Preparing for Easter

Most parents are fairly dubious about Easter. Rightly so, it’s simply one big sugar feast. Our children are given Easter eggs from their teachers, school friends, relatives, family friends, work associates, neighbours and then there’s the big fluffy guy himself.

Well this year I’ve decided to do things a little differently. Previously what has happened in our family is that at Easter we pool all the eggs we’ve been given into an enormous bowl. Then we selectively look through them and discard all the really cheap eggs and bunnies.

“What” I hear you yell “you throw them out?”

Yes and believe me there are still oodles of eggs left to eat. It is also a great experience for the boys to taste a cheaper – say $1.57 Easter Bunny versus a small organic chocolate egg or some ‘ Haighs’ or another decedent brand. Comparing the taste as they go.

But for good reason though. If you refer to the previous blog which discusses Party Bags and E- Numbers you’ll see that most confectionery is laced with nasty chemicals. A small quantity – of a high quality brand – is much better for you and is often much more delicious.

Try tasting the difference yourself – it really is amazing.

So basically we have a family ritual where we now save ourselves for high quality chocolate eggs. We may eat a few on Easter Sunday, a couple the next day, one the next and then magically somehow they just seem to disappear into thin air. Even with throwing out some of the eggs initially, every year – six months later I still seem to find myself throwing out a large number of “uneaten” Easter eggs. NOBODY needs that much chocolate.

Easter is a great time as parents – to analyse why and how we promote chocolate to our children. As adults do we do this because we ourselves have learnt that offering treats is a way of showing our love and acceptance for another. If this is the case – surely we can substitute the treat for anything we wish???. Our children learn from observing our behaviours. Easter’s a great time to analyse our own individual relation with chocolate.

So anyway this year I decided to do a little more forward planning.

In preparing for Easter I am going to try implementing the following:

I’m going to suggest to all of our extended family that they do not buy the boys any eggs.

On Easter Sunday those of us with little kids get together and contribute to a massive Easter egg hunt. There are soooo many eggs that the boys don’t need any extras from our extended family. If they really wish to buy something I’ll suggest maybe bringing along some kind of game they can play on the day, like badminton or a new Frisbee.

Or to be really symbolic about Easter they could buy them their very own seedling plant – as sign of new life needing to be cultivated and nurtured. Isn’t “new life” what Easter is really meant to be about????
I’m going to put a lot more effort into preparing a true Easter Feast (Nigella eat your heart out, actually her cookbook Feast is fabulous, naughty but fabulous!) and we will celebrate with beautiful food, steering the focus away from the chocolate.

I’ll call girlfriends and rally forces about not buying each other eggs.

I’ll congratulate the boys (a lot more) for being selective with what they consume and how much they consume. Acknowledging them ENORMOUSLY for looking after their bodies and making healthy choices rather than ones that will tax their body. Reinforcing how clever they are.

Happy preparations for your very own Easter, celebrate well.

Wishing your family spectacular health,

Jennifer Barham-Floreani
Bach. Chiropractic, Bach. App Clinical Science
Registered internationally, no longer practicing as a chiropractor in Australia.
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