Tell Me We Are Smarter Than This

Cross-posted and archived from DC Metro Moms. Original post from October 31, 2007.  Article referenced no longer available.  It was regarding parents who let their children eat all their Hallloween loot in one sitting. 

I read articles like this one from Reuters and I think who is the audience for this type of piece? Morons? I mean really! Moderate sugar intake on Halloween? Wowie Kazowie I would have never thought o f that! Gee, thanks doctor of the moment! Thank you for that enlightening piece of information. Before your insightful words Mr. MD I was just going to give my two year old all the candy in one sitting. She could just plop herself down on the floor in front of whatever horror movie is playing, maybe I’ll let her watch Suspiria. That has ballet in it and it’s German so there’s some culture in it right? She’ll be ok I’m sure. She could then go about the night aimlessly wandering the dark house eating Kit-Kat bars, Mike & Ike’s until she pukes. I will just clean it up later.


Seriously folks who are these types of articles aimed at? The zombie parents from Night of the Living Dead? Who doesn’t know that too much sugar and fat is bad for you? Why is America all or nothing? Why can’t we just be a little bit moderate? Is that what is truly scary about Halloween? The act of using moderation? Tell me please because I think back to my childhood and while my Mom didn’t take the candy from me I wasn’t allowed to eat it all in one night. Nor was I allowed to gorge after school the next day. I picked out what was good and what I wanted and threw the rest away. Then I could eat a bit here and there in the coming week. I had to ask permission too. While I was allowed a bit more candy than normal on that first night moderation was used in the days following Halloween.

Reading articles like this one makes me feel that we are further dumbing ourselves down in this country. Our need for thought processes is being replaced. We adults are continually looking to higher ups for advice that should already be common sense garnered from elementary school educations and our own parents. It makes me angry when I read about how parents need to be told that feeding our kids fast food multiple times a week is bad. That soda or excessive juice in a baby’s bottle will rot their teeth. Really? Why is that surprising to someone? I’m tired of seeing articles such as this one aimed at parents who no longer want to take the time to think things through.

That is the real root of my anger. The lack of thinking and parental control that some of us are just too tired to enforce has us being reminded by doctors not to let our kids eat a pound or three of candy in one sitting. We need to think ahead to the other upcoming holidays where sugary treats will abound and remember to not just rein ourselves in but our children as well. While I would love to give out play-doh or yo-yo’s to the kids on my block I don’t think the fifteen year olds trick or treating would receive them very well. I’ve thought about this in advance. One piece of candy per kid will keep egg off my house versus handing out silly putty and spending November 1st scraping egg shells from my front door.


Comments-

Linda said...



A well-written post and so true. Thank you!!!


Reply October 31, 2007 at 03:02 PM Living By Learning said...


Moderation is a bad word in a Super-Size Idiocracy. Thanks for a great post!


Reply November 01, 2007 at 07:00 AM kate sanford said...


I don't really think that anybody is stupid enough to feed their kid all of the candy in one sitting.






On the other hand, there are a lot of underemployed experts, pundits, and columnists sitting around and they have to get paid some way!






Nice post! Welcome to the cranky pants category!


Reply November 01, 2007 at 10:24 PM kate sanford said...


I don't really think that anybody is stupid enough to feed their kid all of the candy in one sitting.

On the other hand, there are a lot of underemployed experts, pundits, and columnists sitting around and they have to get paid some way!


Nice post! Welcome to the cranky pants category!

Overheards- The Candy Fairy

Scene:  TD, my mother and I are riding in the car on the way home from running errands. 

TD:  "Mommy, do we still have that church chocolate bar?"

Me:  "Erm, nooo. That's all gone."  I know full well that my mother ate it the other day while TD was allegedly napping.  We have a whole bag full of them in the pantry too. I just forgot to replace it.  Alright! You got me. I was hoping she would forget all about that chocolate bar from Sunday. The kid does not need more candy after the Pixie Stick rampage she went on at Saturday's birthday party.

TD: "Where did it go?  Who ate it?" 

Me:  "The Candy Fairy ate it."  My mother stifles a laugh.

TD:  "Mommy, the Candy Fairy?" 

Me:  "Yes, the Candy Fairy. She comes into our home sometimes and eats our candy.  She works with the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy."

TD:  "Mommy, I think you are making that up."

Sigh. Already. She hasn't even lost a tooth and she has already decided that that Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy do not exist. 

Cadbury Egg You Are My Precious

Easter is but a few days away and like a squirrel preparing for winter I've been hoarding Cadbury Creme Eggs like the end of the world is nigh. I cannot seem to dash into a CVS or Wegman's without throwing one on the counter along with my other purchases. OK, can't seem to leave without four of those decadent eggy treats. Yes, four. When I get home I tuck them away into a safe hiding place.

Then, when the house is all quiet and the kids are napping and H is out of sight, I break one of those delightfully delicious eggs out. I hold it in the palm of my hand, lament how small it is getting (smaller again this year! Damn you Hershey's! The egg used to be a supreme 1.6 ounces. Then 1.4., now 1.2 this year- you are running dangerously close to a bad fondant/chocolate ratio Hershey! Stop messing with my precious!) and then I carefully unwrap my sweet goodness, being careful not to tear the brightly colored foil wrapper. I have a precise way of eating my Cadbury Egg (I hear that is not uncommon among us die-hard fans) and I take my time with it. I savor this once a year treat. It's like Prozac for my soul, I swear.

So while some people think The Egg resembles sickly sweet puss, I deem it wonderful and something I look forward to all year long.

What's your only available once a year treat?

In Which Target = Happiness

What happens when you go to Tarzhay with low blood sugar and massive amounts of hormones sweeping through your body? You end up with a bag full of stuff like this-

One Method lavender disc deodorizer which for some reason you felt you could not live without. After all you could not sleep last night because your house smelled like chicken soup or some other such phantom smell.

An entire bag of mini Ritter Sport Butter Biscuits. Which you then ravenously ate a few of before even leaving the parking lot. There is still chocolate under your nails.

One carton of full-sized cadbury cream eggs. You will hide them away and eat them in secret later, preferably in bed.

A bath mat. Why? Not sure. It looked very soft and fluffy in the store. Its pristine whiteness calling to you. It makes the old bath mat look like it hangs out in a sewer.

An ovulation kit. I have to know if this is the reason my hormones are so crazy and since no company makes the, "Why am I a crazy bitch today" kit this seemed the next best thing.