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Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Niggling in, wriggling out - no wonder a fairy is needed

By Parenting Matters by Julia Proverbs
Columnist, Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post·Bay of Plenty Times·
12 Apr, 2011 12:24 AM3 mins to read

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There are some things in life that remain a mystery.
Teeth is one of them.
Not their purpose - that is pretty clear - but the way in which we acquire them.
And then lose them. And acquire them again.
Seems like a whole lot of bother, to me, for not a lot of gain.
During the weekend, Miss Four (who will become Miss Five tomorrow) discovered she had a wiggly tooth.
At first I thought she was making it up. The reason being I had Miss Two pinned to the ground at the time, having bribed her with lollies, so I could inspect the last of her troublesome molars (a technique not recommended by your friendly neighbourhood dental nurse I am sure).
I assumed, wrongly, that Miss Nearly-Five was just trying to cash in.
Until I looked up from my jujitsu hold to see a very anxious little face looking back down at me.
Closer inspection revealed that in fact one of her bottom teeth was very, very wiggly.
Not expecting to have this chat for another year at least, I quickly reassured her that it was perfectly normal and that when it fell out she would be visited by the tooth fairy.
"I will only be able to eat soft food now," she stated, coming to terms with the concept.
And then proceeded to crunch her way through the boiled lolly she had managed to procure.
A mixture of emotions swept over me. Pride (my little baby is growing up) was followed in quick succession by sadness (my little baby is growing up).
Still trying to get my head around the fact she is starting school next term, it was all too much.
Meanwhile Miss Two, for whom teething has been a particularly long, slow and painful process, was wriggling around on the floor squealing: "It's sore. It's sore."
Oh the injustice of it all.
You spend the first two years of your life in agony growing the jolly things, only to have them fall out a few years later. Too right the tooth fairy should leave money.
Although, the going rate of around $2 a tooth seems woefully inadequate.
Those pearly whites are more precious than gold when you tally up all the tubes of Bonjela, teething toys and hours spent soothing.
It would be far easier if we were born with one set of teeth to last a lifetime.
Although breastfeeding mothers may not agree.

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