Mother Talkers

Easter eggs: Another thing to worry about

by Kay

Wed Mar 19, 2008 at 12:16:28 PM PDT

(This was cross-posted at Workin' Mom blog.)

Dang, can’t kids enjoy ANYTHING without parents having to worry about lead poisoning or some other horrible thing?

I’m not kidding, just 30 minutes ago I had to make a quick run to the drug store and grabbed a bag of plastic Easter eggs for Babycakes to play with this weekend. She got to play with a few when we got her Easter pictures taken the other day, and she thought they were very cool.

By the way, she calls them "balls!" But she also calls green peas "balls," too. Too funny!

Anyway, I just got back to my desk and saw this wire story about some plastic Easter eggs testing for lead paint. Are you kidding me?! You can read about it, too, by clicking here.

Well, I’m still giving her the eggs to play with. I’m not going to live in fear of everything. We all grew up playing with plastic eggs, too, and we’re fine, right? And for as little time as she's going to have them in her hands, I think it will be OK.

I’m also looking forward to taking Babycakes to her first official Easter egg hunt this weekend. She’ll have fun playing with all of her cousins, I’m sure.

What are you all doing this weekend with your kids? Going to any Easter egg hunts?

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Tags: Easter, eggs, plastic, kids, parents (all tags)

Permalink | 33 comments

  • Well for our egg hunt (0 / 0)

    The eggs will be on the GROUND! In the WOODS! Where animals pee!

    by shenanigans on Wed Mar 19, 2008 at 12:22:51 PM PDT

  • Easter and me (0 / 0)

    My mom always gave us written clues we'd find to lead us to our easter basket-- I remember loving that so I am going to do the same thing for my son. He's not big into candy so he's getting some jelly beans and fun toys in his basket instead of chocolate.

    I find it hard to be festive about easter. My grandmother got sick and died and my dad left at easter times past, so it's not a holiday I get real joyful about. But I will try to at least do the basket-thing for my son.

    We are also going over PILs house for easter-- we had a blow-out argument with MIL last weekend over the way she constantly puts down our kid-- coupled with the fact she never sees him so really has no basis to judge. So things may be awkward. Fun fun!

    by minnmom on Wed Mar 19, 2008 at 12:41:16 PM PDT

    • Sounds like my holiday (0 / 0)

      Besides the fact that it's still kind of cruddy for egg hunts & such festivities here in the Great White North, we're going to the in-laws for dinner on Sunday.  Last time we had dinner with them, stepMIL sat right next to me telling me how she thought kids whose parents paid for college were spoiled and didn't appreciate it.  It's her excuse for why she and FIL didn't pay for DH's education, so it took him 14 years working and paying for it himself.  Meanwhile, they bought a lake cabin.  So I guess I'm the spoiled one since I got by on grants and what my parents could afford.  StepMIL is such a conservative pill.  Should be a lot of laughs.

      Gus (7/06), Susanna (due 11/08)

      by cynmill on Wed Mar 19, 2008 at 01:38:10 PM PDT

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    • so sorry (0 / 0)

      I'm really sorry to hear that you have to suffer an evening at the PILs when the holiday already has such sad associations. I hope that DS's enjoyment has something of a "rebirth" for you.

      Your MIL sounds like she's getting worse, not better. That's disgusting.

      I'm afraid we are going to end up at PIL on Easter; we were going to go away for the weekend (in Australia, you get Good Friday and Easter Monday as the holiday), but DH, who was most in favor of it, didn't do anything about it. So now I'm just waiting for the call to come through... urgh.

      by Rachel on Wed Mar 19, 2008 at 02:22:22 PM PDT

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  • In re the safety issue (0 / 0)

    here's an exact transcript of a conversation I heard this afternoon. Two mothers at my son's preschool were talking about the moment when children give up their naps.

    Mom 1: When my child gave up his nap, I started giving him quiet time. He plays with his Leapster. I can't believe I went there, but it buys me an hour.

    Mom2: Yeah. You need that to stay sane. I mean it's not like you can just send your child outside to play in the yard these days. Not like when we were kids.

    That's right folks - apparently the world is so scary that children must now stare at a screen because our yards are so dangerous. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO OUR GENERATION THAT WE ARE SO AFRAID OF EVERYTHING?

    Like you Kay, I'm on a mission not to be terrified of the world. If it weren't pouring rain, my children would be out (in our fenced in backyard) by themselves right now!

    And we will have an Easter egg hunt in said yard (providing the weather cooperates) using plastic eggs from Target which will probably give all of us cancer. They will be full of jelly beans that will make us fat. And we will enjoy every moment of it.

    Mara, mother of Tommy (5/02) and Teddy (3/05)
    The Mother of All Trips

    by mpg on Wed Mar 19, 2008 at 01:30:45 PM PDT

    • why for the love of god (0 / 0)

      is the backyard suddenly out of bounds?!? I say this as a mother who routinely lets my daughter out in the backyard, sometimes with minimal supervision. She can even pick peas and beans and cherry tomatoes and herbs and strawberries out of the gardens by herself and eat them. What am I doing wrong?

      by Rachel on Wed Mar 19, 2008 at 02:24:36 PM PDT

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      • I know this is a bugaboo of mine (0 / 0)

        but it makes me crazy! People around here are so strange about it. You drive around and backyards with the most elaborate of playsets are routinely empty. I really, truly don't get it.

        I just don't know what terrible trauma happened to us culturally that we feel like our children need to be indoors, under our close supervision, all the time.

        Mara, mother of Tommy (5/02) and Teddy (3/05)
        The Mother of All Trips

        by mpg on Wed Mar 19, 2008 at 02:29:38 PM PDT

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      • Nothing (0 / 0)

        You're doing nothing wrong.    

        Of course, what do I know...I locked my kids in the backyard once....by accident!  

        Mother of one girl(3/98)and two boys(5/00) & (5/03) and general pain in the arse.

        by lonestar canuck on Wed Mar 19, 2008 at 07:26:32 PM PDT

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        • my mom once locked me in the backyard (0 / 0)

          but it sure wasn't an accident! She was desperate for me to go outside and play and I was equally determined not to go outside. So "click." I learned that Mom was serious about outdoor play after that...

          by Rachel on Wed Mar 19, 2008 at 08:14:41 PM PDT

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          • In my mom's case it was deliberate (0 / 0)

            It went something like: go outside and stay outside until dinner.  Which we're eating outside, so don't come and ask me if it's time yet.  You'll know it when you see it.  And if you have to pee find somewhere else to do it.  

            Seemed cruel at the time but in retrospect we had a hell of a lot of fun.  

            --R

            by Rocky on Wed Mar 19, 2008 at 09:02:16 PM PDT

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          • It was totally automatic. (0 / 0)

            #1 and #2 were in the backyard with me and #3 was a baby so he was sleeping in the crib in his room ( I know! I was more that 10 yards away from him...the horror...the horror...) so I went into the house to check on him and just automatically locked the door behind me.   When I came back down the two of them were screaming and crying and clawing at the door to come in.   Good times.  

            Of course, now that they're older I throw them out regularly and we laugh and laugh about the time I locked them out.  

            Mother of one girl(3/98)and two boys(5/00) & (5/03) and general pain in the arse.

            by lonestar canuck on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 05:56:15 AM PDT

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            • Oh, I love that kind of drama (0 / 0)

              I too have come into the kitchen and seen little faces pressed up against the glass - and the door wasn't even locked! I've clued my children into the fact that perhaps they should try the knob before they start to yell? Although of course, standing their screaming for me usually seems to work too, so why should they change?

              That is a funny story though. And no one lost an eye, so it was all fun and games...

              Mara, mother of Tommy (5/02) and Teddy (3/05)
              The Mother of All Trips

              by mpg on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 06:25:53 AM PDT

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              • They were perfectly safe (0 / 0)

                they just flipped out when they couldn't get back inside.  

                As far as yelling for me goes...I swear I've done them a horrible disservice by being a sahm.  They can't do anything for themselves because I'm always here to do it for them.  The darkside of sahmdom...film at eleven.  

                Mother of one girl(3/98)and two boys(5/00) & (5/03) and general pain in the arse.

                by lonestar canuck on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 08:25:44 AM PDT

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    • What did happen? (0 / 0)

      Why is our generation so afraid? I remember being 8 and riding my bike all over our neighborhood until the street lights came on and I didn't live in the safest city. I live in a great neighborhood in a family friendly city and it is rare to see kids outside riding their bikes. It makes me crazy!

      Like you Kay, I'm on a mission not to be terrified of the world. If it weren't pouring rain, my children would be out (in our fenced in backyard) by themselves right now!

      I can relate to this. I want my kids to be outside as much as possible.

      by sandrab on Wed Mar 19, 2008 at 09:43:49 PM PDT

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      • Johnny Gosh? (0 / 0)

        I suppose it's that we're afraid that someone is going to steal our kids? I remember growing up and having the freedom to go outside alone (as long as it wasn't TOO dark out yet), but then they started showing kids' pictures on milk cartons. I remember being scared and worrying about getting stolen! So, maybe that impacted how our generation parents now.

        We live in the country and have several acres of woods on our property, so I'm already talking to the baby about how much fun we'll have this spring and summer going on the "nature trail." haha!

        Mother of Zach, 9/91, and Mia, 12/06

        by Kay on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 12:42:43 PM PDT

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        • no increase? (0 / 0)

          I recently heard a speaker in a talk on urban planning report that the rate of child abduction by strangers was the same in 2006 as it was in 1950.  Total child abductions are up but the increase is entirely due to known abductors, the vast majority being a noncustodial spouse.

          mom to DS1, 7 yr old frat boy, and DS2, 5 yr old engineer

          by lyn on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 01:16:59 PM PDT

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        • you know, you make a good point (0 / 0)

          there was a child kidnapping case when I was about 3, and that was the last time I was allowed to ride my trike down to the end of the block and back for a year.

          by Rachel on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 02:15:32 PM PDT

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    • Oh for crying out loud (0 / 0)

      I let the boys who are 2 and 4 play in our unfenced backyard while I nurse the baby.  They also can run and play in the adjacent backyards.  Of course, we live next door to my uncle and my parents backyard connects with ours and we actually know and are friendly with our other neighbors too so they are pretty safe.  But seriously, come on.  Kids are supposed to play in the backyard.

      Here's another thing I could be hauled off for neglect for I suppose.

      I'm not sure if we will do an Easter Egg hunt in our backyard or Nana's house.  It all depends on the forecast.  It will be cold but if it's icy I suppose we'll go inside.  On the plus side, we don't have to worry about insects being attracted to the candy if we're outside this year.

      Mommy to Joey (12/03), Joshie (11/05) and Mary Rose (1/08)

      by music teacher on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 05:31:18 PM PDT

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      • must be so nice having that comfort (0 / 0)

        of knowing that your kids have so much space to roam in!

        Your egg hunt story reminds me of my childhood - we used to have a neighborhood egg hunt on the front lawn of my primary school when I was a littl'un. (my parents' house is next door to the school; it was a perfect little neighborhood school!) There was a marvellous retired couple that lived in one of the houses and they used to organise the whole thing. They'd call on the neighborhood families to get each to do, like, a dozen hard-boiled eggs, then have them delivered to their house. The husband and wife would hide the eggs around the school in the dawn hours before they went to church services. Then they'd host the potluck lunch after the hunt - again, coordinating with all the neighborhood families so that everybody brought something.

        They were just so much fun - the sort of older couple that never locked their front door and we kids would just drop in to visit. They moved to Florida when I was 8 or 9, and that was pretty much the end of it. But beautiful memories!

        by Rachel on Thu Mar 20, 2008 at 10:16:06 PM PDT

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  • My 4 year old (0 / 0)

    spent the afternoon creating characters out of those plastic eggs.  He made little eyes and cut them out and made me tape them to the eggs and then made them open and close like little mouths.   It was really funny - they all had names like their colour.  The green one was Grass, the blue one was Sky and the yellow one was Electromagnetic....he's gifted...

    He went around the house chomping things with the eggs and said that their favourite foods were bananas and brocolli and carrots...this is the kid we call Cracker Boy because he won't eat vegetables or fruit.  It was very weird.  Maybe it was the lead...?

    Mother of one girl(3/98)and two boys(5/00) & (5/03) and general pain in the arse.

    by lonestar canuck on Wed Mar 19, 2008 at 07:30:51 PM PDT

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