Calling El Ratoncito Pérez — en español!

My girl jus turned six last month and really all she wants is for one of her tooth to finally fall y quedarse “cholca,” like we say in El Salvador, or “chimuela,” like her Mexican dad calls it. She really has no idea what she’s asking for, she just fantasizes about the Tooth Fairy bringing whatever it is her friends have gotten when their tooth have fallen.

Yes, I said the Tooth Fairy. No, we have not really taught her about “el Ratoncito Pérez,” the little mouse that’s awaited by kids in many Latina American countries when their teeth fall. I’m not sure why we haven’t really talked about him, but we do want to introduce her to the idea (yes, a mouse!), so I guess now we’re stuck having TWO fantasy beings bringing her a little something for losing a tooth. I guess that’s the joy of being bicultural?

So to make the idea of a ratoncito coming into her room at night to bring her treats (I haven’t figured out if the Fairy or Perez will take the actual tooth yet!) a more pleasant idea, I’m going to call the Ratoncito Pérez Loose Tooth Hotline. Yep, there is such a thing and it was the mastermind of Delta Dental. You just call the toll-free number 1-855-880-8855, dial “1″ for the Spanish congratulatory message and for English, dial “2”.

The message is certainly cheerful and will put a nice, toothless sonrisa on your kid’s face.

Delta Dental and Ratoncito Pérez are also offering free copies of their “My Very Loose Tooth Book,” available in English or Spanish. “My Very Loose Tooth Book” makes a great gift to give children when they lose a tooth. If you would like to request a book, please write to ratoncito@delta.org.

By the way, this is not a sponsored post, I just thought it was cool to let you know about it because I will sure be using it!

{Photo by Nagarjun Kandukuru on Flickr}