THE WASHINGTON TIMES
By Rachel Buller
April 7, 2007
The Easter bunny may be donning his own pair of earbuds this spring.
Parents, concerned about the increasing incidence of childhood obesity, are replacing chocolate bunnies and marshmallow Peeps in Easter baskets this weekend with CDs, ITunes cards, books or arts and crafts.
The percentage of overweight children has jumped from 5 percent to 16 percent over the past 40 years, according to a National Health Examination Survey.
Though Easter egg hunts continue to be a popular tradition, parents are getting creative in what they put inside the eggs, substituting small gifts for sugary snacks.
Carol Bordiga, 48, of Long Island, N.Y., bought ITunes prepaid music cards for her son and daughter after the children received IPods for Christmas.
"I don't like doing the chocolate," she said. "They have enough of that during the year."
Instead, she plans to buy new DVD releases like "Charlotte's Web" and "Happy Feet."