Family of 6:Con 2

Not only do I have to tell little white lies to one child, but I have to somehow maintain these lies for her younger siblings.

For example, the Toothfairy. Our oldest is now 8 and she didn't lose her 1st tooth until right before her 7th birthday (late IMO). Of course, we played up the whole Toothfairy thing and let me just tell you, the Toothfairy is always very kind! She got $10 for her last tooth! (Paul didn't have any ones LOL)

Yesterday, Ashleigh lost another tooth. Well, more like Paul had to literally pull it from her mouth and I was passing out watchingTV on the couch. We had a busy day with the hurricane and closet cleaning and went to bed without even thinking about her tooth. So this morning Ash was pretty disappointed about the Toothfairy's no-show BUT we were saved because the tooth had fallen on the floor. We told her the Toothfairy couldn't find it, therefore no reward.

While out eating lunch, Ashleigh begins to ask questions.

Ashleigh: Mom, Do you believe in the Toothfairy?
Me: Yes, why? (side-eyeing Paul)
Ashleigh: Well, the other day someone on the bus said that if you believed in the Toothfairy, to raise your hand. I was the ONLY one to raise my hand MOM!
Me: Oh, that's odd. (Now ok, she's 8 and if it was just me, I probably would have told her the truth. She can handle it. But now our convo has the attention of the other 2 kids who should still get the chance to believe, right?)
Ashleigh:I know, right? What do the other kids think?...that their parents take the teeth and keep them in a baggie? What if the kid wakes up?...are the parents dressed up like a fairy? I don't think so!
Me: Uh huh, that would be really weird ( noting to self to get rid of the creepy bag of teeth I've kept so far)

And then she was onto another topic before I could actually decide what the right decision would be... To tell or not to tell the truth? I only have like 14 more teeth to get through and then she won't have to ever know, right? I mean, until she has her own kids at least.

We've always told her we'd always tell her the truth if she asks, so maybe I should tell her tomorrow morning. Just tell her I didn't want the other kids to know yet, and remind her that we always tell the truth. The I know the next question is going to be..."So is Santa real?". Eeek, I am not ready for them to grow up just yet!

What would you do? Tell her, keep leading her on, or just let it go and hope she never asks again? Parents really have to make some difficult decisions sometimes...I just hope my kids don't need therapy from the ones I make.

***Ashleigh, When you are old enough to read these posts...I'm sorry. And we love you so much!