Halloween: it’s up there with Christmas as the most egregious of consumption/greed oriented holidays here in the US of A. Ok, I’m being a buzz-kill again, but look, while the kids had a great time dressing up and walking around getting candy, there was a distinct moment in the process in which I became aware of an ulterior motive: to get candy. And to sell candy.
The aftermath is now staring us, and the rest of the overweight, over-fed, over-eating world in the face. We’re teaching our kids that candy is a regular part of life. We have bowls and bowls of the stuff. Is “just one a day” a good message? For me, “perhaps once a week if you’re willing to give up ice cream night”. 3 out of 4 kids with fathers would not choose me.
No, the kids sure didn’t want to part with their hard earned booty. A radical candectomy was the prescription.
So Theresa and I decided that something good had to come from the hundreds (yes, hundreds) of pieces of candy collected last night. So we offered the kids $1.00 per piece, which could go towards a gift of real nourishment for kids that really needed it, through one of our favorite organizations, Heifer International.
Heifer International provides livestock to people for whom a cow, or a few chickens can make a huge difference. So we donated $20 which bought one flock of ducks, Charlotte’s favorite animal (at a cost to her of a number of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and some Twizzlers). Then we made another donation of $20 which bought one flock of geese, which Carter chose.
The thought that this candy will not be making our kids fat, greedy and unhealthy is nice; that it will help transmit some of our countries excessive wealth, as manifested by this holiday, to a country with the opposite problem is icing on the … um … egg?
That is such a great idea. I’m reading the book “Raising Kids Who Will Make a Difference” and that idea is right in line with what the book talks about. Being a “kill-joy parent” may be hard but, combined with love, understanding, and the occasional exception, I’m convinced will help our kids to truly make a difference in the world.
Green Mommy
CA
Comment by Jennifer — April 4, 2007 @ 8:35 pm