A story out of Fargo, North Dakota, is going viral as Valley News Live reports a “local woman” plans to dish out stern letters instead of candy to Halloween trick-or-treaters who are “moderately obese,” in her opinion.
This person, who called in to Y-94’s radio show on the morning of Oct. 29 and wouldn’t give her full name, said that it is “irresponsible” for parents to let their overweight kids collect free candy, which will only contribute to “their health problems.” The station broadcasted audio of this woman saying, “Their kids are everybody’s kids. It’s a whole village.”
“My hope is that you will step up as a parent and ration candy this Halloween and not allow your child to continue these unhealthy eating habits,” according to a copy of this controversial letter aired by Valley News Live, which reported the woman emailed it to Y-94 after yesterday’s radio show. Of course, since the woman didn’t give her name, there’s no way to confirm this isn’t a Halloween hoax, embodying the “trick” part of “trick-or-treat.”
That said, criticizing young children’s weight in general can have detrimental effects on kids’ health, Dr. Kathryn H. Gordon, an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at North Dakota State University who studies eating disorders, told Valley News Live. “That’s not something that someone can judge- the health of someone- just by looking at them,” she said. Not to mention nutrition experts say if children are generally eating wholesome meals throughout the year, then there’s nothing wrong with treating themselves on an occasion like Halloween. They probably don’t need a meddlesome neighbor to tell them that.