Pinatas: A Bad Idea for Your Child's Party?
Doesn't sound like such a good party game when it's put like that, huh?
Piñatas are not a good idea for your child's party. Children should never hit anything with a stick. Even worse, kids can get piñatas in their favorite character too. Doesn't anyone slightly cringe at the thought of their child whacking Dora the Explorer or Elmo around with a baseball bat? What is that doing for a child's character? Getting a flower or car piñata is only slightly less worse.
People carefully teach their children, from the first time they playfully hit as a baby, that hitting is wrong. They don't allow hitting in their family and they don't spank. But then children are allowed to hit piñatas to the breaking point. Then they get candy; they are rewarded for violent behavior!
As for the candy that spills out afterwards, each child is quickly grabbing as much as they can. Whatever happened to sharing? Not to mention that all that candy isn't that great for your child's health. And what about the shy kids, or the kids who aren't pushy? They end up with much less than everyone else. Is that how they're rewarded for their better behavior?
So what are some better alternatives? There are now pull-string piñatas...which get rid of the hitting element. Your child pulls a string and the contents of the piñata fall out. That way, your child can have the experience of having a piñata at their party, without the violence. Fill it with healthy snacks or toys. Have a set number of toys or snacks inside and tell the children before hand how many of each thing they can each pick out. Or have a set number of the same kind of thing for each child, and have the birthday child pass out the toys/snacks to each of the other children. If you really want the children to have the experience of all grabbing after the piñata contents, let them, but at the end, observe each child and see if anyone seems to have not gotten as much. Then find a kid or kids who got a lot and ask them if they would like to share with the kid/kids who didn't get enough.
I know this article makes a seemingly innocent and well-liked party game seem horrible. Even I never thought twice about hitting a piñata till I recently saw kids with a piñata on T.V. and it dawned on me that, hey, this game is pretty violent! But please consider the implications it has for your child's behavior, and think twice before getting your child a piñata for your next party.
Published by Vanessa Bartlemus - Featured Contributor in Lifestyle
Vanessa Bartlemus has a B.A. in Journalism and Psychology. She has been published on Associated Content, Yahoo! Shine, Yahoo! News, ehow.com, Helium.com, and Orato.com. She is the mother of a sweet little 3... View profile
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46 Comments
Post a CommentI completely agree with this article and Marie Michaels. What so many parents fail to realize is that the small experiences and the observations of the reinforcement that takes place, for a child, are actually important factors to what makes them the adult they become. @ Steve: you can just relax, no one wants to ban a pinata, your comment really made me lmao. @Chris: your comment also made me lmao!! counting exactly five misspelled words in your short comment, I find it hillarious that you dare to call anyone else besides yourself arrogant...go get yourself one of those things they call a degree and come back to this wall lol! To all others who decided to attack this author with your crazy comments: There is nothing wrong with a shy child first off, it actually is usually something children grow out of. Second, perhaps it is you all who wish not to open your minds to such deep ways of thought because you are not capable and would therefore rather just ignore it. This probably is the reason that you must have kids that will grow up to be just like mom and dad- arrogant and haters. Now I think we can all agree thats what America definetely does not need.
Yes, I have seen some bloopers on TV where the child hit the adult mistakenly instead of the pinata.
Vanessa,
Although I will probably still continue to allow my children to participate in the pinata tradition at parties, I respect your right to express your opinion. I've never given pinatas much thought, but I can see your point. Your article was written a reasonable, respectful, non-threatening manner and it's a shame that the comments below do not always reflect the same spirit. Keep up the good work.
Bahaha this is a joke right?? Satire? Please?? You won't be happy till kids are motionless smiling robots. I imagine the damage done to someone's kids from keeping them away from pinata parties or always hosting the worst birthday party is so, so much worse.
Where can I get a Baby Seal pinata?
unfortunatly I dont believe that what you propose would have a positive effect overall on the welfare of the child. Although teaching sharing and such is good to do, it is not how the world functions. just about all jobs are compeditive in some degree, and holding back and sheilding children from this fact would only put them behind the curve when in comes time to enter the 'real world'. Sometimes agressivly going after what you want is the only way to effectivly survive. teaching a child that being shy or introverted has no conciquences is unrealistic and will only function to hurt them in the long run.
this article is from "the onion" right?
P.S. Chris, it's a hijab, not a "hajib". If she had a hajib on her head, that would be quite ludicrous... much like your spelling and your opinions.
Clearly some people are defensive over their pinatas. :) She never said ban them from the country; just that she doesn't like them. Personally, I don't like them either. They are annoying, the loot never comes out without a whack hard enough to knock a full grown man unconscious and all the screaming and the pushing for candy followed by the sugar crash after eating said candy is too much for me. But if my kids go to a party with a pinata, I wouldn't forbid them from playing. We just don't use them at our parties.
Wow, this woman is a freakin' moron.
Here's an idea, lady. If you don't want to encourage violent thoughts in people, then stop saying stupid nonsense like this that makes them enraged at how moronic our culture is getting with its "bubble wrap the children" nanny mentality.