Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Euro Teeth

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When you were young, how much did the tooth fairy pay for your precious little milk teeth? If you're my age, apparently it was about 17p, according to an article in the DT. That is a suitably silly number which probably means we got 10 or 20p. I hardly think the tooth fairy would be likely to empty all her loose change under a pillow in exchange for a tooth.

What do children these days get in the UK? More like £1, with 1 in 12 getting £2. Such a rise is in line with that of house prices. Amazing what you learn, isn't it? You can be sure I'll remember that piece of useless information instead of something really useful. Very annoying it is too!

Why the thoughts on teeth all of a sudden? Well, chez nous, we're having an avalanche of falling teeth. There are at least 6 wigglers on the go, between both boys. My eldest is so fed up with one that he tried yanking it out this evening, to no avail. We offered the use of pliers, the car, the radio-controlled car, the cat (having his food bowl shaken at the end of the garden...) etc. Each suggestion was turned down, to our chagrin, in favour of a tissue and brute boy strength.

My youngest is just letting it all take its course and thinking about reaping the benefits of tooth fairy finance when the great fall day comes. He may already be examining placements for his investments; those that give good growth, with enamel hard security.

Here in France, it's not £1 that they get but 2€ which is slightly more although pre-euro days, it would have been 10FF. Some petits souris only stretch to 1€, so one has to make sure to lose one's teeth in the most finanacially advantageous household. If one has the option of a 2€ tooth fairy or a 1€ petit souris, obviously it's best to keep the SuperGlue handy until one gets back to the highest paying option.

These days you can earn serious money from your teeth. I think we spent our pennies on sweets...

5 comments:

  1. My daughter's first tooth loss in France was when brushing her teeth...it fell down the drain! She was so sad about it being gone...until she learned about the tooth mouse. And how lucky we were that the tooth mouse could read English to learn where the lost tooth had gone. I think she got 2 euros too...even without the evidence!!

    Meilleurs voeux!!

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  2. I used to get a penny, I think - and later, when we became more afluent, a threepenny bit. Hmmm. I'm showing my age here, aren't I?

    My children quite often got a bit of loose change under their pillow, if that's all there was. You see, the tooth mouse didn't come to us - the fairy did and as she had to fly all the way from England, it was only to be expected that she took something for her expenses...don't ou think?

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  3. Interesting analysis, Sarah. I think 1 Euro is a fair sum with a rounded feel to it. As a boy, I received sixpence I think (worth nothing now) and my UK standard would be £1 nowadays. I have a 15 & 16 year old - who get £20 pm pocketmoney - and a 3 year old who's about to cash in on the milk teeth upgrade programme.

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  4. The pocket money/allowance issue is always an interesting one. My eldest gets 5€/month (he's 10).

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