A couple of weeks back I wrote about how I was giving the tooth fairy a bad name, well according to my husband, at least. Fast forward to today and it appears my supposed lack of generosity is being mirrored in bedrooms up and down the country.

The latest Tooth Fairy Index, from the Children’s Mutual, reports that there has been a 6% decline in the sum left under pillows in the last 12 months. The credit crunch has stepped in to “counteract fairy pressure” according to the mutual’s chief executive.

About time too I say. Although the majority of parents still appear to be more generous than me, the average left is £1.15, rather than the £1, I left on the Tooth Fairy’s behalf.

After my last blog, Juliet wrote to tell me how the tooth fairy in her house always leaves one euro for a tooth, thus completely side stepping the issue of comparison altogether, as few five and six year olds are keen followers of exchange rate movements.

It’s too late for me to change currencies now – I would get too many questions, but I think it’s a great idea for parents who have yet to have a first visit from the Tooth Fairy.

The latest report contained some further positive news as far as Tooth Fairy habits go in our house. I have persuaded my son that he should save his Tooth Fairy money, pointing out how much he will eventually end up with. This didn’t go down too well as he thought a Nintendo Wii game a better option.

Now I have the evidence that the majority of children do, in fact, save their Tooth Fairy loot. OK, so it’s only 51% who save it in Scotland, where we live, but in the South West of England it’s 77%. So I feel better about resisting the call for a Wii game.

One final thing, I’m glad I am not a parent having to cope with “Tooth Fairy pressure” in Northern Ireland. One in 10 children there apparently get £5 for each tooth! As you already know I think that is way way too much.