Mumsnet Talk

DS is 4. Am I rihgt in thinking that in a couple f years he is likely to lose his first baby tooth? Surely by then he'll be a bit old for the tooth fairy - will he not get teased at school? Is there not a really small window where they truly believe?

DD believes and she is 9. She also believes in Santa x

No child is going to admit to not believing in the tooth fairy, because if they did, that would mean no delivery of money for their teeth falling out.

My eldest doesn't really mention it at school, he's 7, a realist, knows he could get the piss taken out of him but loves the fantasy enough to at least go with it!

My sister admitted that she stopped believing at around 8 but didn't mention it as she thought me and my mum still believed... we were getting worried when she was 14 and still mentioning Santa.

If either of my kids asks me straight, after I've asked them what they think, we'll have a chat about stories, make believe and that magic is what happens only when people suspend their disbelief... hopefully by that time they'll be so confused they'll forget the original question!!!

You might want to warn your DS that the tooth fairy is unreliable and basically incompetent. At our house she has:
Forgotten to collect teeth for two days.
Left twice the amount of money because she had a couple of glasses of wine and woke up in the morning forgetting that she had already been the night before.
Not known what to do with a tooth so left it in a spare room bedside drawer to be found by a child the following day.
Left money and forgotten to collect the tooth (because it was hidden in an obscure place).

To clarify my earlier post, your DS will not believe in the fairy, but won't tell you he doesn't. So he won't be teased at school and will still get his tooth money.

Santa isn't real?

Well f*ck .

oh dear!! SO how long do they truly and genuinely (like he believes in SAnta) believe for?

Yes I do realise that when they're 13 and assuring you all the other fairiesleave a tenner they maybe don't believe, but surely there's a poiont at which they do

DD only believed for a short while, one of her friends told her the tooth fairy wasn't real - she was delighted, as she was scared of the fairy. I think some of her friends still believe, and she JUST about still believes in Santa. She's 7.

Might not be in a couple of years though, SPB - DD's first wobbly tooth was at 4.9, although she was 5 when she lost it.

<weeps> at thought of my baby all grown up. It was only his 3rd day at school, all the bigger children pushed past him on the way into school and he looked all little and cnofused. Then he seemed to get it and started running in with the rest It won't be long before he's a big, cynical, streetwise pre-teenager.

<overreacts slightly>

SPB: DD lost her first this morning. She is 5:5. I will be happy if she makes it through the next 2 or 3 believing. Although surely once they start questioning the TF then isn't Father Christmas soon to follow?!

What confuses me about the tooth fairy is why she would pay good money for all those old teeth.

I think the wholly truthfully believing stage is the blink of the eye, it lessens as they get to the questioning, thoughtful stage.... YOU are the one that keeps the magic alive. Belief is not the important thing imo, the magic is. So you keep doing it, it actually doesn't matter if they're having doubts or thinking 'is it really mummy?'

I remember waking up (sounds dubious this bit) to find my DAD in my room, in a tutu, donning a loo brush and delivering 50p.... we still kept up the pretence long after!!!

magicmummy

SHE IS THE TOOTH FAIRY

My DS1 is almost 7 and completely and utterly believes in the tooth fairy.

Magicmummy, the tooth fairy has a castle made from teeth and all new teeth are used for repairs.

She turns them into stars, innit?

My seven year old boy totally believes.

aldi: Well that would bloody well put me off the Toof Fairy then and there. I do admire your imagination and sheer will.

My 8yo believes in the tooth fairy but MadameDeathStare is right, she is incompetent and maybe delayed by several days and drop the precious tooth on the carpet on the way out.

magicmummy she builds her castle out of them you fool.

Stars? Stop drinking the cooking sherry, Siamo. Stars are unborn babies waiting to be made. Everyone knows that. Tsk.

"She turns them into stars, innit? "

My 7 year old ds says to me 'you're friends with the tooth fairy' when he asks why she couldn't find his tooth , he knows all right, he hides his teeth to make it trickier for the fairy

OK have I got this right....aldiwhores DAD is the real actual toothfairy for real - but he may or may not come because he has been to madamdeathstares for a few pints of wine?

I am a little unsure how to play the fairy thing because my two boys refuse to countenance anything to do with fairies whatsoever. might just take tooth , leave the reddies and say nowt!!!

We started off with the tooth fairy using them for building but DS thought this to be both creepy and unhygenic, so when a cartoon told him that they were turned into stars he gently informed me that I had given him the wrong information.

He's an odd little mix of ruthless logic and total willingness to believe in magic.

lol I can't wait for all this
I hope the loo brush was NEW

rollergirl it did for a while, until I was 28 and had my wisdom teeth out, I then knew exactly who to go to for my toothmoney.... bless him he gave me £50!! mwahaha, backfire!

Keep it simple, the toothfairy collects teeth because she collects teeth, like mummy collects crappy necklaces from charity shops to turn into new jewellry but has never done so, and like daddy collects shite films. The toothfairy doesn't need a reason!!