Halloween Soapbox

Now a days, October 31 is the end of a week long celebration. For example, the girls got halloween coloring sheets and candy on Monday at gymnastics, we had a halloween party with our playgroup on Tuesday that we dressed up for (we intentionally skipped a Halloween party last Friday with our homeschool coop), then on Halloween day we got some candies from their ballet class before going trick or treating.
There was also Boo at the Zoo, Hallowonka at the kid's museum, Tricks
and Treats at the State Museum and I'm sure many other events in
Columbia that we did not attend. In addition, any time we went
to a grocery store there were candies, packaged costumes, and
decorations literally talking to us as we walked by. Is it just me or
is it all a little much? Maybe it's always been like this? I guess as a parent who is concerned with her kids' sugar consumption, dental health, and overall awareness of America's consumerism obsession I find it a little disturbing. You might say, "But Halloween is a special occasion!" Maybe you could use that as an excuse but don't we say that about everything. Candy and sweets abound as we go to birthday parties for friends and family, vacations, and now we are heading into the holidays where we will be inundated with holiday sweets at every "special occasion." AND have you ever thought about what all the candy is doing to our poor kids' bodies. We load them up with candy which has no nutritional value and is filled with all kinds of preservatives, chemicals, and animal by-products (gelatin) then send them off to school and expect them to sit in their seats and pay attention. What about at home when they are bouncing off the walls and arguing about who's candy is who's and how much candy that get to have every day until their load is gone!? What about the obscene amount of calories?? Should we blame our nation's kids for being overweight and consumeristic (I don't think that's a word but I'm using it anyway.)??

Well, sorry about that. I try to keep my radical opinions out of the blog for the most part but sometimes I just can't help myself. We did go trick or treating last night. We went with some friends who have similar values. All the kids got dressed up in borrowed or their own costumes and we went to about 5 houses. We made a deal with the kids before trick or treating that we would exchange the candy they got from that night for some natural candy, gum, and organic vegan chocolate. I can hardly believe how much candy they got from just those few houses. The girls were happy to make the exchange. I think they trust us and are just happy to be together as a family and the candy is a bonus.


Ellen was a witch and Arianna was a princess.