A Childhood Experiment Taught Me A Lesson

Growing up, my sister and I were always into something. We loved creative play and we spent most of our days either inside using our imagination or outside soaking up nature and all that it had to offer. We had many toys, electronics, and games, but somehow, we always turned to creative play. We wanted to make up our own games and we thrived on the newness of what we came up with.

Most of the time, our play revolved around the toys that we had and sometimes items that were lying around the house. We weren’t children that ever really got bored, there was always something to do or create, and our minds never stopped wondering.

The Importance of Money

My parents taught my sister and I from a young age to save money in our piggy banks. We knew that we could use some of the money for candy or toys, but that we should save most of it. My parents instilled the importance of saving money from a young age.

I remember all of the times that we tried to make money for fun as many kids do. There were lemonade stands, yard sales, and even helping to pet sit. Our minds were always turning to see what we could come up with next.

An Idea!

I cannot remember whose idea it was because we were so young, but we had this great idea to see if we could “trick” the tooth fairy into leaving us money. We had recently lost teeth and thought that it was amazing that we were able to get money in return. No other teeth were loose, so we thought that we would make some! Yes, you read that right, we wanted to make some teeth and put them under our pillow to see if the tooth fairy would bring us money.

We searched around the house to find the perfect thing to use. After a while, it dawned on us that we could use a bar of soap to make “teeth!” Kids sure have vivid and creative imaginations. We got a bar of white soap and started carving away with smiles on our faces. We talked with such excitement as we made several teeth to lay under our pillow. We were thrilled with the way that they turned out. They looked so real; we eagerly showed our parents and told them the plan.

Nightfall

The day had come to a close as night fell. My sister and I put the “teeth” under our pillows and went to bed so excited to see if the tooth fairy was going to notice if the teeth were real or not. We couldn’t wait for the morning to arrive!

Morning came and my sister and I were giddy with excitement to see if we had been left any money under our pillows. We peeked under the pillows and to our surprise, there was no money! The only thing that was staring back at us were the teeth that we made out of soap. We were bummed!

Life Lesson Learned

Kids are naturally curious about the world. They love to experiment; this is how they learn! I do remember feeling guilty the next morning. I felt bad that we had tried to trick the tooth fairy. We realized that when she didn’t give us money, we were not given it because we were not “honest.” We didn’t lose any teeth; they were fake teeth. Yes, striving to make money creatively is wonderful, but it needs to be done honestly. I learned that rewards come by doing things the right way. Deceit does not come with a reward. Everything that we earn should be done the honest way.

My sister and I were too young to try this experiment maliciously. We always had fun being creative and experimenting as young kids do, but at least for me, it really made me sit back and think. I could directly relate the lack of money under my pillow to not being truthful. Our curiosity was the drive in this experiment, the result was not what we had hoped for, but it was a learning experience.

As we age, there are many different experiments that we might try. We are all learning about life as we go. Along the way, we realize that life is one big experiment and test. We learn a little bit more about ourselves and the world around us every day.