Toothfairy Poll

The going rates back in the time J was being visited by tooth-fairy was $1 per tooth. Maybe I was a cheapskate but if the payout was egregiously low, I would have been advised of that. The friends were unlikely making a lot more than a buck. At the time, J had no idea what to do with that dollar or even where to keep it "safely". So it was more a symbolic thing and likely an ice-cream that was paid by the tooth-fairy dollar she had earned. This Delta Dental tooth-fairy poll of current rates paid by the tooth-fairy is an interesting one. The number is about four to five times higher now and in a very short period of time. 

Much like Punxsutawney Phil’s Groundhog Day weather prognostication, the Original Tooth Fairy Poll has generally been a good barometer of the overall direction of the economy. In fact, for 14 of the past 17 years, the trend in average giving has tracked with the movement of the S&P 500.

It seems that the numbers are creeping up in proportion to how much more kids are being targeted with messages to buy stuff. With the ability to instantly share and amplify the  the reach of such message, there is an even greater demand for whatever is on-trend. Back in J's time, such was not the case. There were a limited number of desirable things like the ice-cream truck that was common knowledge. Not everyone had unrestricted internet access or owned smart devices. All that has changed quite a bit since then and the tooth-fairy is paying the difference.