Limiting Easter Chocolate – Yes
Children no doubt look forward to Easter because of the excitement of hunting for chocolate. Of course, it is the parent's responsibility to make this a special family occasion every year, and part of this responsibility includes instilling a reasonable limit of chocolate while still letting the child indulge a little. Because it is a special event specifically involving food, why not let the children have a little more than usual? It will keep them happy and keep in the spirit of Easter.
Now the real key comes in how much more chocolate you allow. A suggestion is to let them have an egg or two right after the hunt as their reward and then nothing until lunch. Make sure they eat a full healthy lunch before they dive into the chocolate. Ask them what they think is reasonable, based on their regular dessert intake at lunch (if any), and you should be able to compromise or make a reasonable limit they can follow. The same goes for dinner. During the day it would be a good idea to not allow any candy to keep a consistent diet.
The problem with not limiting your child's chocolate intake is that they will likely eat as much as they can before they get sick. This teaches them that it is okay to binge and be greedy when it's not. They may love you for it, but eating as much chocolate and candy as they want will only lead to bigger problems such as obesity and lack of control of what they eat. Even if they are generally active and don't gain any weight, allowing high levels of all the bad stuff found in chocolate will make them unhealthy, even if it's not visible. Keeping them with a more consistent way of eating will help them make better choices about health in the future,
Although you may allow a little more chocolate on the actual day of the egg hunt, make sure to reinstate the normal dessert intake the day after. The kids will still be able to enjoy their chocolate, just in less amounts, and will appreciate the actual day every year once it comes around. Think of it as letting Christmas come around noly once a year instead of everyday - you wouldn't give your children presents everyday, so why should you give them excessive amounts of dessert?
By limiting how much chocolate your child eats you are teaching them restraint and how to be healthy. This is important in keeping them away from problems such as obesity, not to mention they will likely carry this over into other areas of their life. They will certainly appreciate your discipline when they are older. You have to remember that everything you do affects your children and their future, and even though it is a holiday, Easter is no excuse for excessive indulgence.
