‘Tooth Fairy’ Gives an Average of $3 This Year
Kids reaching under their pillows the morning after losing a tooth are now likely to find about three bucks a pop, according to a new survey out this week by the Visa credit card company.
That average is up 15 percent from last year when the going rate was $2.60.
"The Tooth Fairy may be the canary in the economic coal mine. She's showing signs of life by leaving 40 cents more per tooth this year," said Jason Alderman, senior director of global financial education for Visa Inc. in a press release. "This is not only good news for kids, but an ideal teachable moment for parents to engage their children in thinking about how to budget their windfall by saving a portion."
Visa has also launched an app and an online tool called the Tooth Fairy Calculator to help clueless parents everywhere decide how much to shell out. The tool takes into account state, age, gender, income and education levels to determine how much dough the kid should get without getting embarrassed on the playground.
For instance, a college-educated male parent at the age of 46 living in Hawaii and earning $39,900 a year should give just a $1 from the tooth fairy.
How about a 41-year-old mother with a high school diploma living in Alaska and making less than $25,000? The calculator urges her to give $3.
The tool also offers a look what the suggested amount is compared with what you received from the tooth fairy as a child.
The survey was conducted from July 13 to 17 through 2,000 telephone interviews.
Additional findings in the survey include:
• 3 percent of children receive less than a dollar, down from 7 percent last year.
• 30 percent of children receive exactly $1. Last year's survey showed that 29 percent of children received exactly $1.
• 13 percent of children receive between $2 and $4, down from 18 percent last year.
• 18 percent of children receive $5, the same amount as compared to last year.
• 8 percent of children receive more than $5, compared to 3 percent last year.
Photo: Denise Crew/Getty Images
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I've been giving $2-$3 in gold coins. She doesn't know the real worth of it, but she is simply excited about the magical portion of it being a tooth fairy who leaves a trail of fairy dust (glitter) and a small note with tiny writing. It's up to the parents what they want to give. I know I always got a couple dollars even for mine back in the day. It sucks that $5 can't even really buy a decent toy anymore, so I bet parents raise the amount so a child can actually get something they like/want with their money they save.
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