just for kids

april 2001

Growing up as a child in the Midwest, I always looked forward to the Easter Egg Hunt held by the city park. Imagine hundreds of kids scrambling for thousands of eggs that were filled with magical things: candy, coins, small toys, or gift certificates for one of the local stores who sponsored the annual event. When my own sons were growing up, we always made sure they had a hunt to attend, one with their multitude of cousins in our or an aunt or uncle's back yard, or one organized for the community at a park, lawn of a local museum, or, one time, at the beach. Not having to cope with them having diabetes I didn't care if they over-indulged that one day of the year on chocolate or candy. The rule was they always had to eat a meal before the hunt. Since they weren't used to having candy on a regular basis, anyway, I soon learned that they really didn't eat all that much, nor were they upset when the candy "magically" disappeared from their baskets while they were fast asleep that night. What can you do if your child has diabetes? Are egg hunts out of the question? No, egg hunts are an important part of their growing up and to deny them the right of this fun would be cruel, making them feel like the odd man out. What you need to do is to organize a hunt for your child, his cousins and friends, where you control the event, and make sure it's safe for your diabetic child. Here's what to do: Make up your invitation list. In 'entertaining', we've given you a splendid menu with recipes for a brunch that takes young children's tastes into consideration. You can set a kids' table with their finger foods and a grown-ups' table with their more adult fare. Everyone must eat before the hunt can begin. While your appointed "bunny helpers" hide the eggs in the designated area with boundaries clearly marked to keep the hunting physically safe, entertain the kids with Easter stories and games appropriate for the age group. Some yard games that are oldies, but goodies are a spoon walk where relay teams carry an egg on a tablespoon (young children can use their hand, an older child has to carry the spoon in the mouth or have to go through an obstacle course. It's always hilarious to have a relay race where they child picks the name of an animal out of a bag (or hat) and then has to move like that animal. Frogs squat and hop...ducks squat and waddles, turtles crawl on all fours, kangaroos stand and hop, elephants move with a trunk and a tail waving as it walks (arm in front and an arm in back), bunnies squat and hop. Use your imagination so that you have as many animals are you can think of. If the animal makes a sound, the child must also make the sound as he/she moves. With all of the quacking, mooing, barking, etc. peals of laughter are sure to come. Should April showers happen, have an indoor location to use if needed. Recently I ran across photos of my sons and their cousins dressed in their Easter finery, hunting for eggs in our basement. We suggest that instead of hiding real eggs that you hide plastic eggs filled with sugar-free candy; coins; small toys; gift coupons for McDonald's, Burger King, or other fast-food places; stickers; and other small items. If budget allows, you could even place tokens in several of the eggs which the child then turns in for a wrapped prize. You could ask each child to bring their basket to the hunt, but be sure to have some baskets of Easter-decorated bags for those who forgot. It might be wise to purchase a decorated bag for each child that is filled with some cellophane grass. In searching on the Net, we found all sorts of sugar-free candy: jelly bellies, hard candy, gummies, salt water taffy, etc. For the older children and adults who love chocolate, there are plenty of those available, as well, including some terrific sugar-free truffles made by Hauser Chocolates in our diabetic supply store. For Net buying, you'll have to specify faster delivery in order to make the April delivery deadline for Easter. Have plenty of adults stationed around the yard to help the ones who need assistance and to keep the older children from becoming too rowdy. Line the kids up, youngest to oldest, to start the hunt in staggered times, letting the little ones hunt for a while before the older ones are set loose. Have your video camera and a regular camera loaded and ready, as there will be tons of photo ops. Have plenty of iced-down sugar-free drinks for the kids when they finish the hunt, as with all of that running and shouting, they are bound to be thirsty. When the race is done, take a picture of each child with his/her "loot" to have as a memento of the day. You might even consider hiring a bunny costume for an adult to wear to pose with the child and generate fun during the games and the hunt. Discuss with your child's doctor as how much sugar-free candy he/she should be allowed to eat on this special day. Then have a heart-to-heart talk with your child and make them responsible to keeping to the rules that are set. Of course, very small children won't be able to keep to limits so with them, parental discretion is advised. You might want to think about adopting my rule that any candy still around that night "magically" disappears so that tomorrow your children are once again not eating "empty" calories. FTG