Egg Hunt Ruined by ‘Rude Parents,’ Moms Say

A beloved Saucon Valley Easter tradition that is supposed to be fun for children was ruined for some kids by overzealous parents, according to comments posted on Facebook.

The comments posted on the event page for the Lehigh Valley Area Ambucs’ Hellertown Easter Egg Hunt–which was held Saturday morning in Dimmick Park–tell a story of young children who weren’t able to collect many or any plastic eggs because of adults who scooped them up while helping their own kids.

Tanya Golden began a comment thread by posting the following criticism of the egg hunt:

“Was very disappointed this year. (There were) way more kids (which is fine), but not enough eggs. And WAY TOO MANY PARENTS (were) getting the Easter eggs for the 3-4 year old group. They are old enough to get their own. My poor child couldn’t see the eggs because of ALL the adult feet. So I ended up helping him. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that the town has an egg hunt but next year parents shouldn’t be able to help. But on a positive note THANK YOU FOR ALL WHO HELPED SET IT UP! We truly do appreciate it.”

She also wrote that her “3-year-old only got three eggs because of rude parents. He didn’t know what to do because of all the parents. He did better last year.”

Staci Schanbacher, who said her two youngest children weren’t able to collect any eggs, said a lack of signage identifying the separated egg hunts for different age groups also contributed to the kerfuffle.

“I accidentally was at the three- and four-year old group with my one- and two-year-old,” she wrote. “No one bothered telling me and I didn’t see any signs. Those eggs were gone in five seconds. My kids had NO chance. We’ll be doing a dollar store Easter egg hunt at home.”

Karen Cooney agreed that “more signs with bigger bolder writing” are needed.

In another comment on the thread, she cited “aggressive” parents who “teach their kids to knock over other kids and take (an) egg from them,” and she recommended further dividing the youngest age groups and banning parents from helping children who are three years of age and older.

Cooney said her seven-year-old daughter only collected three eggs because she’s not an aggressive egg picker-upper, but added that “we teach our kids to have fun and not worry how much they get.”

The annual egg hunt is held on the Saturday before Easter and draws dozens of Hellertown area families to the grassy fields of the park.

It is organized by the volunteer members of the Lehigh Valley Area Ambucs group (formerly the Saucon Valley Jaycees) as a free event for the community.

If you attended this year’s Egg Hunt, do you think some parents ruined the fun for others? Do you think banning parents from helping all but the youngest children would help improve the event? Tell us what you think by posting a comment.