a Jolly Old Elf. He now was a Peeping Tom intent on Home Invasion. That Christmas Eve I put her to bed with a reading of The Night Before Christmas. I thought she was sleeping when I heard a little ruckus coming from her room around 11pm. Turns out she had awakened 10 minutes earlier having to use the bathroom. She was so afraid that Santa would see her empty bed while she was in the bathroom that she stayed put and wet herself instead.
After changing her bed linens and pj’s , I threw a blanket over the clerestory window and stayed with her until she fell asleep.
Fast forward to last night. and the Tooth Fairy. We found a lovely trinket box made in Asia to place her precious tooth in. We tucked it under her pillow and I kissed and hugged her goodnight. About 15 minutes later she was in the TV room with her box and her blankee looking very distraught.
“What’s wrong honey.”
“I’m afraid the tooth fairy is going to come.”
“Don’t you want the tooth fairy to come?”
“Yes, but can I sleep in your bed with you so we’ll be together when it comes?”
We put a note to the tooth fairy on her pillow telling it (Him? Her?) where Zo Peep (and the tooth was). Then, I put her to bed in my bed and assured her that the tooth fairy would not come until Everyone (including me) in the household was asleep. Therefore, she could be confident that I would be lying next to her when the Tooth Fairy arrived.
Right before turning off the light she made one more request, “Can I just put the box on the nightstand and not have it under my pillow.”
“Why, baby.”
“I don’t want the Tooth Fairy to reach under my pillow while I’m sleeping.”
“Well, honey. We can give it a try.”
Fortunately, the Tooth Fairy found her way to my room last night and noticed the little box sitting on the nightstand. When Zo Peep woke up this morning she immediately opened up the little box and proudly extracted a shiny quarter. Crisis concluded.
She still has 19 Baby teeth left. I need to help her get over the trauma of the Tooth Fairy before the next tooth falls out.
4 comments:
I never thought of how scary Santa and Tooth Fairies can be thru the eyes of a child. I would be totally freaking out if I thought some unknown person was coming in while I was asleep. It will be good to hear how you will resolve this before the next tooth outage. I am trying to gleam as much as possible from others who have been there before me.
A quarter? How did that go over with the school set? We were up to a $1 a tooth when the last one's came out 6 years ago!
Too Cute :)
Anne To be honest, I didn't know what the going rate was. Last Saturday, my company held their annual Children's Christmas Party. Zo Peep was talking about her loose tooth with Andrew -- age 7.5. He was giving her the lowdown on the tooth fairy and he mentioned the Quarter per tooth payoff. So if she hears something else at school, I can always go back to Andrew's precedence.
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