I read this blog last week about alternatives to giving out candy on Halloween. It's from a well meaning mom in NYC who believes we should think outside the candy bag for once. She offers alternatives to candy like toys, bubbles, trail mix, etc.
At first glance, I thought she was off her rocker. After all, Halloween is just once a year. When else can we indulge in a little treat?
Ha! Let me count the ways. There's Valentine's Day, Easter, B-days, Christmas, New Years, weekends, Mondays, Tuesdays, PMS Days, stressful days, and right now. I don't need a designated day to tell me when it's OK to eat candy. I do it all the time if it's in an arm lengths radius. As my motto goes, I eat chocolate in the closet, sometimes fist fulls at a time. I eat the kids' fruit snacks; also in the closet and sometimes in the bathroom. An addict will get her sugar whenever she can, even if it's sitting on the toilet with the door closed and her kids think she's doing #2.
So Halloween is not a good time for me. My 2 little boys' combined weight totals 100 lbs. The combined weight of their trick or treat candy from last night weighs (as of this writing) 6 lbs. I actually stepped on the scale with the bag and it was actually a very good inspiration when I saw the added weight on the scale.
Who is going to eat all of this candy? Even if I let the kids eat 1 piece every day for the next 2 months, there will be leftover. So what's a parent to do? Well, like most of you we just eat it. We hide some of it "for later" (like a future pinata or goodie bags) but mostly, we slowly chip away at it and the kids are oblivious. They just don't get the scope of how much they have.
Another school of thought is to throw it away. Well, that is just wasteful when there are empty candy dishes all across America! And truly, it's like throwing money away. I just can't bring myself to trash it. The only good solution is to donate to the soldiers somewhere, but where? Anyone?
So maybe the NYC mom is right? How much candy does one kid need? If the end result is that the parents are eating it for fear of wasting it, then isn't that a sin too? The added poundage which requires so much more gym time, the jittery feelings from too much sugar, and just the general feeling of overindulging are enough to make you re-evaluate Halloween.
I love the dressing up, the decorations, and the kids' excitement. What I don't like is the indigestion, the begging for more and the feelings of self-loathing (and they are palpable....just look at your FB wall today and see what your friends are saying about the "Day After".)
All this crazy talk could just be the sugar talking. If I have scared any of you, I am truly sorry. Boo!!
No comments:
Post a Comment