by Tara Shafer posted in Parenting

I remember the childlike thrills of Halloween so well, including the excitement of those orange UNICEF collection boxes. I have a distinct memory of the pride I took in kid empowerment -- walking up and down the back stairs in my apartment building with my orange box in hand, I thrilled at the notion that I was helping other kids.
This felt important.
This felt kid-impactful.
So, you can imagine my reaction to the image of that little orange box as it came through my newsfeed.

When I collected money for UNICEF as a child I was excited to count my change at the end of an evening. The coins formed their own little pile -- away from the (okay, also beloved) Milky Ways and M&Ms. I loved to count the change and to present it to my parents who would then write a check to UNICEF for the money I had raised to help kids in need. As a parent, I really like opportunities to show my children that they need to give back. While we exist in many different economic circumstances, most of us are relatively lucky in the access to basic childhood healthcare (such as vaccinations), elementary education, and roofs over our heads.
This is not meant to minimize the variable qualities of these things, but for most of us reading this post on a smartphone, they exist. Our children benefit from the provision of basic necessities. As parents, we are largely spared the agony of our children experiencing total deprivation.
Proceeds from the UNICEF Trick-or-Treat...