Comments on First Paris Then Rome: Troppe caramelle!

Germany too! It drives me nuts when we visit the i...

2007-11-13T20:18:00.000+01:00

Germany too! It drives me nuts when we visit the inlaws. The doctor hand out candies for goodness sakes!

I guess though, since the candy is much less sweet in Europe, the harm is less and perhaps the awareness too!

That would drive me completely mad. We try so hard...

2007-11-04T15:39:00.000+01:00

That would drive me completely mad. We try so hard at home to get kids to eat healthily, so the last thing we need is to be undermined every time we go out. I thought the US was bad, but what you experience sounds much worse.

Finally I found someone else who thinks this is no...

2007-10-30T11:59:00.000+01:00

Finally I found someone else who thinks this is not appropriate. All my Italian friends think I over react on the candy issue. My daughter is three and attends scuola materna where the teacher hands out candy every single day. The first time it happened my daughter did not eat it but put it in her backpack so that she could show it to me. I was aghast! Ok ok I now know to expect it whenever we step out the door, but at school? Anyway, how do you moms handle it without making your children feel excluded from the other kids?

Ilaria, I am on the same page with you on the Mont...

2007-10-28T14:47:00.000+01:00

Ilaria, I am on the same page with you on the Montessori. I find in the States that they are really into rewards as well but the reward is not consistently a candy the way it is here. Often it is a sticker or a stamp on the hand, particularly in upper middle class groups in which the moms are super "alpha".

On the other hand, if the reward is food in the States, it is often worse than just a candy...

It's the same in the US (and teh Phils is even wor...

2007-10-28T09:26:00.000+01:00

It's the same in the US (and teh Phils is even worse)......people's houses, goodie bags, kids' parents, cdoctors' offices, heck out ladies' jars are constantly full of junk that gets offered to my kids constantly. My kids know to ask me first...
Not to mention schools/courses/sports that use M&Ms/stickers as rewards...as we are very much against any type of reward/punishment, it's a PITA for us...but we've learned how to handle it.
Thanks God at the kids' Montessori school there are no such things! (rewards/punishments) Or I'd go nuts.

Yes, KC. Believe it or not, the chauffeur has a st...

2007-10-25T22:09:00.000+02:00

Yes, KC. Believe it or not, the chauffeur has a stash of candies in his car.

What I find strange is that everyone seems to have...

2007-10-25T17:06:00.000+02:00

What I find strange is that everyone seems to have caramelle on hand at all times. I understand the neighbors' candy dish, but the chauffeur? Does he have a little stash in the car? What about the elderly people at the post? Do they carry caramelle in case they'll run into children?

On a related note, this morning I saw an article online (I forget exactly where) that said that Italy has the highest percentage of overweight children in Europe.