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Every Easter season, Moms and Dads scramble to find the perfect basket to please their little ones. This custom of giving young children an Easter basket has deep roots in our American culture.
German families that immigrated to this country in the 1700s brought the tradition with them. Originally, children set out their straw-filled caps or bonnets in the hope that the Easter Bunny would leave them something special. On Easter morning, they woke to find brightly colored, hard-cooked eggs nestled inside their hats. Over time, straw-filled baskets replaced hats; and by the 1800s, candy was commonly tucked into the baskets along with the hard-cooked eggs. Today, candy seems to be the predominant component in most Easter baskets; but many parents are concerned that they should be substituting healthier alternatives.
Dr. Debi Yohn, Counseling Psychologist, and author of Parenting College Students: 27 Winning Strategies for Success, says it isn’t necessary to do away with all candy. She says, “Often parents want to totally exclude candy, but candy is really okay in moderation. It's just one holiday and when there is not total exclusion, it is often not even missed. I would include one lucious candy item as a focal point, and then fill the basket with other goodies.”
Genelle Beerbower, a registered dietitian at Children’s Medical Center Dallas, echoes Dr. Yohn’s sentiments. She too, feels that baskets should get one chocolate treat so that kids understand any food is okay in moderation. “But,” she added, “You can also stuff plastic eggs full of coins, dollar bills, or healthier snacks like a homemade trail mix of low-sugar cereal, raisins, nuts and even a few jelly beans.” In addition to these items, Beerbower recommends filling baskets with bubbles, crayons and coloring book, stickers, jewelry, Play-Doh, books, stuffed animals, and fun school supplies. Add enough variety, and your kids won’t even miss the candy.
Beerbower reminds parents that young children love receiving toys and trinkets. Just remember to follow the toilet paper roll rule; if it fits through a toilet paper roll, it may be a choking hazard for small children.
Pamela Gould, veteran Easter Bunny, and author of Feeding the Kids: The Flexible, No-Battles, Healthy Eating System for the Whole Family, offers the following suggestions her own children have enjoyed over the years:
- Go-outside gifts for springtime, such as balls of all sizes, kites, jump ropes, a foam rocket launcher, bubble solution, and sidewalk chalk.
- Garden supplies like a new spade, seeds or a little potted plant to put in the flowerbed.
- Get-clean gifts, including fancy or silly soap, fun bath toys, bubble bath, a silly washcloth, fizzy bath balls or even a new bath towel.
Sometimes there can be additional issues about giving chocolate to children like discovering that your child is allergic to it. Maureen Whitehouse, author of Soul-Full Eating: A (Delicious!) Path to Higher Consciousness, has had that experience. When she discovered that one of her daughters had a sensitivity to chocolate, she learned to substitute carob bunnies instead.
Carob grows on trees in the Mediterranean. It’s naturally sweeter and lower in fat than cocoa, and unlike cocoa, carob does not contain caffeine or theobromine, a mild stimulant that elevates mood in humans. People who are allergic to chocolate can generally eat carob without any problem.
When Whitehouse’s children were small, she made carob Easter Bunnies by hand. She poured melted carob into a bunny-shaped candy mold, and then placed the mold in the refrigerator for a short time until it hardened. Her children never minded the substitution.
Whitehouse offers this final note of caution to parents who plan on giving their children chocolate, “If you do put chocolate into your child's Easter basket, do be sure that it's organically grown. That way you can be sure that it is free of pesticides as well as any other industrial additives and chemicals.”
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