Why I HATE...Okay STRONGLY Dislike Easter Egg Hunts

Have you ever thought about the messages we send to kids when we plan and encourage them to participate in an Easter Egg Hunt? Yes, they look all cutesy carring a basket, dressed all in the Easter best, but does their behavior match their look?
Seriously think about this. We adults spend countless hours (not to mention money) buying assorted candy, prizes, stickers, and even coins to stuff into an obscene amount of plastic eggs. We then lock the kids inside, or away from the hiding area while we scatter the eggs all around. Once this task is complete, we line the children up and prepare them for the "hunt"
Now, if you have ever attended a "public" easter egg hunt you will clearly see all of the following taking place. First, the parents are all pushing their way to the front of the line so their child can be the first one to cross the ropes when the whistle blows. Once they have secured a perfect starting point, they protect their spot by by swaying the hips back and forth, eying other parents in order to prevent another child from standing within "egg's" reach of their child. If you are lucky enough to get up close. you can hear the skill drill training session that the parents are giving their eager hunter. The are reviewing the strategy for getting the MOST eggs. Run really fast to the middle of the field and then start picking up all the eggs you can find, making sure you are faster than everyone else. The goal again, is to get as MANY as you can find. Push, shove, take from other children's baskets, it is a race, and none of this matters.
Then there are the parents that can't just send their little darlings out on their own. Instead of just walking by them to ensure their safety, the parents are snagging up all of the eggs and their two year old suddenly has the biggie size Easter basket overflowing with eggs, all greedily snatched by Mom and/or Dad.
Now comes the best part of the entire activity. The END! two to three, maybe five minutes, if you are lucky, the hunting has ceased. There are about 5 giant bully sized kids (who are probably in the wrong age group) with baskets overflowing with eggs. then there are the few kids who have a repectable amount of eggs, but are crying because they wanted MORE, and lastly there are the kids with one or two eggs, or maybe even NONE! A few of those kids are HYSTERICAL. Then there is the ONE child who found the lucky egg that had the prize ticket. It is usually the most spoiled rotton child that doesn't even want the giant easter bunny basket.
So, what do you think? Are you up for an Easter Egg hunt? I took the kids to one that they hosted at the resort were were staying in Arizona. My kids had fun. Madison got 4 eggs, all purple, Meg got 3 eggs, and Mason got 2. They had fun, and we had an interesting discussion about kids and behavior following the hunt. I guess that is what they get for having a principal MOM. I was proud of them.