I’m sure this has been written about multiple times in mommy blogs the world over, but in my humble yet honest opinion, something’s got to give.
My daughter is 2. She goes to a wonderful daycare where they love to have fun and any excuse for a party is willingly undertaken, so of course, a Valentine’s Day Party had to be done! The week before the party, each child was provided with a list of all of the other children in the class so that parents could purchase, fill out, and disperse Valentine’s Day cards to thirty other two year olds, if they so desired.
With the upcoming holidays, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, maybe even April Fools’, what’s the expectation?
The children were instructed to bring in a grocery bag to collect their goodies and wow – goodies it was! Chocolate, candy, tattoos, stickers, pencils, and erasers galore; there were several little bags of bundled treats as well. It was Halloween all over again! I actually commend the one parent that couldn’t be bothered to go through the list of names that had been given and instead addressed each card to ‘Friend’.
Let’s be clear here – in no way, shape, or form was this mandatory and I certainly didn’t go through the bag to see which child’s parents had done the minimal (like me) – cheap valentines with tattoos, or who had gone all out, but where does it stop? I think that parties and fun can be had without the constant barrage of buying extras. I’m not even a parent opposed to candy and junk – our little Snik Snik loves cookies, chocolate, and fries, but I just don’t think it needs to be shared by the multitudes at daycare. Let’s not even get into the allergies and what can be brought and shared and what is no longer allowed.
There was an all out argument on a forum I belong to with some moms pleading for the insanity to stop and others saying that they compile individualized mini-gifts for each child simply because they have the means and enjoy it.
With the upcoming holidays, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, maybe even April Fools’, what’s the expectation? (okay, so maybe April Fools’ is a bit of a stretch, but honestly you never know). Let the kids have parties, let them dance and have fun, but let’s stop making every holiday and party into a treat-buying extravaganza.