My tooth started to wiggle! Last night when I was brushing, I felt something wrong inside my mouth. I scrutinised thorough when I discovered that the lower front tooth was wiggling. I rushed to dadda and said I have to go to the dentist right now! Dadda was surprised since I am very scared to visit the dentist. He asked what happened. I opened my mouth and showed him my wiggling tooth; he smiled and said that’s good news. You’re going to get a visit from the tooth fairy very soon. Tooth Fairy! Who is that?

Then dadda said, each of us lose our childhood teeth and then get permanent teeth. It is a sign that you are growing up. Children usually have 20 baby teeth and the come up one-by-one and when it’s time to go, they go in the same order they come. The lower front teeth are the first to come up, so children usually lose their front lower teeth first. As children grow up the permanent teeth start growing and push the baby teeth; they become loose and finally fall off. Children start losing their teeth from around 6 or 7 years, and since you have almost reached that age, you will lose your baby teeth and have permanent teeth.

But who is a Tooth Fairy, I asked. She is a fairy who needs a lot of teeth to build her castle. She takes away the teeth that fall off and in exchange she gives some money or gifts to the children. So when a tooth falls off, you keep it under your pillow and go off to sleep. The Tooth Fairy comes at some time in the night, gives the gift and takes away the teeth. Dadda said, there are many stories about the Tooth Fairy and people from different parts of the world believe in different traditions. In countries it is Ratocinto Perez or Raton Perez, who collects the teeth in exchange of the fallen teeth.

But, even if it is absolutely normal to lose tooth, we’ll visit the dentist’s office to get a quick check-up. He will tell you how to take care of the new teeth and make sure they last longer. When the new teeth come out, you need to brush twice to make sure no food particles stick to it. Just as mumma told you, the residual food particles turn into plaque causing damage to the teeth. You shouldn’t eat too much candies and sweets since they can also make your teeth decay. Then you need to eat foods that are rich in calcium, to make sure they are strong. A visit to the dentist, once in six months is a must to make sure there are no dental problems. Even if there are, the dentist will identify them and make sure they are fixed immediately.

So now let’s go and tell mumma. She’ll be very happy to know that you are growing up so fast!

We have a new neighbour. They have been here for about three months and they are a very nice family. They come over to our house on the weekends and I play with their daughter, Sarah. She is a very sweet girl and she will be starting school soon. Mumma and Sarah’s mother have become very good friends and I have heard them share recipes, discuss various topics and ask for advices as well.

This time it is Sarah’s mom taking advice from mumma. As I said, Sarah will be starting her pre-school very soon and her mother is worried about how she would react on her first day to school. This reminds me of my first day; I had written a post about it as well. For those who missed out reading my post, here is the link. Our neighbours have chosen the pre-school for Sarah, but they need to start preparing her for the first day of school.

Mumma’s eyes got moist and her voice changed a bit, when she started talking about the first day at school; I guess she remembered her experience. However, she got over her emotions and started talking. Mumma said, you should start discussing about her new routine and how things will be once nursery school starts. Talk to her about your childhood memories when you started school. Mumma said, you should also take her to her new nursery school at least once or twice and let her meet her teacher and the other children who are already attending school. Talk about the positive aspects of school such as she will make new friends, she will get to play and learn new activities, and how she will become independent gradually.

Mumma also suggested that she starts leaving Sarah alone for some time, so that she gets used to staying away from her. Mumma said you can leave Sarah here if you need to go out for some shopping or somewhere else. This way she will learn to spend time away from you. But most importantly, you must be confident about yourself and your child. She will react the way you react; so if you are confident that your child will easily adjust to the transition, she will actually do so. Mumma said, even I was very nervous when Veerica went to school for the first time, but I controlled my emotions so that my nervousness didn’t affect her. Veerica was afraid but she adjusted to the new environment very quickly; she smiled and said she’s a brave girl and I believe Sarah will get adjusted soon as well.

For the first day, make sure you get her ready before time and reach school at least 10 minutes ahead of time. You’ll get some time to console her and assure her that you will be there for her whenever she needs you. Make sure you are present when they leave school. The first few days will be tough, but the phase will pass away soon.