The effect of fairy tales on children has long been a matter of debate. Some parents believe the stories help children become credulous and naive, while others feel they’re mostly harmless.
One of the more popular characters of the latter category is the tooth fairy, a tradition that expat mums have imported into the capital. We chat to five of them (the mums, not the fairies).
K Aurora (mum of 2)
Going rate: We discussed coins only when our six-year-old got her first wobbly tooth. Unfortunately, her first tooth came out at the exact moment I was dashing out of the door to take my youngest to Al Noor hospital. At midnight, my husband called me to say he couldn’t leave any money because he only had notes – and they were all big notes from the ATM. I asked him to put the big note (Dhs200) under the pillow, and in the morning take it off her for safekeeping; the theory was that after a while she’d forget how much it was and he could swap it when he got change. Turns out, she can count, and very well, and she refused to hand it over. We now have a tray full of coins in the house, and my husband runs at the mention of wobbly teeth. I was devastated as a child to learn that Santa, the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy were in fact my parents. But now, as a mother, I want my children to have the same real-life fairy tale experience – and there are positive lessons to be learned along the way. For me, it is the most wonderful gift, to fill your children with imagination and excitement.
L Shannon (mum of 2)
Going rate: They got Dhs20 for their first and Dhs10 for all the following; we’re firmly in the Dhs10 zone now. I actually avoid most fairy tales, especially those I feel are racist or teach my children bad values. I avoid some cartoons like the plague – some are just shocking in their content, and no one seems to notice. I still let my childhood favourites into our home though: Santa Claus, the Easter bunny and, yes, the tooth fairy; they’re harmless, and make the kids happy.
M Garcia (mum of 1)
Going rate: We only wanted to use coins – we felt paper money sort of ruined the magic a bit. But then, neither I nor the husband could imagine giving our child less than a coin dollar, so we decided to leave five single dirham coins in a small jewellery pouch with a little congratulations note. My son once suspected his father – who had absent-mindedly used letterhead paper – but the doubts were quickly averted with the sudden appearance of more coins under the pillow, followed by the mysterious disappearance of the note.
M Taylor (mum of 4)
Going rate: My youngest started teething early, and her sister and brothers (who are now in the know) have made it a very fun experience. They’ve spent nights planning the distractions, and her sister even got into the habit of sprinkling glitter on the pillow – but, of course, there was a catch. Turns out they’ve been charging a 50 percent ‘unicorn tax’; which is why for her last tooth my youngest got a whopping Dhs100, and the unicorns lost a week of allowance.
