I Believe In the Power of Candy

The Power of Candy

When I was growing up, I remember getting into arguments with my older sister over silly little things that children get upset over. “She stole my Barbie doll!” or “She always gets to do everything before me!” or the well-known “She hit me on purpose!” knowing that it was an accident. But my mother always knew that I just needed some time to sulk before she used the ultimate bargainer that made me forget what I was even upset over; candy.

I believe that mothers and fathers use the power of candy to persuade their children to behave and follow the rules; and it works! I have seen this many times in Wal-Mart. A child is misbehaving and doing such things as throwing temper tantrums, running away, and rolling all over the dirty floor. One of the parents may say, “Jasmine, if you stop acting a fool in the middle of Wal-Mart I’ll buy you a candy bar!” or “Jason, if you don’t stop misbehaving you are not getting the bag of skittles that I promised, and I mean it!” Suddenly, the child props up and walks right next to their parent as if they were the best and most well behaved child on earth.

I also believe that candy can make a person do crazy and off the wall things. I often babysit my nieces and nephews over the summer. Sometimes it gets boring so I often bribe them with candy to get a good laugh. I may say, “I’ll give you a piece of candy if you run around the living room three times, do the chicken dance, then get on your knees and bark like a dog.” Candy is a small price to pay for a good laugh.

I believe that candy can make someone do something that they do not even want to. Many Americans these days are very lazy and do not like to get up and perform a simple tasks. Often the only way to get something done is to bribe someone with candy to do it for you. For example, when I come home from school to visit my family and friends on the weekend I do not expect to do any chores or school work because it is my time to relax. My mother hates to do dishes, so she often says, “I’ll buy you three candy bars if you do the dishes.” I always agree to her bargain because it’s extremely hard to resist the sweet goodness and satisfaction of candy.

Although candy is not the best way to get your children to behave and not the only way to get your family and friends to do something crazy and not the only way to get people to do things for you, it still works. I believe in the power of candy.