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When you think of Easter, do visions of marshmallow peeps, chocolate bunnies, and jelly beans fill your head?

Does it fill you with dread because you know what comes with a large consumption of sugar?

Ask any Mom who has ever given their kid candy for the first time and they will tell you: sugar changes kids.

I don’t care what any kind of research says, sugar can and DOES change a child’s behavior – especially when they are not used to consuming it in raw for every single day.

Sugar can cause a slew of health problems when consumed long-term, but in the short-term, it can cause mood changes and hyperactivity.

I don’t know about you, but when I think about holidays, a certain level of cringe fills me. All the candy. All the excitement. All of the sugar. The CRAZE that it brings to my 5 boys. You might think that it’s sad to deny my kids of sugar, but until you have lived through it, then you cannot imagine.

I’d rather my kids get something more memorable and non-edible in their Easter baskets than empty carbs that turn them into crazy lunatics.

And let’s not fail to mention the crash that comes after the consumption.

What goes up must come down, and the same rule applies to that sugar high. The sugar blues are a real thing and sometimes it can take up to a week to purge completely from the body.

Maybe I am just crazy, but a single day of sugar consumption, and the good feelings it gives, is not worth an entire week of detoxing.

I always know we are going to be in for a rough few days when my kids have been loaded up on sugar at a relative’s house.

They comes home and are moody, irritable, cranky, and begging for more sweets. They become anxious, light sleepers, and it starts to wear on me and my own anxiety. Talk about a fun time!

So, think what you will.

Maybe I am a buzzkill because I don’t want my kids (and myself) to suffer for days after consuming sweets, but maybe this needs to be talked about more.

In all truth, I think it’s maddening and selfish to give a child candy and sugar knowing full well that it will disrupt their brain that could lead them down an addictive path.

There is very much a link between sugar and dopamine, the same chemical that releases in the body during illicit drug use. What this means is that sugar and drug addiction are similar in a lot of surprising ways.

But, holidays don’t have to open the gates to this type of addiction.

This year, you can moderate the sugar levels (and hyperactivity) with this list of 101 candy-free Easter basket Ideas.

I have broken down this list into separate age groups so that you can easily find ideas for your child.

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