TOO MUCH CANDY

This week my kids received candy three times.  There wasn't even a major holiday involved.  Why do kids get candy almost every time we turn around?

First, my daughter was given a some candy at the end of her softball practice.  It was her first practice, so maybe that was the reason why the coach felt the need to hand out candy.  Don't get me wrong, I think it was very generous of the coach to buy candy for all the girls on the team, but do they really need it?

Second, my daughter went to a birthday party and got a bunch of candy in the goody bag.  Almost every birthday party my kids go to involves candy.  I understand that kids like candy, but there were plenty of other things in the goody bag---was there really a need to include candy?

Third, my son had his first Little League game and parade this morning.  He came away with his baseball cap full of candy.  He was so busy trying to collect the candy while he was marching in the parade that he never saw or heard us cheering for him on the sidelines.

The consequence of all of this is that now my kids have a stash of candy in the pantry and at least once each day they ask me if they can eat some.  Usually, I say no and they don't really pursue it, but there it sits week after week, with the pile growing after each sports game, holiday, or birthday party.

Why do I have such a problem with candy? Well, there is the obvious reason that it is bad for their teeth to eat candy.  It is just too much sugar.  Also, I feel that they shouldn't have to have a treat to appreciate their coach at the end of a practice or game or to have fun marching in a parade.  In fact, maybe they would appreciate their surroundings a bit more if they weren't so focused on candy.

Finally, when they get candy for everyday occasions throughout the week, candy loses its special quality.  Then, if they get some candy in their stocking or Easter basket, it is not such a big deal---after all, they each have a huge stash of it already on hand in the pantry.  Even at Halloween this year, there were several houses in our neighborhood where the people told my kids to take 4 or 5 pieces of candy each! We had so much candy afterwards, that we ended up keeping 10 pieces each and donating the rest to the troops.  If we hadn't done that, we would still be eating Halloween candy, only now, we would have lots of other candy on top of it---from other holidays, sports teams, and birthday parties.

In my opinion, there is just too much candy handed out to our children.