2013 Visa Tooth Fairy Survey - Practical Money Skills

2013 Visa Tooth Fairy Survey

Visa Inc. Survey: Tooth Fairy Leaving23% More in 2013Tooth Fairy Leaving Average of $3.70 per Tooth,Up From $3 in 2012Tooth Fairy App Lets Parents See What ToothFairy Leaves Under Other Households’ PillowsTooth Fairy spending is skyrocketing and shows no signs ofslowing down. Visa’s annual survey shows that Americanchildren are receiving an average of $3.70 per lost tooththis year, which is a dramatic increase of 23% over the$3.00 per tooth left in 2012 and 42% over the $2.60 left in2011. Based on this rate of return, a child would net asubstantive $74 for a full set of 20 baby teeth.To help parents navigate the sensitive topic of theappropriate amount their children should receive for lostteeth, Visa has created a free Tooth Fairy app andFacebook calculator.Additional findings from the survey include:• The Tooth Fairy was particularly generous to kids inthe Northeast, leaving an average of $4.10 pertooth. Kids in the West and South trailed with anaverage of $3.70 and $3.60 respectively.Midwestern children found the least under theirpillows with an average of $3.30 per tooth.• 10% of kids will find more than $5 per tooth undertheir pillow – more than three times as many as in2011.• Close to 33% of respondents reported that theTooth Fairy left a dollar; 36% reported finding adollar or less.• On the opposite end of the spectrum, 6% said thatthe Tooth Fairy left $20 or more including 2% whoreported that an extremely generous Tooth Fairyleft $50.• Nationwide the Tooth Fairy left the most inhouseholds with young parents. The 18-24 agegroup reported that she left an average of almost$5 per tooth.• The Tooth Fairy will be visiting close to 90% of U.S.households with children - up from 84% last year.“The Tooth Fairy is throwing money around like pixie dust,”said Nat Sillin, Visa’s head of U.S. Financial Education.“While more money is exciting news for children, parentsshould take this opportunity to talk saving and smart moneyhabits with their kids and have the same talk with a perhapsovergenerous Tooth Fairy.”ENLARGE infographic2013 Visa Tooth Fairy Survey

The free app and calculator uses Visa’s 2013 survey data and factors in demographics such asgender, age, home state, family size, marital status, income and education levels to formulatehow much money the Tooth Fairy is leaving in comparable households. It is not an endorsementor recommendation for a particular amount. The app is available for iPhones and iPads at theiTunes Store, and the calculator is available at: https://www.facebook.com/ToothFairyCalculator.The calculator is part of Visa’s free, award-winning financial education program, Practical MoneySkills for Life, which reaches millions of people around the world each year. Launched in 1995,the program is now available in 10 languages in more than 30 countries. At Practical Money Skillsfor Life, educators, parents and students can access free educational resources includingpersonal finance articles, games, lesson plans, and more.––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––About the 2013 Visa Tooth Fairy SurveyThe survey results are based on 3,000 telephone interviews conducted nationally from July 12 – July 28, 2013 in cooperation with GfKRoper’s Omnibus Service “OmniTel”. The margin of error is +/-3 percentage points.2013 Visa Tooth Fairy Survey