The ritual of hunting for easter eggs is something that all children enjoy (even my teenage son still enjoys easter treats and the hunt for eggs – just don’t tell him I told you!), but let’s think about some of the items we place inside the eggs.
Traditional easter baskets are filled with chocolate. Chocolate tastes great, I’m a huge fan! However, our kids are not likely to appreciate the organic-fair-trade-dark chocolate that actually can benefit your health in small doses. Commercial candy and confections are filled with sugar, artificial colours, and flavours, and although they tastes great, they don’t promote health, and for many children there are adverse effect on their behaviour due to the sugar and caffeine.
Chocolate, jellybeans, and candy are fun treats for all of us, and we’ve been having fun with them in the practice all week, but consumption in moderation is the KEY! Even a teaspoon of sugar causes the immune system cells to drop substantially, and can dramatically affect behaviour. With the chocolate on the reception desk this week I’ve been using it as a great time to remind all the kids in the practice that their body needs good foods to stay healthy, and we’ve been talking about other things they need to also be doing to keep their body healthy.
This year why not consider some other ideas too?
I’ve been asking families in the practice some of the ways they celebrate easter weekend with their children and they have shared some fantastic, creative ideas. Whether you create a basket for children in your life or conduct an easter egg hunt, consider these tips to avoid the overdose of chocolate, sugar and unnecessary waste that is often created with commercial packages.
If you enjoy filling eggs, purchase ones (yes even plastic) that you can reuse every year and try some of these items to place inside…
- Stickers, coins, small toys
- Small cookies or animal crackers
- For older children try little pieces of paper with bigger ‘prizes’ written on them. Then create a scavenger hunt to find them too!
- Use numbers or symbols inside the eggs, and have a corresponding chart for them to follow on – they will love the challenge and skills they will build!
As with all gift-giving, don’t forget about the gifts of ‘experiences’. Many of us already have enough ‘stuff’. Movie/event tickets, lessons for a sport or hobby, gift cards for music or clothing, jewellery, sports cards, games (especially if they are ones you can play as a family!)
Get creative, have some fun, and share some of your favorite ideas too!