A Not-As-Toothy Grin

Kyle, getting some seat time in Captain America's fire engine.

My six-year old son experienced yet another life-altering event today: he lost his first tooth.

Hey, I told him not to bother me while I'm playing NHL '08, but he wouldn't listen, so . . . No, I'm kidding! Don't write letters. His bottom front two teeth have been loose for about a week or so, and he lost it in - of all places - the lunchroom at school. Here's the story from his perspective.

"Dad, guess what I lost today? My tooth! I was sitting in the lunchroom, and when I opened my juice box and put the straw to my mouth, it banged the tooth and it came out! My friend Stefan caught it before it hit the ground. I raised my hand, but no one saw me, so I went to the lunch lady and showed her. She put it in a bag for me, and I put the bag in my lunch box. It was cool."

"Mom said that the Tooth Fairy would give me money for it if I put it under my pillow, but I didn't want to do it until you were home from work to see it. I hope she leaves me some round money!"

"Round money" would be coins, in case you didn't know. So, the discussion now is what the Tooth Fairy should give him. Currently, we've decided on 50 cents (in quarters). It's our first experience with the Tooth Fairy, so we weren't sure.

So . . . are we being too cheap for a six-year old, or too generous?