Just so you all know I'm not making this stuff up, here is a photo of the loot my two kids brought home from their school Valentine's Day parties.

You will note that there is candy, more candy, chocolate-covered pretzels, more candy, pencils, stickers, tattoos, a plastic cup, toys, more candy, and, oh yeah, Valentines. There IS a carton of orange juice in the middle of the photo...that was not part of the stash....that was a much-needed blast of nutrition after getting home.

It is weird that all of the other Moms I know with kids the same ages as mine all complain about how much candy gets funneled to the kids at parties like this. At PE's preschool party this morning I was talking to another Mom about the fact that I didn't attach candy or some other treat to his Valentines to give to his friends (she didn't do it with her son's either) and we both were astonished at how much candy and stuff was being handed out.

Soooooo....if the general opinion is that kids are getting de-sensitized to just how much commercial crap they get handed on a daily basis....why aren't more parents doing something about it? For me, it was a big decision to not attach candy or another treat....I kept telling myself that the kids were going to get so much that one more bag of Skittles was NOT going to make or break PE's future in society. I'm glad I stayed with it.

If you haven't read a book called "Confessions of a Slacker Mom" you should. It is a great reflection on how we have heaped so many choices in terms of foods, toys, books, sports, tv shows, etc. on our children that they have forgotten how to play.

Here's the moral of the story:

PE has a room full of toy trains, Hot Wheels, Legos, dinosaurs and blocks. Last week during a visit to the doctor's office he got to pick out a "prize" from the "treasure box" for being a good patient (which I think means he didn't scream) and he picked out a rubbery, stretchy, gooey thing that looks like a hand with a long arm attached to it. The idea is to throw it at the wall, and the hand sticks to the wall, and you can pull it back to yourself with the long "arm." He has entertained himself with this five-cent toy for days. It has been virtually the only thing he's played with, and he actually has worn it out playing with it.