Rogers: 6-year-old's tooth fairy question stumps parent

Deep in the back of every parent's brain, rooted in some ancient quarter untouched by evolution, lingers the knowledge that at some point their child will ask questions that they cannot answer.

It happened to me last week.

I was putting Leigh, my 6-year-old, to bed. After getting settled in, she asked point-blank, "Daddy, is the Tooth Fairy real?"

Had the question been a little more demure - like, "Where does the Tooth Fairy come from?" or "Why can't I see the Tooth Fairy?" or even "Why did I find all my lost teeth in the back of your sock drawer?" - I could have come up with some response to satiate her curiosity. Or, at the very least, put her off the scent.

But is the tooth fairy real? I didn't even know 6-year-olds were familiar with the notion of things being real. I mean, she regularly talks to her spoon when she's at the dinner table. And then creates a little voice in which the spoon talks back.

Six-year-olds clearly have a loose grasp on reality. And still, the question had been asked.

You see, last week Leigh lost three teeth. Nothing traumatic, they all came out naturally. But it made for putting a lot of teeth under the pillow and inquiries as to what the tooth fairy would bring.

At first, she wondered if the Tooth Fairy would leave her a Chihuahua under the pillow. I explained to her that the Tooth Fairy, as a rule, usually doesn't bring pets.

She then asked if the Tooth Fairy could leave a stuffed animal. I said, in our house, the Tooth Fairy leaves 50 cents per tooth.

All that, I suppose, naturally led to her question.

The first night, I copped out. I told her we'd talk about it later and that she needed to get to bed. My hope being - and this is a feeling all parents are familiar with - that she would forget her question by morning and I wouldn't have to address it.

Little did I know, she still had two more teeth to lose.

Not surprisingly, she kept asking. The second night, I tried to be a little more honest. I explained to her that there were some things you understand better as you grow up. I told her when she gets older, we'd talk all about the Tooth Fairy and plumb the depths of her fabled existence.

It wasn't the answer she was looking for.

So by the third night, I relented and gave the best answer I could.

"Leigh," I said. "The Tooth Fairy is your spoon's sister."

Rob Rogers can be reached at 225-8217 or at