To request family members don’t buy dc chocolates for Easter.

[C231009]

I know Easter is still a few weeks away yet but most years dc get eggs off my parents, the in laws, my grandma, uncles, aunts amongst others. So it means a lot of Easter eggs. My two are the only children in the family. Also DS gets eggs given from his dads side of the family. I am grateful everyone is so kind but it means that dc often have a lot of eggs!

DS is autistic and if given the chance he will eat and eat. He struggles to recognise when he’s full. He is 10 and weighs 6.5 stoneish. His weight has slowly crept up. He’s not overly tall and he’s gained a bit of a belly. DD has gained a bit of a belly too. We are monitoring what they eat, cutting portions and encouraging more exercise. So they aren’t really realising the changes we have made.

Anyway, aibu to request no eggs? We really don’t expect anything at all but if they wanted to give something maybe a pound or two, a magazine, some pens, a cheap dvd might be some ideas. Don’t want anyone to spend much.

We just end up with a shit load of eggs every year and DS has eyes bigger than his belly.

I know it’s only once a year...

Aibu? How would it come across if someone messaged you requesting no chocolate.

Or maybe I’ll ask everyone to buy a small kinder egg each for them instead rather than a big egg which will dramatically decrease calories! DS would love a bunch of kinder eggs!!

To add, we aren’t banning chocolate completely. Me and dp will buy them an egg or two each.

For a start you don't need to buy any Easter Eggs yourself if you know other people are buying them for your DC.

You can ask (politely) for smaller Eggs or non chocolate gifts, assuming you know people well enough, or just hide them and give them away or use for cooking etc. It really depends how well you know the people who are buying the Easter Eggs - are they likely to be offended. ? I wouldn't be offended if anyone said that to me - but I don't give Easter Eggs anyway .

Say you want small eggs for an Easter egg treasure hunt? Then each family member could always do a little message or something aswell. It might be a nicer way of saying it than ‘we’re worried about DCs weight’

@C231009

To add, we aren’t banning chocolate completely. Me and dp will buy them an egg or two each.

Really? Why don’t you buy something non chocolatey like a mazagine?! That would cut down the chocolate for a start. You could mention to relatives that you’d prefer no chocolate, but you’d be a bit of a killjoy. I’d just ration the chocolate over a few weeks rather than letting your DS scoff it all in one go. Surely that would be fine?

We had the same issue when ours were small so we stopped buying them ourselves. I wouldn’t want to stop family from giving them things, even if they’d do sometimes go a bit overboard.

If we didn’t get them say the one or two eggs we would normally get. They’d still get loads off other people! So makes hardly any difference. Better asking others not to go mad on the chocolate. For instance, dm bought the kids 3 eggs each last year, mil bought them one each, 6 aunts and uncles at least one each, DS’s dads side gives him a few, other friends and family too. My children had around 25 bleddy eggs last year dropped to our doorstep. Crazy.

My grandma used to get us all non chocolate gifts growing up. I absolutely loved it. Pens, paper, magazines etc!

I let mine eat what they want of them on the day, then after that they go in their treat tins and it's a little bit at a time on non school days. Seems to work ok. Do the same at Xmas.

To add, we aren’t banning chocolate completely. Me and dp will buy them an egg or two each.

You cannot tell them not to buy eggs whilst simultaneously buying eggs. Take the eggs, take them out of the packaging just put them away and bring them out one at a time / use them for cooking etc. There is no rule that they all have to be out or that they all have to be eaten immediately.

It's the excitement of recieving then more than the eating I think.

It gives people joy to give a child an Easter egg. I know I love choosing them and I'm anti-sugar. But I remember how excited I was as a child. The parents of the children I give them to will ration them and probably not buy more themselves.

Was gonna say YABU.... but 25 eggs really is excessive. Hmmm.

Maybe just ask people to keep the actual chocolate content to a minimum? Easter is for eggs IMO. Not random crafting tat.

YANBU

Easter is for eggs. You dont have to eat them all at once. When dd was small they usually lasted til Aug.

If someone told me not to but choc I would comply but not get a replacement.

I was the same with my DDs. They ended up with only about 6 each but months later and most still hadn't been opened. It was definitely the receiving them that was more exciting than the eating them. I'd definitely ask politely for non-food gifts

Can't you just allow them to have one a day in the weeks that follow easter.

I’d ask people to not buy eggs. Just say it would be really good if they do want to buy a gift then something like Easter craft stuff would be really appreciated as he can end up with too many eggs which isn’t good for him.
I agree with the others that you shouldn’t buy any.

25 eggs is crazy! It sound like your family have buying issues. Would they be upset if you asked them to reduce the amount they buy? Sometimes it’s not worth the hassle so if you think you’ll upset them, I’d just let them give the chocolate and donate half of it to a foodbank or similar.

The problem is DS knows there are Easter eggs he will try and eat so many in a short time. He has no boundaries with food and saying no means a screaming fit. Which means I have to hide food away here and monitor what he’s eating. Just don’t know how easy it’ll be to hide Easter eggs 🤣

Whereas Dd will save hers. She took months to get through all hers!

@Cruncheyleaves

Can't you just allow them to have one a day in the weeks that follow easter.

Not as as easy as that with an autistic child. When he knows their in the house he just wants them all. 😭 Dd is autistic too but she will save her food and not scoff things in one go.

YANBU

I think alot of families do this. My ds usually gets a little present or money from family instead of an egg. Everyone is happy with that.

I've always asked family not to buy Easter eggs. We do tiny ones from the Easter bunny leading to a basket with bits in like hair clips, bubble bath, scented markers etc- all stuff that will get used not tat. Kids love it. My mum buys them an outfit each for Easter Sunday, dad sends money and everyone else buys eggs anyway which I give to the food bank (DD11 gets one off her dad, stepkids get 20ish from their mums familys and little DD is only 2 so noone is being horribly deprived). I then tell everyone "thanks for the eggs, donated to xyz food bank who much appreciated them". They get annoyed and then we repeat the same exact thing the following year. Oldest is 11 and this has been going on with my grandparents since she was a couple of months old and they bought her a big chocolate bunny and tried to put some in her mouth when I wasn't looking.

So yeah by all means ban chocolate eggs, but don't then buy them yourself

Could you put them away and say they can have one every weekend until they run out?
Don't really understand why anyone would give anyone more than one egg!