Some days I can just *feel* myself turning into a stereotype

On this particular day, the stereotype is "self-righteous grow-your-own-yoghurt suburban killjoy mom from hell". You know the one, admit it. I very much don't want to be the stereotype; but at the same time, it really irks me (mild formulation) that some people think they're doing my children a favour by giving them big piles of this:


This is the fallout (quite possibly radioactive) from just two birthdays, both in the past week.

For the child-free among you, those soggy paper napkins full of leftover cake we used to take home from birthday parties in our own childhoods have now morphed into Party Packs. These are obligatory gifts for every child who attends your own child's party, and I am now discovering that some people think they're obligatory gifts for every kid in class as well. There's nothing inherently wrong with party packs: I actually quite enjoy making them, when I set myself the challenge of finding desirable gifts for 20 preschoolers at no more than R10 a child (Merry Pak is my friend, and did you ever notice how cheap made-in-China hairclips are?). Just stuffing a plastic bag full of highly refined sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oil, approved colourants and flavourings seems like a cop-out to me, but clearly I am swimming against the tide here.

I strongly suspect some people think I am depriving my kids of a vital childhood experience by whisking this loot off into a jar which is only taken down on special occasions. I disagree; I hope I'm doing them a favour by weakening the link between "treat" and "sweet".

Would serve me right if they both turn into raving sugar addicts the moment they get access to their own money, wouldn't it?