Easter Egg Hunt Lays an Egg

Mike and I were really excited when we signed Michaela up for her first-ever Easter egg hunt.  One of the local branches of the YMCA was hosting it; the description promised the egg hunt, games, lunch and more.  Because the hunt was divided by age group, we felt confident Michaela would be able to fully participate with other 1-3 year-old kids.  In practice, though, this morning’s egg hunt was a bust.

We arrived to find a line of parents and kids, waiting for… what exactly?  It wasn’t immediately clear.  But we waited in line for, as it turned out, a wrist band that indicated Michaela was registered and able to participate.  Great.  People were already lined up around a roped-off section of a play field, Easter baskets in hand.  We got as close to the front as we could without crowding other families, only to be squeezed out by other parents who’d arrived after us.  These people literally pushed past Mike and Michaela to get closer to the front, so they’d have a better chance at eggs.  Annoying, sure, but I was prepared to laugh it off.

The girl (seriously, she couldn’t have been more than 16) who was facilitating the hunt didn’t seem to realize that 1-3 year olds don’t have a good sense of time.  So she seemed really surprised when, said “30 seconds until we start, let’s kick it off with a big cheer,” the kids cheered and then started rushing onto the field.  That was okay, though.  They’re little kids, they don’t know any better.  The adults, on the other hand…

This is my central complaint about today’s egg hunt.  In flagrant violation of the rules, which clearly stated, “parents are to remain outside the fence of the egg hunt area,” adults pushed forward onto the field, edging little kids out of the way and grabbing at eggs for their kids.  Michaela was able to get one solitary egg, because she was fighting 30 years olds for access.  It was insane.  Parents were coming up with baskets full of eggs.  And the kids?  The 1-3 year olds who were supposed to be hunting?  Sorry, kiddos.

(By the way, the eggs were the little plastic ones.  Totally empty.  You didn’t really get anything more if you had 10 eggs instead of 2.)

Now, you may be wondering: why is this such a big deal?  Well, besides the fact that I paid $8 for Michaela to get to participate and I somehow expected she would actually be able to do more than grab one egg and then cower, it’s also a big deal because this was one of my first blatant encounters with helicopter parents and it scared the living daylights out of me.  These parents are so intent on giving their kids everything, or on making sure their kids win, that they were willing to shove others aside and violate the rules.  These people are raising children, so what can you expect from their kids except the same “me! me! me!” behavior?  This isn’t about an egg hunt; it’s about the future of the world.  Heaven help us all.

Things I learned today:

1) Mike and I need to host our own egg hunt for Michaela at home.

2) Don’t waste money on YMCA events.

3) There are a lot of a-holes out there, and society is in peril.

Happy Easter.