Do Easter Eggs drive you Hopping Mad?

It won’t be long until the Easter Day chocolate mountain arrives! Easter Day is on 8th April this year.

With childhood obesity at record levels, many parents have already decided to cut down on the Easter Egg deluge their children will receive this year.

Research from Idealpresent.co.uk shows that parents are taking seriously the warnings from the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health*, and are going to limit the number of Easter Eggs that are given to their children on Easter Day this year.

Parents of children 0-10 revealed in the survey that their children received an average of 5.8 Easter Eggs in 2006, and 73% of parents are looking to reduce that number this year. Children usually receive chocolate eggs from parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and godparents - so most parents are now looking for alternative gift suggestions.

Cathy R of Watford summed up the feelings of many parents:
Chocolate is no longer a real treat for children. Easter becomes just another occasion to eat too much unhealthy food. I’d much rather my son received one or two Easter Eggs, then some other presents which he could enjoy without me feeling so guilty!

Idealpresent.co.uk is the first online independent children's gifts advice service, created and run by real toy and gift industry experts. It features ideas for specific occasions, including Easter, to ensure that everyone, including parents trying to heed the advice about their children becoming obese, get "just what they always wanted".

Idealpresent.co.uk was launched in 2004 by Alison Berry, a mother of three young children herself. Alison launched the service as a result of many friends commenting on just how difficult it was to choose presents for their children (or other people’s children), and how so many websites just recommended the products that they sold, rather than being truly independent. "One of the features I was particularly keen to include on the site was the option of searching for gifts for a particular occasion, such as Easter, so all the recommendations are perfect, in terms of theme and price", explains Alison.

So, if you’re looking for some alternative gift suggestions this Easter, or want to crack making chocolate eggs a bit more of a treat, then Alison has shared with us her top tips.

* The Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health study (December 2004) showed that the number of children suffering from obesity has doubled since 1982. On current trends, half of all UK children will be obese by 2020.