For many, Halloween is a day to dress up, have fun, go back to childhood, and give children the freedom to indulge in overly sweet candy at the expense of neighbors. But for one woman in North Dakota, instead of giving out sweet treats, she plans to supplant candy with a Halloween obese letter in an effort to promote healthier food choices, says USA Today.
As reported by the Huffington Post, the woman called into Y-94 radio station to reveal her plans to hand out a Halloween obese letter to children.”I just want to send a message to the parents of kids that are really overweight,” she said. “I think it’s just really irresponsible of parents to send them out looking for free candy just ’cause all the other kids are doing it.”
Apparently, many furious parents took the matter very seriously. Here’s what one woman said regarding the woman’s plan to hand out Halloween obese letters:
“I can understand if you are that weird and concerned about kid’s weight maybe handing out boxes of raisins or bags of carrot sticks or something,” wrote Eve Vawter of Mommyish. “I can see MAYBE hanging a sign on your door that reads ‘I will not be handing out candy this year.’ But to fat-shame little kids who come to your door trick or treating? That’s a whole other level of evil. Way to make all the kids feel like garbage, lady.”
Although the plans of this woman could be purely aesthetic, at least it’s clear that she has no problem with honesty.
Part of the letter, sympathetically decorated with a pumpkin in the header, reads: “IYou [sic] child is, in my opinion, moderately obese and should not be consuming sugar and treats to the extent of some children this Halloween season. My hope is that you will step up as a parent and ration candy this Halloween and not allow your child to continue these unhealthy eating habits. “
Of course, when area residents learned of the Halloween obese letter idea through the radio station Y-94, the story went viral.
Several branded the woman as being cruel, trying to shame the children and uncreative for not just distributing nutritious treats as an alternative. Some also said that instead of passing the Halloween obese letter, she should simply just hang a sign on her door indicating that she would not be giving out candy.
While certainly the act of passing out a Halloween obese letter would not be at all effective in increasing self-esteem of these children, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that infantile obesity has doubled in the past 30 years.
In 2010, about one third of children and adolescents in the U.S. were considered overweight or obese. But for the CDC, above all things, causing embarrassment in these children or adolescents is not the best technique help change their eating habits.
The Halloween obese letter reads:
“Happy Halloween and Happy Holidays Neighbor!
You are probably wondering why your child has this note; have you ever heard the saying, ‘It takes a villages to raise a child’? I am disappointed in ‘the village’ of Fargo Moorhead, West Fargo.
You [sic] child is, in my opinion, moderately obese and should not be consuming sugar and treats to the extent of some children this Halloween season.
My hope is that you will step up as a parent and ration candy this Halloween and not allow your child to continue these unhealthy eating habits
Thank You”
What are your thoughts on the Halloween obese letter?