 San Francisco's board of supervisors recently approved a measure requiring fast food children’s meals to meet certain nutritional standards before they could be sold with toys, claiming the law promotes healthy eating habits and combats childhood obesity. But do people really select their lunch based on the mass-produced plastic freebie that's served alongside? Erm, guilty as charged - at least in the past. In college, I hauled my cookies on at least one metropolitan rail line and a city bus just to nab the full suite of Nightmare Before Christmas bundled with a BK Kids Meal. Now I've wised up and realized that most fast food joints will gladly sell you the toys sans any untoward food items, just for the asking. I adored my AOL Living colleagues back when, but they wouldn't be sporting those sweet Hello Kitty watches if I'd had to choke down a sixer of McNuggets to get 'em. |
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A long time ago.
I did once or twice, but it was for Muppet drinking glasses and Christmas drinking glasses – got full sets of both of them.
The toys are aimed at the kids... their unhealthy eating habits result in higher insurance rates for ALL of us – because we end up paying for their medical care with our higher rates. After working with children, I see many of them eating McCrap, only for the toys. Why would McD's continue toy campaigns if they didn't work?
If you can't resist getting the toy for your child, buy just the toy for a buck or so and get a fruit & walnut salad if (s)he's hungry. Done. And cheaply.
My 11-year-old son is very active and muscular, yet thin. But since he has still not started puberty, he is quit short and still not yet ready to finish an "adult meal." Because it is often more cost effective to do so, and usually better calorie wise too, we still get him kids meals. However, for the last eleven months he has been collecting these toys to give to Toys for Tots this Christmas. (His father is a deployed Marine.) That said, my son has never asked to go to a specific establishment just to get a toy. In his case it's more of an, well if you're going to give it to me anyway–fine. Most of the kids I know don't even really want the toys they get in these meals! Even my 6-year-old, who is easily swayed by advertisements, knows enough not to request to go somewhere just to get a toy... If parents could learn that loving their kids means telling them no sometimes, then we'd have a lot less children with problems period.
It all goes back to moderation is the key. Problem is in my day mom was at home cooking healthy meals so a burger here there didn't really matter. Today's moms are out working their buns off so they can live in that bigger house, in that more well to do neighborhood, with the fancier cars etc.They don't have time to cook healthier home cooked meals. McDonald's Marketing dept. had nothing to do with that choice. My stay at home mom had a very important job of raising 3 children and putting up with my father 24/7. We have all gotten too greedy for the material life. I think it is time to say okay women of American, you have proven your point, you can do it as good or better than any man can. But our families really need you back in the home for an equally if not more important job.
who can afford to do that???
Ahh, Clappy Meals. Don't do that any more thanks to the ex-ho-friend.
I remember as a kid having bins full of toys from kids meals. When i was around 10 I got a table at a flea market and sold all of them I made something like $100-$150 just off of these items. so see they do have some value.
I'm not sure what all the complaints are about. Just how many Happy Meals ads are there on TV advertising the toys in them? I don't see many but if there are, all you parents have to do is say, "No." And in case anybody hasn't bought a Happy Meal recently, you can get one without french fries. You can get one with fruit and juice or a diet drink. So what the heck is the problem? I buy a Happy Meal myself about once a month when I have a hamburger craving. A meal fills me up and keeps calorie count down (compared to adult huge burgers) and I stock the toys away and put them in a stocking with a couple other things and donate it at Xmas time. Leave the Happy Meals alone. You don't like them then don't buy one.
The choice whether or not to feed your child junk food does lie with the parent(s). Sadly, too many parents take the easy way out and feed their kids crap too often. All the regulation in the world can't sure stupid.
That said, the toy-with-your-meal bothers me on another level: why can't food just be food? Why do we have to pair it with entertainment? Stuffing your face while distracted by toys, a play gym or some damn big cheesy mouse is a bad habit to instill in our youth.
Adults have higher obesity rates than kids. So why are we worried about toys in Happy Meals? Last time I checked, parents were the ones driving their kids to McDonald's, so they have the choice to buy it or not. The fat kids aren't going to hop in their gas-guzzlers and go to the drive-thru.
This legislation regarding Happy Meals is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic because we're ignoring the bigger issues. We in America need to change our whole attitudes about food. I spent a semester in France, and the McDonald's restaurants over there were packed. Still, they are skinner than we are here. Bigger is not always better. Their super-duper burgers are like our junior burgers.
The problem with childhood obesity is not a frackin toy that comes with a meal, its the irresponsible parents that take their kids to Mickey D's every day after school & let them order the meal with french fries & a coke. There are healthier choices that come with the meal, other than fries, such as apple slices, & you dont have to order a coke for your kid either; there's apple & orange juice, water,tea or powerade. My son happens to get the nuggets with apple slices & some juice to drink. By no means is my son obese or even close to overweight. Another thing that would combat childhood obesity is for parents to get outside with their kids & be active. The government doesn't need to punish all kids because some kids have irresponsible parents. Since when did it concern Big Brother what we stuff in our mouths anyway? Oh yeah, I forgot! ALWAYS, because they think they know how to live our lives better than we do. Go away Big Brother!
I don't think the issue is toys, nutrition, or child rearing practices.
The issue is that the San Francisco board of supervisors has nothing
better to do than to attempt to control a hamburger restaurant. I wish
McDonald's would just say "to hell with you" and pull out of the SF.
For a city with one of the highest per-capita rates of homelessness
in the United States, one has to wonder why the board of supervisors
does not address more pressing issues. Perhaps they don't have
either the courage or the inclination.
I have the solution SF. Talk to the VP's of McDonalds and convince them to bring back the Hamburgalar and Grimace. They will steel your childrens hamburgers and fries and leave them with only the toy....but then again, SF would have to pay them a salary and put the state of California further into the red which is what the government of SF should be focusing on instead of focusing on a topic that a responsible parent should be enforcing....making proper choices to raise THIER children.
If you think that banning toys with food will influence children to stop eating McDonald's then you haven't put much thought into the situation. Most kids don't even eat all their food because they want to play with the toy and go play in the Play Land. If people really want to stop others from eating unhealthy then the mojority of food at the grocery store should be banned. Really the only "healthy" food in the grocery is fresh fruits, vegies and meat. Everything else has been processed, injected and otherwise manipulated. So, just because the kids stop asking for McDonalds doesn't mean they're going to go grab a fresh salad, their alternative is probaly going to be along the lines of a blue box of mac and cheese (disgusting).
I have and do buy my children the occasional happy meal as a treat. Sometimes they like the toy...sometimes they don't. Most times I look forward to the meals with stuffed animals so I can get some new fetch toys for my dogs LOL but as long as the nutritional info on the foods is available and I can read up on what my children and I are eating so I can make an informed decision...that is the extent I want the government involved. More than that they can butt out.
I have in the past bought children's meals for the toys but only because I was going there anyway. If I do not want the toy I just buy the regular meal. The survey is skewed IMO to get a result saying the only reason people buy fast food is for the toys.
Why can't people take responsibility for there own actions. If we start requiring government to tell us what we can and can not eats that will be a sad day. The adult is the one driving the car and paying for the food, not the 5 year old. I don't agree with someone telling me What to feed my kids. I use good judgment and let them have a treat on occasion. They don't get the toy til they have ate there food and they get the apples and milk. Occasionally they will get fries and a soda. My kids are not allowed it every day, they do not sit in front of a TV, they move and play. My oldest has always been tall and slightly underweight and the youngest is below 50% on weight. My kids eat the "bad" food, but I pick when and how much. As a parent that is MY job and MY choice.
How about a law that forces fast food joints to sell real food, instead of dehydrated food-like substances?
I'll let my kids eat hamburgers any time. As long as it's ground sirloin made in my kitchen, with bakery bread and real Vermont cheese, as opposed to dehydrated soy burgers, on a bun that refuses to decompose, with oily pseudo-cheese.
You know this whole happy meal thing is pointless and I'll tell you why. Remember when real toys used to come in cereal boxes. Remember how some of you would basically just yank the toy out and leave the rest of the cereal to go stale on the cupboard shelf. It's because you didn't like the cereal but you wanted the toy. Now do you see kids buying kids meals and throwing away the food after they get their toy? No! They eat the meal because they actually like and want the meal.
The toy is not a marketing tool to get kids to buy junk food or burgers, not its a competitive marketing tool to give the kids an incentive to buy a McDonald's HappyMeal over say a Burger King Kid's Meal or a Wendy's Kid's Pack. See they were going to buy the burger anyway you're just giving them an incentive to choose your brand over someone elses.
What can you expect though, it's one of those knee jerk placebo responses that just makes people feel like their doing something without actually doing anything. Want a solution it boils down to the parents. Set the example, your kids see you eating healthy meals and scarfing veggies, believe it or not they're more likely to do so. Let them see you munching down the fruits for snacks and they'll be less likely to grab a candy bar or a burger. This is why fit kids tend to have fit parents and fat parents tend to have fat kids. It's not so much as genetics as learned habits. Your kids will pick up all your eating habits. Good and bad. As for McDonalds... well lets just say as long as they keep making tasty burgers people will want to buy them...regardless of the toys
This is ALL SO STUPID!!! Of course the child (some adults) are intrigued by the toy in a Happy Meal which McDonald's has made popular over many years. But the toy is not the only reason for buying the meal. The adults are the ones buying the meals and have FULL authority to elect whether or not their child should eat fast food. The child DOES NOT buy the food they eat. Want to stop child obesity....stop selling potato chips, ice cream, chocolate bars. Why don't the parents take SOME responsibility over what their child does or does not do. How about obese adults, can we blame our parents???? Can we blame the fast food industry....of course, McDonalds forced me to stop, buy a happy meal and then force fed me. GET REAL and GET A LIFE people.
I quit taking my children to McDonalds.........It took me only a few times before realizing, the kids only wanted the toy and turned their noses up at the food.......The kids were right, the toys are fun but the food stinks!!!!!
Big Mac's ROCK and so do McDonald's fries!
I think we are missing the main issue, which is that all advertising targeted at minors should be banned. They shouldn't be inundated with commercials while watching Saturday morning cartoons for sugary cereals, stupid toys, cool light up sneakers, mcD's, etc etc etc. It has a brainwashing effect and they are too young to understand that they aren't going to die if they don't get that thing right away. Every Saturday, if I am going to let my kids watch TV, I have to spend the rest of the afternoon convincing my daughter that moon sand isn't a miracle and Frosted Flakes are unhealthy. It's shameful to market to kids.
So tonight I tried an experiment. I wanted to see if a parent could say no to their kids if they cried and screamed they wanted a happy meal. So I asked my little darlings what they wanted for dinner. The chorus of McDonalds was heard round the town. We want toys they cried. We want nuggets and fries they sang. I gently said no. Oh how the tears feel and the shrieks of disappointment overwhelmed the cries for fries. Again I said no, but a bit more firmly. The tears flowed harder the cries louder. Parents looked at me and how dare I deny my precious angels their McDonalds. WIth a derisive sniff at the other parents whose opinions I could care less i again said no and this time in a voice that brokered no argument. And my perfect babies, my gentle lambs, the tempests in my car...they settled down and said ok. That was the end of that. Who knew a parent could tell their kids no and survive. I guess those in San Fransico counsel are unable or unwilling to so they make a law banning it. Would it have been easier to give in yes. Would it have been wise to give in...no.
Do not get me wrong, I know why the toy is there, my princesses proved that when they said they wanted the toy (and I am guilty of it as well if i like the toy). But, saying McDOnalds and its toys are the cause of childhood obesity is silly. When I was a kid many moons ago there was hardly any fat kids. There was a McDonalds and they had toys...some of the best ones if I remember correctly. No kids were suffering from this new epidemic. Of course when I was a kid Atari was the new video system along with Colecovision. Nintendo was still a few years off and I was employed and in college for Playstation. Gasp what were kids my age to do. We went outside and played. TV was a treat on cold and rainy days. There were woods to explore and lakes to swim in. Now there is a power button and wireless remote controls. Yes, I wonder why kids are obese now a days. Bet it is just not one thing.
If people really want to fight childhood obesity they will stop relying on school gym programs, they will stop relying on government sponsored commercial that say get off your butt, they will stop letting TV and XBox babysit their kids and force them outside in the big bad world. As a matter of fact I can be coaxed out of my easy chair for a little two on one soccer with my girls just to keep myself fit and active.
In other words I step up to the plate and take responsibility for my kids health until they can do it on their own and I take care of mine as well so that they have that positive reinforcement in place. All in all not bad for a single dad.
well I agree with most of that except McD's toys when we were kids were sucky. I don't remember ever keeping one past a couple of days. Some of the toys they have now are pretty cool and something you might even buy in a store. I wouldn't have ever paid for the pieces of junk they used to put in there.
Oh I do not know. The Hot Wheels and the Legos they put in there were always cool. I think I still have the Hot Wheels. The legos hav joined the great collection in the box though.
Look, the Happy Meal has been around a very long time, since the 80's at least. Now, kids in the 80's were not nearly as obese as they are now. There was no obesity epidemic in the 80's, yet the hamburgers were greasier, the chicken McNuggets were made from lard, I used to remember them giving Star Wars action figures in their happy meals. Yet magically, no one got fat from it. Probably because very few people ate this food on a regular basis back then. Now people eat fast food like it's baby formula. Why? There's no trickier marketing today than there was back then. The problem is simple. Lazier people! Yes, thats right, people have gotten much lazier to cook and clean, so they eat out. Even at the low income levels, people just don't like to cook and clean so what do they eat? They eat McDonald's. Now, McDonald's never made claims that the food was healthy and yet they do offer healthy alternatives. They never put a gun to anyone's head to eat their food, and they never put chemicals in the food to somehow get you hooked. This whole toy in the Happy Meal is pure socialism. This is protecting no one, except idiots, and I don't care enough about idiots in order to be told I can't have something. Time for people to grow up and take responsibility for their own actions instead of litigating and legislating everything you don't agree with! Tired of obnoxious good for nothing liberals pushing their asinine values in people's faces! California should be names the "Stupid State". They have a $60+ billion dollar deficit and they're worrying about toys in Happy Meals, all while trying to legalize Marijuana! Liberals are sick!
That might be the best argument ever on this topic.
On another note, if your kid wants the toy so darn bad, you can buy it sepperate from the meal and then stop blaming McDonalds for you and your childs obesity. So, CA, stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
It's ridiculous that the Board of Supes are wasting their time telling parents what they can and can't do, can and can't buy. This issue is up to the parents. If I were McDonald's, I'd just give SF the middle finger by pricing happy means one penny cheaper, then selling the toy for an extra cent, or whatever else they need to do to get around this asinine law.
Good to know that the parents in SF are worthless sacs. He'p me, gubmint! I cannot govern ma chilluns maself! Someone make a law so dey don't ask fo no mo toys!
My ten year old granddaughter gets one trip to McDonalds every week or two and yes, she does want the toy but she also likes the food.
I eat it because I like it.
It"s a choice.
My choice; and I'm tired of the nitwit tyrants in government taking my choices away from me.
"To be GOVERNED is to be at every operation, at every transaction noted, registered, counted, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, prevented, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished.
It is, under pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be placed under contribution, drilled, fleeced, exploited, monopolized, extorted from, squeezed, hoaxed, robbed; then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, vilified, harassed, hunted down, abused, clubbed, disarmed, bound, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, derided, outraged, dishonored.
That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality.”
Pierre Joseph Proudhon
"It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies.
The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their consciences."-C. S. Lewis
I hate speak out on behalf of the happy meal, but the truth is a 600 calorie lunch is not going to make anyone fat, unless they get zero physical activity, and then it's a maybe. Did anyone consider that maybe the happy meal is not the cause of obesity? Or is that an impossibility?
Actually, a 600 calorie lunch is fine for an adult, but is about half of the daily calorie allotment for a 6 year old child.
Why doesn't anyone ever see the other half of the argument...when a little kid has a toy to play with, they are less likely to eat the food they've been served. Who has time to eat the burger, when I got a toy to play with. Besides, it still comes down to parental responsibility...you can get happy meals with apple slices, and milk instead of fries & soda. Plus, kids don't drive themselves to McDonald's to get Happy Meals...PARENTS drive them there. Stop legislating against businesses, and start establishing rules for parents. Happy Meal Toys don't cause obesity...BAD parenting causes obesity. (And for those who blame schools...it's STILL about parenting, because if it was that important to you, you'd either send your kid to a better school...or move to where there were better schools.)
Some idiot politician in San Francisco doesn't have the guts to tell their kids "NO" when their kids beg for the latest toy from McDonald's, so the bid bad corporation has to suffer for the idiot's inability to be a responsible parent.
We've let goverment legislate controls over when and where we smoke, until it's nearly illegal to smoke in your own home. Now they're trying to control what we eat. The green light is on for many more laws to control your lifestyle. Soon you'll have to explain to the government why your kids are fat, and prove that you are feeding them "healthy" foods. If your kids don't meet the government determined standards for "healthy", you'll lose your health coverage, you'll be penalized with fines, you'll have to report to government counselors and maybe they'll deem you to be a poor parent and take away your kids, so they can be wards of the state.
But no need to worry. You're a perfect parent, and no government bureaucrat would ever find fault with you, and determine that they can better decide what is best for your kids. It will never come to that. That would be crazy.
For all you whiners ranting about the government trying to control your food, you need to reread the article. No one is saying you can't continue with the poor parenting and buy your fat kid a kid's meal. They're just saying McDonald's can't offer additional incentives by including a toy with the kid's meal. They aren't trying to ban the FOOD, just the BRIBE. The toy isn't there to entice you to buy the kids meal anyway, it's designed to make you buy that particular company's kid's meal and not their competitor's.
And thank God that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is there to protect me from this "BRIBE", because I'm just to dumb and ignorant to control myself and resist it. If they gave away Star Wars cups with every handgun purchase, my kids would have shot themselves in the head by now, cause I'm not smart enough to know what's healthy for my kids. Please, Board of Supervisors, save my kids from me. And make sure that I don't have to make a decision as a parent.
Oh, I agree, the ban is ridiculous, but it's ridiculous because it's focusing more on the toy than the food. And yes, some parents do need to be saved from themselves. Or to be more accurate, some kids need to be saved from their parents' poor choices.
Don't worry, they've banned the toys for today, they'll feel emboldened enough to ban the food tomorrow. I like your communist style of thinking!! We need government to decide what is best for us. Some people aren't smart enough to make good decisions, like when they vote. So we should have I.Q. tests before allowing people to get voter rights. And other people don't know how to properly share their wealth, so the government needs to step in and take it away from them, by force if necessary, to ensure that everything is fair, and no one takes any risks, and we are all the same, and no one has a bad day, or too good a day, and some mysteriously enlightened group determines what is best for us.
I so wish I lived in North Korea. What a utopia that must be!
Keep handing your choices over to the government. One at a time.
As a kid, I remember fighting with my brother when my parents bought a new box of captain crunch for the toy inside. The same goes for cracker-jax. As an adult, I don't buy either one today but I guess Gov will be looking at those next to protect us all from ourselves! And of course, an entire new government organization will need to be created to oversee all the calories and toys. I guess that's one way to create jobs.
My daughter could eat at McD's everyday but I don't let her. She use to want to eat their because of the toys but she's older now - Now she eats the mcnuggetts and fries, and leaves the toy behind for whomever wants it. Once in a while I get the urge to have a big mac, but afterwards, I'm reminded of why I don't eat there - it's nasty. The older I get, the more my body objects to putting such yuckie stuff into it. Now she eats at McD's probably once a month, and she doesn't seem to miss it - neither do I. However, we didn't need government to tell us that McD's isnt good for you!
If Government took away the toy with the happy meal, very few would go to McD's because the toy is usually better than the food! If someone wants to eat yuckie food because it comes with a toy, then let them! Let parents be the ones to raise their kids!!!
Fast food restaurant should not be allowed to have play grounds that appeal to kids either. And they should not be allowed to have clowns and other characters that appeal to kids. Chuck-E-Cheese serves fattening pizza and soft drinks and should not be allowed to have games and rides for kids. Sugary cereals should not be allowed to advertise their products with cartoon characters. Disney Land must be shut down; they are directly responsible for destroying our kids health with their irresistable mixture of fun rides and salty/sugary foods.
The government has to save us. We are helpless without the guidance of the enlightened. More laws to restrict our lives are the only way we can survive.
I agree and shut down ALL the Bathrooms! Make them crap in their pants-That will teach all of the Irresponsible Parents!
Choice: Other
When I was between the ages of 4-11 I always wanted to go to Burger King to get the toys that came with the meals. When Ninja Turtles the cartoon first became popular in the early 90s Burger King gave a VHS with 2 episodes on the as a toy. I would beg my mom to go at least once a week. I was addicted to getting the toy and the only way was to buy The Kid's meal; a Burger, fries, and a soda.
Government can't run it's own business so it's decided to ruin everyone else's. Sorry, I'm ticked. This stuff makes me furious. I know, it's just a little thing. In twenty years, it will be all consuming. That's why you have to stop it before it gets started but the idiot's are slinging so much bad law onto the public that the public can't throw it out fast enough through the courts. This idiot should have to prove Constitutionality before it goes into effect. With the quality of lawmakers getting more and more ridiculous and corrupt, we should require all laws to be reviewed by competent Constitutional scholars before they can take effect and start throwing everything into another government induced wormhole frenzy.
Well, the government just keeps doing more and more of exactly what every single part of our Constitution was designed to prevent. I would love to meet the gd fool who brainstormed this gigantic horse.. so that he/she could get some gummy bear votes at the expense of freedom for anyone visiting a McDonald's. This wouldn't stand up in Judge Judy's court, much less a real one, but until it's challenged, once again, the public will have to tolerate the inconvenience created and presented by a fool who likely has never read the Constitution. I think we need criminal penalties for lawmakers at any level that dump this type of frivolous crap onto their constituency without at least first reading anything that explains the basics of a free society. I hope the handful of little mommies that are too stupid to understand the concept of civil liberties get some warm fuzzy feelings about how this aR^%le cares about their kids because that will be the only benefit that this legislation creates. In the mean time, the other 99.99 percent of the public that sees right through it is once again overwhelmed with this seemingly unstoppable assault on civil rights, freedom of choice, and every other freedom that the vast overwhelming majority hold sacrosanct. Why are idiots and fools so compulsively attracted to public service jobs and politics? It seems the Bush presidency has created a new level in what constitutes a minimum level of competency in public office. If the bar gets any lower, we'll have to provide shuttle services to politicians on top of every other perk just so we can remain reasonably confident that they were able to find their way to work.
Congratulations McDonald's. Big Bro did what no franchisee could ever do. It changed up the formula for providing consistency of product and service among your restaurants, a well-known priority. When they start telling you to put mayonnaise on Big Macs instead of that high calorie Special Sauce, let me know so I can stop eating there.
Government can run it's own business so it's decided to ruin everyone else's.
This is ridiculous. Yes my kids eat fast food now and again, and probably too much at that. But this is a failure of the parents, NOT McDonald's. Anyone that thinks fast food is good food... I just don't know how to finish that statement. It's so beyond my thought process I can't even come up with a valid analogy. The fast food chains are not raising your children you are. If your kid is crying cause they want some fifty cent toy and you can't say no, go in and buy the toy. All of the them allow you to do that. I'm just shocked this is even a story, the conclusion is simple, SanFran, get the F out of my business, Parents, wake and be parents, if you don't know what that means, look at your fat kid, then look at yourself, your the cause, thats what it means, now go outside with your kid and play and eat some carrots.
The government didn't make the laws in my house, my mother did. If she didn't want us to have something, we didn't have it, why? because she was the law, and we obeyed the law. There are different types of parents out there...the ones that make the adult decisions, and the ones that don't. A toy is not going to make a difference, a good decision will.
I fought the Law and the Law won!
I get it for the food cause its below 500 calories and like to give the toys to kids.
I thought they said you can't give free toys out with unhealthy food. That being the case, can't Burger King, McDonalds, etc., just charge $.01 for the toy, and make it an opt-out?
Yes, they can. That is why I don't understand all this talk about banning the meal. The meal is not banned, you can still buy it anytime you so desire. You can still even get the toy if you order apples and milk instead of fries and soda.
I'm torn on this.
On one side is absurd to have the government tell fast food joints how to sell their products. What's next? Telling them they have to make the boxes less colorful because it's confusing the children?
But on the other hand the vast majority of people are morons and without the government holding their hand they will never make a correct choice.
So do we take choices from everyone to safeguard our morons?
I agree that Mcdonalds is not to blame for kids getting too much fast food meals. Toy or not they will continue to eat what Parents allow. The toys need to be safe not removed
It's none of the government's business what companies give out (as long as it's legal, obviously they can't give out cocaine). So what if they gave away a toy with the meal? It's their right to do so. What about companies that give away a baseball cap or T-shirt with a purchase of their item? Or what if McDonalds gave out jumpropes? It's still a "toy" but promotes physical activity. The government shouldn't tell a company that they can't give out something, or limit what they can give out.
Parents need to take responsibility and the government needs to butt out.
Ever hear of a Beanie Baby? Gave the food to the homeless man on the corner who was very grateful for the meal.
Cracker Jacks and Breakfast Cereals are next! No more prizes! What about the McD's Monopoly pieces? No more contests at fast food joints? Oh noes! Berg King tells me I could win a Kinect if I eat a lot of Whoppers, is that ok?
WATCH "SUPERSIZE ME".
I did watch supersize me. I also watched how all he ate was McDonalds. I watched as he went from doing healthy activity to not doing anythign and saying well I feel too tired to do this or that. He changed his lifestyle to the EXTREME end. Truth be told he got the results I expect someone to get when all they eat is McDonalds or any other meal where maybe leafy greens or other fruits and vegatables are missed, home cooked or otherwise. Also, go ahead and eat all the health food you want. Then skimp out on or do not do any sort of physical fitness activity. Bet you will feel lathargic. His little documentary showed nothign except eating McDonalds (or any other type of food that is not balanced right) for every meal is not healthy. That is not science, that is common sense. Had it been real science there would have been control groups and other levels to the study. Nope this guy wnet out and got fat. Not McDonalds fault. For the record I cannot stand the taste of the place, makes me nauseous just thinking about eatnig there.
Truth is told nothing.
Roger,10-4 Good Buddy!
Get rid of happy meals, you get a 2 year old chomping on a double cheese burger & fries off the dollar menu instead. Don't forget the huge coke. People won't stop going. People won't stop giving it to thier kids. Getting rid of the toy doesn't change bad decisions on the behalf of the parent. I'm so glad that none of the millions & billions are commenting on this story.
Kids like toys, but all people like fast food. Taking away toys will not decrease demand for quick and tasty meals.
No matter what I thought the parent was in charge. Apparently not. my husband and I bought nothing because of a toy. In fact, until we bought the meals, we did not know what was in them. More times than not the kids took one look and played with their real toys. My grandchildren are the same. I pick up and throw away usually the same day or within a few days. So no, it is not a big deal. Plus the kids, ours and our grandchildren got fast food for a treat, usually after a trip shopping, to the library, traveling out of town on vacation. roughly once or twice a month. Today, our children can barely tolerate fast food at 30, 36 and 37. Eat it today and not again until next month or longer.
Yet the government does nothing when dooling out food stamps to parents who's idea of a balance child's meal is a pack of Ramon noodles and a huggie – I also bet that most of the idiots who dreamed up this law are obese themselves.
kids may want the meal because of the toy, but it is up to parents to be parents and say no....and if you cannot handle saying "no" to kids stay home and cook. see how simple this is. parents need to grow up and start being parents.
Did anybody live thru the Beanie Baby craze at McDonald's? My kids missed that one but I had friends who were going from one McDonalds to another to get the prized baby.
Couldn't Fast food chains just get around this and sell the food for $2.98 and the toy for $0.01 with purchase of a meal, and $1.00 (or what ever they charge) without meal purchase? Besides having games, puzzles and their favorite characters on the box are just as much a draw to the kids.
I'm all for promoting healthy eating and I understand the need to regulate or prohibit specific dangerous items, but I think government is overstepping it's purpose by telling businesses how to sell their products and do the parenting in this case.
I guess Cereal and Cracker Jacks are next. What about food shaped as something like animals? Play with your food.
I think some people are missing what the ruling is supposed to be. Happy Meals with toys will only be banned if McDonald's can't clean up the nutrition for their kids meals. Granted, McDonald's is not likely to do that as 1) it's just one city demanding such action and 2) selling something that is actually considered nutritious costs money.
As for the poll, I remember as a kid going several times to McDonald's for Halloween (to get the various candy buckets for trick or treating) and a few other times for the toys, but I also liked eating chicken nuggets. I still do :) I am not ashamed to admit that I buy Happy Meals as an adult to get the toy. The additional perk for me is even though it's unhealthy, it's a much smaller portion than buying the full sized meal.
Why should they have tto clean up a thing. Why should anyone. Tthe point being when I want fast food, I want it and all it isn't. Nutrition is by my hand. Fresh fruits, veggies. 99% of what my children and husband ate, I cooked. Most, from scratch. No kraft mac & Cheese. No boxed food. Frozen dinners. I cooked. My mom cooked. My daughter, with a fimily, cooks. When we go out for the deliciously guilty(they've even destroyed that for us) that's what we want. i do not want you laws, prosiletizing, NOTHING. YOU'RE to stupid to know the difference or say no, your problem, not mine but they get on this president about health care and call him a socialist. Hyprocritical idiots.
No I very much got exactly what the ruling was for. However it is still unneccessary and stupid. There was no need. Yes I am sure the kids want the meals for the toys. Ok I will grant the council that. But I am also thinking (based on experience here) that if I ask my kids what they want from McDonalds they will say "nuggets and fries". SO I ask them, "do you want a salad or some other healthy food there?". They will say no. Even when I have said all you are getting is nuggets and fries, no toy, no box, no anything extra unless it is apple dippers, salad, food related product. They still say we want nuggets and fries. So the idea that the only reason kids eat McDonalds is for the toy and without the toy incentive they will all of a sudden turn into tree hugging hippy PETA vegans is stupid. They will eat that processed crap until the cows come home. Hence why I as their parent tell them tonight is brocolli night.
Next thing you know, they'll be taking away games with food like McDonalds' Monopoly pieces.
Are we going to tell grocery stores to stop stocking candy next to the registers? What about convenience stores only stocking snacks for the most part? There's crap to question everywhere. You just don't buy it or go to it if you can't control your crap intake. The only thing I see being a bit too much is the advertising amongst kid's programming that focuses in on the toys, like they're the only reason to come in and buy the food. It's more damaging to the company making the food if they need other reasons than how the food tastes to snag everyone's interest. Cut back on their ability to show commercials all of the time. Don't tell them how to do business based off of customers who lack control, intelligence or will power. I'm not in any way fond of McDonalds food, nor have I been for a long time. "Now made with REAL CHICKEN" says it all. This isn't America anymore. Enjoy your Sad Meals.
A commercial does not phase me, either. I would say. That's nice and keep doing what ever. They knew it meant absolutely nothing to us. So don't bother. They learned not to. don't get me wrong. I kept my ear to the ground , so to speak. it was one of the best ways to know what to get them for birthdays , Christmas or just because.
Monopoly pieces aren't marketed to children.
Candy by the registers aren't exclusively marketed to children.
Convenience store crap isn't exclusively marketed to children.
Fast food toys with happy meals are.
Yep! Every little kid recognizes the golden archs!
Why are on Earth does the San Francisco Board of Supervisors feel the need to tell their constituents "if you can't act like adults, then we're going to take away your toys"? Government is not your parents and if our children are growing up porkers, then blame the freaking parents. What does it take to say no? I have three children and as much as they might have wanted fast food, I didn't and that was the end of it. Time for America and American government to grow up and act like we're adults.
If I were the McDonald corporation, I would close all stores under the jurisdiction of San Francisco and be done with it. This has nothing to do with kids. It has all to do with progressive, government controls. One step closer to George Soros World. If I were Walmart, I would do the same thing in communities that constantly gripe about the store. Let the cities worry about the unemployed and empty boxes.
It's probably worth pointing out that the higher ups at McDs aren't giving away free toys with Happy Meals just to be nice. They're doing it because it sells Happy Meals.
Actually, I'm pretty sure McDonald's gives away toys with the Happy Meals because companies pay to promote their movies by putting toys in the Happy Meals. So yes, McDonald's makes money – - but I'm betting the real money comes from the advertising dollars they get. And I'm sure kids love fast food with a toy more than fast food without a toy – - but I seriously doubt no toy will cause any major reduction in the amount of fast food purchased and consumed.
I remember when I was little my grandma used to take me to McDonald's when I visited to get the beanie baby toys because I was a beanie baby fanatic and that's how I got all the tiny ones. But even now that I'm older, I still have times where I consider getting a kids meal just to have a nifty toy to play with when I'm road tripping with the family and whatnot. I know plenty of people that would do it. However, just like all things in life, you have a choice to not eat the food and you're only going to get fat off of fast food if that's all you eat or you don't exercise and some other menial things that people can do to their improve their health but don't. Plus, when you're a kid, studies have shown that you actually need some fat and stuff so letting them indulge in toys and fatty foods doesn't seem like that bad of a thing if it's only every once and a while. And if you're feeding your children and honestly concerned about their health, then take it into your own hands. It's just like how my high school started getting ridiculous taking away salt and other fatty foods because we're not responsible enough to eat healthy or whatever. The government can try to help us to eat better but when it comes down to it, you could just order more meals or get your own greasy food at home. So let people make decisions and get fat if they will. After all, you are what you eat.
Removing the toys from the menu will not make your obese child any healthier. If you believe it will, then you are dumber than the toy itself. McDonalds is the cheapest food around. It's designed to serve stupid people as well as those who dont care about nutrition. Whats the problem? Gonna save all the stupid fat people for something?? Yea, take the toys away and all these people will become healthy.
Shut up.
Thanks to auction sites, you can buy the entire set of fast food prizes without buying the food. If your children are really set on a particular toy, buy it online and give it to them as a reward. Although it might cost more to do it this way, it beats driving around town to every fast food outlet, hoping that they have prize #4.
I see nothing wrong with the ocassional trip to McDonalds, especially if you opt for the healthier options.
they say ray kroc was the biggest mass murderer of all time. you go to mcdonald s twice a week or more your writing your epitaph.
I'm sorry, not to be mean. Who could tolerate the taste and smell that often? Once, okay. Twice is pusing it. Over that i could not get it past my gag reflex.
This was brought on by simple people without much to do. I lived in the SF bay area for 3 years. Filled with crazies that would like nothing more than to tell others how they should live. They are pathetic, really.
When my son was in kindergarten, he was invited to a friend's birthday party at McD's. All the kids got Happy Meals–except my vegetarian son, who got a toy-less iceberg lettuce salad pumped full of preservatives. Still, he thought that not getting a toy was worth not having to eat grilled chopped up cow flesh.
I hope you did it right. My daughter's best friend was raised a vegetarian, also. when she gave birth to her daughter, she raised her the same way. She wound up in court with the proviso and a court order to giverher daughter, fish and chicken twice a day or go to jail. Her bone density is still very bad to the point of brittle and she is only 10. Her eyesight is at legally blind due to the lack of nourishment. All because something was not done right.
Nice. Malnourish your child.
I appreciate your concern, but my son is neither malnourished nor blind, nor does he suffer from brittle bones. He does get teased about his diet by a classmate at school–a 9-yr-old girl who outweighs him by 20 pounds and insists he doesn't eat enough sugar. Rest assured, many of the millions of vegetarians on this planet make sounder nutritional choices than many of the carnivores who eat at McDonald's. Show me a morbidly obese vegetarian with diabetes and I'll show you ten malnourished carnivores.
Why, in such hard economic times, are people attacking an important supplier of affordable food? McDonalds doesnt make your child fat. YOU make your child fat. They have a menu that has many choices. If you over feed your child with the fatty side of the menu, how is it a toys fault? Clearly this is a red herring steering you away from the fact that somebody with money has a serious problem with mcdonalds as competition. They use your child as a hostage to get your support. Only go to a mcdonalds that sells toys simply to counter this non-sense.
GASP! Didn't realize all those times I said "no" to my children wasn't actually my responsibility to do so. It's the government's responsibility. Note to self: don't make rational parenting choices for my children, because Uncle Sam is there to do it for me.
Why can't parents today just say no to their kids or at least train them correctly? My siblings and I were trained by our parents that fast food was a treat to be enjoyed on rare occasions and our parents decided when that was. Heck, even having a glass of soda was a rare treat. Kids want everything if parents set boundaries kids learn they can ask but most likely will not get it and life goes on with no problems. If a parent caves in to every demand then the kids are spoiled and expect to get everything they want. That is setting up for failure. Toys with meals are not the problem, bad parents are the problem.
8.73% of the replies to this say they'd NEVER support fast food? Where are these people? I've lived in three different countries and have met 1 that's o-n-e person who NEVER went to fast food. Is this considerably large segment of society hiding in a secret underground compound with the only connection to the outside world through the internet and consuming nothing but mung beans and yak milk?
I think we've got a lot of people voting "what I want people to think I really do since they can't prove otherwise."
Here I am! (Although I voted for "to get the toy," because that's how I chose sugary junk cereal when I was a kid.)
For the record I am a parent. What that means is I control what my kids eat. Not the mayor, not the chief of police, not a city of health nuts, or the neighbors that live nearby. I control what they eat. Yes they complain "buy me this or that for this toy", but as an adult I say "NO" when I do not want them to eat it. Let them cry, they can scratch it and get over it. Just like I turn off the TV when it is time for bed or when I want them to go out and play in the sunlight. Listen up people the reality is, yes these stupid meals cater to kids, but ultimately it is the parents responsibility to decide if they can be grown up enough to say no to their kids who ask. Last time I checked the 6 – 13 year olds where not working 40 hours a week to earn happy meal money. The problem is there are adults out there with the responsibility level of a 5 year old or they want to be buddies with their kids. This law that San Fran passed is a stupid and it violates peoples rights to govern how their kids are raised. It also ignores the simple fact that calories are a determining factor in weight gain just as much as the crap that goes into nuggets and fries. So if parents want thin and healthy kids control the amount of food they take in and get them playing games that does not include a power button. Before I heard about this ban I would make sure they did not have McDonalds all the time...now I hope it comes to my town so I can walk in and buy the 20 piece nuggets, large fries and coke product have the staff place the items in a happy meal box and proclaim loudly "here is your happy meal, that no one has the right to tell you that you cannot eat it". Hopefully my kids will grow up not doing as their told without questioning where all of their rights have gone...if they have any left thanks to these special interest groups.
as one parent to another, very well said......
Cannot...resist....toy....must....spend....money. Come on people, are we zombies or something? Don't buy the damn thing if you don't want fast food. The reason fast food chains are so popular are because lots of people buy it. What right does the government have to tell a store it can't offer a stupid toy with a kids meal, really? What's next, are we going to add a bitter taste to sugar because too many people use that too?
My kids love Happy Meals, but not for the toy. Most of the time they don't even open the packaging, just toss it aside. I end up collecting the toys and after I've gotten a bag full, they go to teachers at the elementary school for "treasure box" prizes.
what a GREAT idea!
When I was a kid, I wanted those toys! My dad would take me to McDonald's and Burger King to get them, and eat the kid's meal himself. I never liked the taste, except for the nuggets. The fries tasted terrible, the burgers were tasteless, so I'd eat the 4-piece nuggets and have the drink, and was a skinny kid. I had boxes full of the toys though.
It's okay to buy it for the toy. Keep the toy and give the food to a homeless person.
If you cannot parent your child then maybe we should just had them over to Child Protect Services. If your child is overweight it is because you pretty much fail as a parent. It is your responsibility to watch their eating habits and make sure they get plenty of exercise. The problem is most parents do not parent anymore. They stick their kids in front of the TV or video games for hours at a time. While those activities are ok in moderation they do not substitute for your responsibilities as a parent. Also it seems much easier for the busy parent to buy fast food then it is for them to actually take the time to cook a real meal. A lot of parents just do not want to take on the real responsibilities of being a parent anymore. The world has made it easy to cut corners and we continue to tell parents it is ok for them to take time and think of themselves. I remember sitting in at the dinner table for hours because I wouldn't finish my vegetables. McDonalds use to be a treat once in a while not a continuous daily habit.
FAT PEOPLE UNITE (Voice of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy )
In the 50's I used to beg my Mom to buy certain cereals because of the many different sets of topical cardboard cut-out kits they printed on the back of the boxes. The only good thing back then was that the cereals didn't have high fructose corn syrup in them.
Parents: Ever heard of that word "NO"????
This is an act of war against fat people.
How many children by these meals to begin with?
My guess is, not many. It's their parents who buy the meals for their kids. If the parents are not capable of telling their own children no, then that's a different issue entirely.
As much as this may seem like government over-reaching their responsibilities, it seems like the only way to protect students from lazy parenting. Besides, McDonalds can improve the quality of their meals. Their international locations have to adapt to local customs and regulations and seem to have better food for it.
Ex: India
The Veg "McCurry Pan", the famous dish is very popular and is an original creation of McDonald's across India. It starts with a rectangular shaped crust that is topped with a creamy sauce, mushrooms, and vegetables including broccoli, baby corn, and red bell pepper. It is then baked until the crust is crisp and the toppings are hot and bubbly.
The Chicken McCurry Pan is the same as its vegetarian version. It starts off with a rectangle of dough and is topped with a tomato-curry sauce, spiced with thyme, basil, and oregano. It is finished off with chicken, bell peppers, and cheese and is baked till crisp and bubbly.
There is no allowance for government over-reaching, that's the protection we the people are afforded. Otherwise the government can just decided to over-reach whenever it has a mildly compelling reason to do so. That's why there is a Constitution, Bill of Rights, and enforceable law.
Additionally, who gave San Fransisco's government the task of protecting against lazy parenting? And if they have that job then what is to stop them from enforcing it further? How about a cupboard task force that raids home and checks the nutritional contents of all their food? Should they employ agents to review grocery purchases based on how many kids are in the cart? It sounds crazy, sure, but they either have the authority or they don't.
No food is restricted... just the marketing of crappy toys for crappy food.
that is local custom, totally different we should be expected to honor foreign customs when in their country, but here we do eat the cow... but the dish sounds really good.
I understand the regional tastes not needing to influence what we eat in America. I was speaking more to the nutritional value offered in other regions. Four American McNuggets total 190 calories, 12 grams of fat and two grams of saturated fat. An equal size portion in Britain has 170 calories, nine grams of fat and one gram of saturated fat. Not to mention the petroleum-based chemicals in the nuggets. I love McNuggets myself, but they could be made a lot healthier.
If they are so concerned about childhood obesity then they should absolutely allow happy meals to continue to be sold. How many times as a little kid did you take way more food then you could ever eat because you were hungry? The toy in the meal inspires the child to get the smaller portion meal rather then getting a larger combo meal with extra fries and a larger soda that they don't need. When dieting one key thing that is always mentioned is portion control; if you don't over eat then it is ok to eat junk food on occasion. The same thing applies here; keep the kids wanting the smaller portion meals. I am 30 years old and I still get the mighty kids meal because it has smaller portions. Lets not even mention the fact that most fast food joints now allow you to get fruit instead of fries or milk instead of soda. Let the parents be responsible for what their child eats. Removing happy meals from the menu will not stop a kid from eatting a meal at any fast food place. I highly doubt that the lack of a happy meal is going to stop mom and/or dad from grabbing fast food real quick on the way home or on a road trip.
You can still feed your kid crappy kid's meals... you just don't get a toy for it.
This law just doesn’t seem very, what’s the word, liberating.
[bleep] all of you haters. I'm going to go get one today.
Remember when Wendy's had really good 99 cent menu items? You could get a biggie coke and biggie fries and a cheese burger deluxe for under $3. I used to let my kids pick two items each and we shared the biggie drink. Didn't care about no stinkin' toy. I want Dave back.
Why stop at fast food restaurants, high sugar content breakfast cereals have toys or trinkets inside the box and cracker jacks do too.
KIDS SHOLD EAT WAT THEY WANT. AND ONLY WAT THEY WANT. ANY MORE THEN WAT THEY WANT IS TOO MUCH. SO DON'T FORCE THEM TO EAT MORE. THIS IS THE ONLY NATURAL WAY TO DO IT. CUS IN THE WILD BABIES DECIDE WAT THEY WANT FOR THENSELFS
ROFLMAO
She went to my HighSchool! Got an A+ in spelling.
LOL. I hope you're not serious.
When I went to the Philippines and entered a McDonalds, the meal were diferent. They actually have "real chicken" rice on the menu. they even have pasta, spaghetti and they actually deliver to your house/ hotel.
here is a link to the menu for the philippines. http://www.mcdonalds.com.ph/happymeal
Sigh. Where are the real parents here. We go to McDonalds or where ever else on Saturday. Its our family outing on an otherwise typically busy day. My son gets chicken nuggets (4), apple dippers (couldn't care less about the caramel) and milk. He also gets a toy when he's done eating. We typically follow or precede that trip with a long romp on the play ground. Its a nice break for our family to just sit & relax once in a while. I'm not a bad parent. We're actually a very happy family. My son also likes a taco @ taco bell.. the toys suck so we just get a taco & water for him. He could care less. We're having lunch.. not shopping for toys. If I buy a meal that happens to come with a toy, my boy is extatic & works to be good so he can earn it. Still not seeing the evil. We'd eat the food with or without the toys. Call me a fatty or whatever (which I'm not ) but sometimes its nice to just eat food that my husband or I didn't make. Get over it people – You aren't above me. I'm not above you either. Its food. If you can't make good decisions with your life, thats on you. Not the restaurant. And not the government.
It sounds like you have it figured out Dana! Good for you. When I was growing up my mom did the same for me. We couldn't have the toy until we ate our food and then only if we were behaving. Heck, we didn't even get the fries until the burger or chicken nuggets were gone. And I am sure that you would agree that you won't stop going on your Saturday lunch outings just becasue no happy meal was available. You would just be forced to order something else instead. If more parents followed your example then this problem could be solved.
Thank you. You bring up a good point through.. I do see the parents these laws are trying to override. The ones with screaming kids at the table or running around them. The ones with 1 bite out of the burger, but a refilled soda already downed, all playing with the toys. Thats the picture this law wants to give you. But thats not all of us. Thats people that don't take control. We're not our kids friends.. we're they're parents. I was raised in a strict, but loving home. I'm grateful for it every day. I like properly portioned salads... but I also like cheeseburgers. Go figure. I'm human.
I'm with you, Dana. My kids are 15 and 12. They've eaten fast food most of their lives – - probably one fast food meal per week on average. They are both normal weight (and look thin). I think people make such a big deal about these foods being "treats" that they inadvertently make them much more desirable than they really are. My kids really prefer when I cook at home – - they don't ask for fast food anymore. It's just not that exciting to them. I do encourage my kids to be active, and they play sports most days. It's just hard for me to blame obesity on fast food – - and I think parents just need to work on a policy of moderation. I did start my kids on diet soda from the get go, and they don't like regular soda – - so that probably helps. I don't have all the answers, but I think parents really need to make these decisions for themselves and government money could be a lot better spent.
Most kids don't even the food they just start playing with the toy.
Take responsibility for YOURSELF and stop blaming everyone or everything else. You want a toy buy one, eat the downsized burger and go for a walk.
Each one of you that is obese is to blame, not McDonald's. Iraqis are to blame, not the U.S. You are to blame for overspending not the government.
San Fran-psycho just doesn't get it. this "ruling" by the board of stupidvisors won't stop McDonalds from selling Happy Meals. There is an easy way around this: take the toys out of the Happy Meal, then post a sign on the menu that says "FREE toy for children available upon request – 1 per child under 12 only" – and that's that. only children would request them, and they aren't tied to ANY purchase of ANY product – and you know no one under 12 would either want them or ask for them unless they actually bought something. but this removes the "cannot sell...with a toy".
Neat idea. I like it!
i nor my 7 children have ever and will never go to that disgusting fat people lounge called mcdonalds, my children are models and i must keep them trim and fit to win the child pagent at the state fair.
i feed them low-fat yogurt for breakfast lunch and dinner to not make them fat, they pay for their own yogurt with their earnings they don't get any food, the other half of the earnings go to me....
i've since turned it into a full time job raiseing my non-fat kids and winning the prize money for my pay.
so, you are EXPLOITING your children for your personal financial gain? sound like a contender for mom of the year! so tell me. do they ever get the chance to be KIDS? do you go everywhere with them to make sure they never get that slice of pizza at a friend's house? even though eating healthy is an admirable goal, it is also unhealthy because i can sense you are starving your kids and they will grow up mighty unpopular and unhappy...but you ought to be shot for exploiting your kids...you must be trying to be the next Dina Lohan...exploit your kids – you don't care as long as you get paid. lazy c.u.n.t
You have 7 kids? You'd hit this.
THIS IS TERRIBLE. What's even worse is that you're BRAGGING about and referring to your children as "non-fat kids." Child services should revoke your right to be a parent.
do I eat fast food. So I assume ma kids will be with me when I eat, which won't be changin' any time soon. I make the choice, not ma kids.
I bet that both you and your kids are overweight.
Yet another example of people refusing to take responsibility for their choices. When was the last time you saw a 5 year old open his wallet and pay for his own Happy Meal? Parents, if you don't want your kids to eat this don't buy it. Say NO!
The toy that the kid meal gets will maybe be played with and then thrown away.
So why do we have a picture of a toy that was offered through Burger King with a McDonald's kids meal?
If you or your kids really want the toy, just buy the toy. Most of the outlets will sell them to you separately.
Happy meals and their ilk are marketed to children. In marketing circles, it is old news that parent will likely do most anything to appease a grumpy child. If the child seen the happy meal on the menu, he/she may start to inquire if they can have one. If, as a parent, I say No, my kids start to get a little whiny. They expect it. Even though I never buy them happy heals. I try to avoid giving my kids fast food at all. Their bodies and minds are still developing. I wont fill them with trash. The Execs at McDonnalds shoud be more moral an just NOT DO IT. But, as a republican, I don't think a law needs to be passed. Just common sense. If it is bad for us, we as a people just need to boycott said item. Dont waste our tax dollars and congressional time ith the trivial. we as a people are well able to make our own decisions. The question is, how many are willing to turn off the TV first, then make a decision? wake up America, the power is ours. Stand up, do not fear.
Patriot.
On the contrary, SS... you are missing the point. 8-year-old kids don't have an income. They can't and don't buy Happy Meals. There parents are responsible for them... not the San Francisco city government.
I don't see an option that says "I just steal the toys I like from my son's kids meal bag when he's not looking."
Sure I did, but never for fast food. I was all about the cereal box prize. Absolutely made my day when the toy would spill out of the box into my bowl. (If my siblings got it, I was crushed.) I used to open a new box of cereal and start quite a professional excavation, archeologist-style, with my spoon. That didn't last too long, because my mother discovered that once I'd found the toy, I lost interest in the cereal. After that we were banned from looking for the toy. It had to land in our bowl by chance, and whoever got it got to keep it. My siblings and I would hold the good toys hostage and then trade depending on who got what from what box. It was very interesting.
Apparently as a child I wasn't all that into sweets or fast food, and I was less than thrilled with the toys they gave out at McDonalds. I do, however, remember some transformers toys I got from some fast food place or another. I could never make them work right, but I sure loved them. I think when it was really a toy I liked, I wanted a happy meal. When it didn't look cool, I lost interest.
Optimus Prime would like his left testicle back.
Well too bad. He shouldn't have sold out to McDonald's.
Autobots! Roll out!
The toy is what obviously attracks the children, hence they mostly come in kids' happy meals. American restaurants know that children, at least here in America, are spoiled as h*ll, so if they offer the toy, it's a sure thing parents will buy the food because of the child's nagging. It's an excellent incentive. Just don't tell this to the restaurants, or even the parents, denial isn't only a river in Egypt.
i have bought only the toy once they are cheaper than the meal they come with it was a madam alexander doll
Ah... I remember the days when Burger King had the Star Wars toys and everyday I bought a kid's meal in the hope that I could get the super rare Darth Vader. They ran that promotion for 4 weeks and I must say I got sick of chicken nuggets after just a week. Then they did the same thing again with a second series, this time with the even more rare breathing Darth Vader. I completed the collection, but I stopped eating chicken nuggest for at least 2 years.
Nobody is going to tell me whether or not I should feed my child a fast food meal. Not all kids who eat fast food are obese. Parents are the ones to blame for taking their kids to fast food joints on a daily bases. Half the time the toys are crap anyways. It's the parents, who have the choice to feed that stuff to their kids, not some god damn city official who should be deciding what children eat. Stop butting into our lives and worry about something else that is more important.
No one said you can't feed your kid crap. You just don't get a toy for doing it.
Rarely do I or my family even eat at a fast food place. Most of the time when the kids were younger the toys didn’t even get back to the car and I don’t remember ever stopping at a fast food place just to get a toy. We did if we we’re traveling and it was convenient or late but for the most part we hardly ever eat at fast food restaurants. Even to this day with the kids being older they prefer going someplace nice and getting a real meal much to the pain of my wallet.
I look at this measure as just another political joke by a group of politicians that are trying to distract from the mess they’ve made of their city.
If my kids are not going to eat the food, then I do not buy it. When I do buy the meals with toys they have to eat before they get the toy, no exceptions. It our responsibility as parents to control what our kids eat. Fast food and restaurants are treats for us, maybe twice a month. Because of the simple fact that there isn't very many healthy choices out there.
You force your children to eat unhealthy food in order to get a toy they want? Good job with rewarding them for developing poor eating habits. Why not just buy them the toy and then feed them fruits and veggies at home?
What is misleading about all the media hype is that the meal is not banned. YOU CAN STILL BUY THE FOOD, you just can't get the toy if you opt for the fries and soda. You can order the apples and milk with main entree and still get the toy. However if you do choose the fatty option you can still buy the toy seperately.
i never go to any of these Junky Food restaurante for a family outing. Its my Kids who often drage me to McDonald for the TOYs and then they eat our all those FrenchFries and Junky Chicken Nuggets. Damm It!
Your kids drag you to McDonalds? It's sub-par parents like you that cause these types of government intervention.
Grow a pair!
Learn 2 parent. I think the ruling board of SF needs to force their peasants into parenting classes because, obviously, people in SF are too stupid to raise children. Not surprised.
@ Nine Deep
Where is the parent in all of this? Kids make choices but they do not have the power of the pocketbook. Lilttle four year old Timmy can want what he wants but it is up to mom and dad on what he gets. In addition, anyone that is hungry for a meal is going to pick the happy meal over an apple. Besides for Hollywood, an apple is not a meal and it should never be viewed as a meal for a growing child.
I don't buy fast food for my kids often, but when I do I usually don't buy kids meals. Less expensive to buy a bunch of items from the dollar menu and allows me to avoid the toys. If I do buy a kids meal, I ask them to leave the toy out. I hate throwing things in the landfill, but hate even more having those crappy toys cluttering my house. One of the chains once kicked around the idea of having a certificate inside the meal that says $1 was donated to a charity in the kids behalf instead of a toy. What happened to that idea?
Since the toy changes only about once a month, a child would only eat a dozen Happy Meals a year if the toy (not the food) was the lure. That's not an unreasonable number of Happy Meals if the child otherwise has good eating habits. It's an important marketing tool for McDonalds but not very significant for a child's health.
Boy, you can tell you do not have children. Every release of toys has several to collect. Usually around a half a dozen or more each promo. Then it does change to a non-promo if there is a sellout. By then there is the next promo. They are cross promoted with movies and larger toys. These cities will not get into the Hollywood purses without a fight. What the media is not saying there ARE alternatives at all of these restaurants that ARE able to give the toys out. Disney, over the years has been one of the largest cross promoters. Do you think they will not give up without Mickey D's reintroducing the healthier alternatives already in place. The media, including CNN, picks on the worst of the meals, the cheeseburger. Fails to mention the lower calorie options available to the public. For instance a hamburger with a side of apples and lowfat milk. . . Instead of cheeseburger, fries and a coke. Falls into a much lower calorie category.
Even so, the cheeseburger itself has a HUGE calorie to mass ratio. Depending on what you eat during the rest of the day, it would be very easy to surpass the 2000 calorie diet.
Children are only supposed to have a calorie intake of about 1200 per day, as opposed to 2200/2000 (men/women) per day. Which means if your kid's cheeseburger is 300 calories, and their fries are another 250 calories, plus another 150 in the soda, they've eaten more than half their total recommended intake in one meal.
Things must have really changed since I was a kid. In my day parents decided what we ate and we didn't get to go to get fast food all the time.
I remember fast food as being a special treat, not something we got very often.
I know we are a dying breed, but in our house McDonald's is a treat, not a given.
Diggin' the handle Anoninmouth.
In your day, food was healthier, portions were smaller, and people weren't as busy with work and lazy when it came to food preparation. In your day, obesity rates were a third of what they are today.
I think I bought something at jack-n-the box for one of those antenna balls. But when I Was a kid, I ate fast food regardless of whether a toy was included.
When I was a kid, Jack in the Box used to scare the piss out of me. Some silly notion of there really being a "Jack" in the box. Silly rabbit....
....dicks are for chicks.
miss jack in the box... sigh
Never bought a Sappy Meal my entire life. I feel so unfulfilled. Sigh...
Sappy Meal
LOL
my kids call them cr**py meals" because they hear their dad say it so often
Ohh no, you mean they are going to actually start making fast food chains sell nutritious food to children? What a horrible idea, it will cut into their profit margin. It is about time that fast food chains are held accountable for the food they sell. Kids make choices based on what they get out of the situation, and they can't be expected to make a healthy choice at 4. Little Timmy, do you want this apple or a cool action figure with fries? Maybe some kids will choose the apple but most will choose the toy and fries.
are you serious?! it's the parents job to say NOOOOOOOO. kids don't have to get everything they want.
Haha parent's can't be trusted to make that decision any better than kids. My relatives talk about taking the grandkids to McD every day after school...If the kids want it then the parents will often bend to make it happen. If we want to see a change we can either spend time+money+energy educating parents (do you really think they don't know it's unhealthy?) or shift some of the kids' incentive towards better options.
Yes! Those San Fransciscians are so lucky to have their goverment elects to save them from themselves!
Those poor parents who can't make decisions without some help.
@notaparent Let's go along with your assumption that the parents themselves can't be trusted to make that decision better than their kids. How is it then easier to trust a small collection people/parents (or whatever government person/panel made that law) to make that decision better than the thousands of people they represent?
double-hah. Yes, parents have the right to make the decision, even if it's the wrong decision...on a daily basis. I'm advocating that we not allow the marketing companies (i.e. McD putting toys with unhealthy food) to influence children to make the wrong choice. This type of inappropriate targeting is illegal for alcohol and cigarettes, and nobody bats an eye about government telling us what to do or not do. But because our understanding or acceptance of the negative effects of over eating sugar/salt/fat/cholesterol lags behind that of excessive drinking/smoking we continue allowing companies to promote this stuff to children.
Diggin' your handle.
Since when does a 4 year old have the ability to make an informed decision regarding health. For all they know food is food. Whatever mommy or daddy feeds me tastes good. We take our 3 year old to McD's as a treat. For all she knows the Happy Meal box is where his food comes from. We don't give him a chance to find the toy in the box. ALSO, I have never seen a commercial on TV saying come to McD's we are giving away a free Star Wars Square Bob Spongepants action figure. Even if they did do you think a 3 or 4 year old has the ability to comprehend that if I get the food, I get a toy. NO, the parents are to make the informed decision for their kid, not the government. Watch out keep up your thinking and you will allow Big Brother to run your life for you.
They can if their parents teach them. My 5 year old daughter knows that she should have fruits and veggies and get exercise. She helps plan the meal and prepares meals. I do not stress weight, I stress healthy. When we go to McDs (usually on the drive to visit my parents) she chooses apples over fries and milk over soda. It can be taught, parents just need to take initiative and get over the fear of offending their children. Which you won't if it is taught early enough they don't remember anything different.
Really? Kids @ 4 can't make choices? Hmm....IT'S CALLED PARENTING! So, since people in San Fransisco are unable to be parents and actually raise their children they want help from the government. Let's make laws to do what we are unwilling to do as parents, what a great idea! Tell ya' what, move to China!
Bring some common sense to the discussion. Parents have the responsibility to say no, and all too often don't. We want to blame businesses, advertisers, government, etc., but the choice is ours. Exercise your free will and pass up the fatty foods, or choose to eat them. You have no one to blame but yourself; hold yourself accountable and own the problem and solution, not place responsibility for poor food choices on another. I could go on but.....
As a parent, I'm the one who pulls into the parking lot. My son can't read – he hears his choices from me. Its up to me to offer him the correct, or wrong options. I don't need laws to tell me which choices are the better ones. I also don't think McDonald's needs it either. If we, as a society, really wanted to make sure the restaurants all had healthy options, we'd demand it. Thats how business works. If we didn't buy the big mac, they'd stop serving it. I can think of just about any fast food chain that has in fact added healthy options to menus. The consumers dictate the product. Yes, children are indeed huge driving forces. However, as parents, it is our responsibility to lead by proper example.
While agree with the points that you are making, it is really hard for me to agree with you on the issue of it not being the government's responsibility to tell a business what to do in this situation. In reality, childhood obesity (and obesity in general) is a HUGE problem in the United States and most 1st-world countries. Regardless as to whether or not it seems like the government is overstepping its bounds, the vast majority of parents have FAILED in their duties about making informed and healthy decisions for their children. Just look at the statistics for obesity rates today compared to 30 years ago – the difference is astounding! As the obesity pandemic continues to worsen, it is time that we start to realize that people will generally make the decision that is easiest/cheapest for them and their busy lifestyle. As it appears today, these easy/cheap choices involve food that is cheap, delivered quickly, and satisfies the child. This removes the time-consuming process of making the food, the process of buying a bunch of ingredients, and the likelihood that the child will disapprove of the meal. Easy. However, it also makes the child OBESE.
Let's face the facts, people; the majority of Americans are unwilling to take the time to make logical and healthy decisions for either themselves or their children. If they WERE, we wouldn't have this problem to begin with. It is about damn time the government did something about this. For where we fail in our duties, they SHOULD pick up the slack so as to not let the problem spiral out of control.
It is ridiculous that the government has suddenly decided that it is going to combat obesity by removing a toy from a Happy Meal. Like that is going to do anything. Are you also going to strip the supermarkets of the gazillions of chips, cookies, ice cream, cheese, whole fat milk (I could go on)? Are you going to force all the chain restaurants to reduce their portion sizes to the size of Lean Cuisines? By and large, people eat high fat, high sugar foods because their bodies are programmed to want them. It's our biology. Unfortunately, our biology is designed to help us withstand periods of famine, and now, with the huge abundance of available food (healthy and not so healthy), people are overeating and getting fat. Taking toys out of Happy Meals won't make a dent. It's just a waste of money. Most adults know that the only way to keep weight low is to eat less and move more, and it is really up to them to figure out how to raise their own children and to guide their eating and activity choices. The government is not going to make a dent in the problem with this type of ridiculous legislation.
I fully agree, Dana
I too pull into the parking lot - my child's only choice is "apple juice or white milk?" - chocolate milk and soda are not an option, as are apples - she getting a 4 nugget, apples and her choice of beverage (after I eliminate the worst choices) - McD's is a special treat and fries are a treat beyond that - the fries only happen if a grown-up is getting a meal too (usually a salad – I know the dressings are a killer, but the vinagrettes aren't too bad and the salads are big enough to split) and then a small fry is split among everyone. I don't need a gov't to tell me what to feed my child – it's my job to teach my kid to make good choices in life. (food and otherwise) Parents need to not be "friends" to their kids, but be a "parent". kids aren't supposed to like you, they are supposed to learn from you.
I eat healthy meals 95% of the time. But if I want to take my [future] children to McDonalds once in a while, that is MY CHOICE to make, not the government's choice. Little Timmy doesn't need to order his own food, the parent can order it and give it to him.
Ever hear of "moderation" and something being a "treat"? Do you want to ban chocolate cake too, since it's "unhealthy and kids like it"? Chocolate cake is not "everyday food", neither is McDonalds.
Um.. you still get the toy when you get the apple slices instead of the fries, friend. I let my kids get Happy Meals for a special treat on occasion. They know that their Happy Meals always come with apples and juice instead of fries and soda. And of course they love the toy! Some of them are really fun! :-)
Theres an "I dont support fast food" option but not an "I dont buy happy meals" option? The only time Ive ever done fast food items is for a Coke glass from McDonalds that you got for free if you supersized a combo.
Heck Yeah! I stll have my Coke Float glass from 1987.
Me too!
Missing an "M" there buddy. Cause I'm perfect.
Coke glasses are so worth the trip to McFagles. I had two of them, until I got drunk and broke them on accident.
Funny! I did the same thing for a Coke glass. Just once!
Tasty toys...........huh huh huh. (Beavis and Butthead)
Yeah, that's what I was thinking when I read the name.
You are missing the point.. it is not you, it is the kids. Their incentive to request a mc donald's meal is the toy
So what? Of course we all know that kids like getting happy meals because of the toys.. But, children aren't the ones paying for them. It's the parents.
It's not up to the government to raise our children.
True the parents probably shouldn't be buying their kids unhealthy food, but who are you to tell them otherwise? It's none of our business what parents buy their kids.
I have never bought a happy meal, toy or no.
The government isn't telling parents what food they can buy for their children. You can still buy kids junk food- you just don't get a toy with it.
the problem is, people think they are making choices themselves, without any outside influence. The idea that government shouldn't tell you how to raise your kid, and if you want to feed your kid junk food, that's your choice is flawed. The reason it is flawed is because people don't realize how many millions if not billions of dollars goes into marketing McDonalds, Happy Meals, etc. You think when you drive by McDonalds and decide to pull into the drive way its not because you were programmed to want it by years of advertising (sometimes, false and misleading) since you were in diapers, you're crazy. The government ban on toys in happy meals is a small attempt to level the playing field for the consumers who are faced with a constant onslaught of advertising and marketing that programs us to want certain things and types of food. It starts with the Happy Meal.
Extremely well put HAPPYMEAL. The American consumer is getting brainwashed by the constant advertisement of these mega fast food corporations. For them except Chipotle, there is no thought of corporate social responsilbility, just concern for their profit. Watch Food Inc. Fast food has changed the way Amer. get the food (corporate farming – which pollutes our land and waterways and uses illegal immigrants in highly unsafe work conditions) and our way of life (we want everything big, cheap and we want it now). To say nothing of all the trash it creates. Can't they use biodegradable containers?
Parents can just say no to McGarbage, just like they can always turn off the brainwashing.
Maybe stupid people just shouldn't have kids. But we don't need a law forcing them not to.
I'd agree with you on the "up to the parents" thing, but now that health care has been Socialized, we're all going to be paying for each other's actions.
Yeah, that's right, you're going to be footing the medical bills for those pudgy little blobs whining for the Happy Meal. Welcome to Socialism.
Agreed, although during the Beanie Baby phase parents were also to blame.
I agree! My parents collected all of them, would bite your head off if you took the tags off and even bought cases for them thinking they'd be worth something some day!
No, when I was a kid, I wanted McD's food and not the toy. I got the happy meal and got stuck with a lousy toy.
Your reasoning is why this is so upsetting. People automatically assume kids are choosing unhealthy foods over healthy foods for a toy. No, it's because quite frankly french fries and chicken nuggets taste better than yucky apples and carrots to a large majority of people. My parents let me eat one fast food meal a week because they were smart and good parents who exercised good parenting and rationing.
Even as an adult, I still go to McD's on the rare occasion because I want the food! Obesity in kids starts with the parents lack of responsibility and not the business but of course, in this society, it's always the other person's fault and government has to fix it. It's really sad that government is now telling McD's what they can and can't do. In so doing, they are wasting tax payers money because people can't be grown up.
Wow are you that ignorant? Don't you see that its all a marketing masterpiece. If McDonald's can get kids to associate toys, and fun with their food what food do you think they are likely to choose? Im not saying i agree with the government stepping in, but the fact is we have a serious problem on our hands. I conclude, personally, that the problem is at the FDA level. The FDA is not overseeing the foods we eat, and the ingredients that go into them. What really makes fast food unhealthy, not to mention a lot of other processed foods, is the preservatives, flavorings, color, and other enhancing fillers to make food task good, look good, and be consistent every time. This is a problem that has spiraled out of control and the FDA has given the keys and the car to the corporations.
@bassoutwest The problem is at the individual level, not the FDA. You seem to know a lot about what goes into the food. Does that stop you from buying it? If it does, then why can't you expect other people to come to the same conclusion and make the same choices as you on their own? No one can be made to be healthy against his or her will. If the good people of San Fransisco did not want happy meals then they wouldn't buy happy meals. And if the fast food chains in the area sold very few happy meals, or any of their products, then they would have to either leave or change. Don't mistake government for reason, there is nothing eloquent about government. Government is force, like a fire; a troublesome servant and fearful master.
AT – my 7 year old twins ONLY want the Happy Meal for the toy. They get the toy and do not eat the food at all. We used to take them to McDonalds or Burger King once or twice a year, but stopped because they absolutely do not eat the food,
well said AT! slow totalitarianism is a word that everyone needs to look up. The rest of you are all drones for the leftist socialist agenda... to bad socialism always runs out of other peoples money.
Very well put AT. I have four boys who are now teens and young adults. When the kids were little, we would occasionally take them to McDonalds. Though I don't remember the toy ever being a real big motivator, they did enjoy them ( I confess, I actually bought all the stuffed animals they once offered around Earth Day–sans meals–because it happens to land on my oldest son's birthday). But we certainly didn't go very often so it was a big treat.
The fact of the matter is small children are naturally drawn to high carb, high fat foods because it's an imitation of breast milk (or formula) and what they received while inside their mothers. While everyone has their likes and dislikes, most eating habits are taught by modeling, dialogue, and access to healthy foods more often than unhealthy foods.
They are all healthy, strong young men now–not an extra pound in sight. They dislike most fast food–none of them drink soda (entirely their decision), and love vegetables, so I'd say we did something right.
Well, said AT. People need to stop blaming others and take responisibility for the quality of their lives.
You bought food to get toy? – You ran yet another article on this?
"It's not up to the government to raise our children". So we should abolish public education, safety requirements in cars for car seats, let China put however much lead they want into toys and you can figure out if it's harmful for your kid, the list goes on and on. But you're probably more concerned "the government" will put fluoride in the water.
don't forget about letting them drink and smoke!! Actually, I hate how the government bosses me around about my cigarettes! I should be able to smoke whereever and whenever I want, to hell with public health!
No! We should go the other way. State planned educations, state planned jobs,state decreed religion, only PBS on television, etc. People shouldn't be allowed choice, that leads to dangerous things like ideas, innovation, being different. I thank Big Brother for setting my alarm in the morning, for my exercise television show, even for my Moment of Hate to know what I should like.
Can hyperbole both ways. Personally I just tell my nephew 'no' when he whines for something like this. But hey, steamed broccoli in cheese sauce is his fave thing, so add in a Thomas train and he's in his happy place again. He's the kid, I'm the adult, and that's pretty much the entire required chain of authority on this matter.
Hmm.. maybe a state-sponsored cooking class for 'taste great veggies' would been a better idea...greens don't need to taste like boiled mulch after all, and healthy AND flavourful meals would avoid some issue with 'taste great less healthy McCrap'.
Curious: if the government decided mandatory exercise for an hour aday.. children AND adult... how many of the proponents of 'big brother knows best' would still cheerfully support that initiative? It's one thing to do lipservice to something you aren't affected by, but, after taking a long look at your daily lives...could you WOULD you devote an hour for the entire family to be involved in cardiovascular activity?
SS: my daughter wants the burger and fries. She does enjoy the toy sometimes, but we don't usually give it to her until later, after the meal. Her interest is in the food, not they toy.
Why is space being wasted on this non-article? Yes kids get happy meals for the free toy. Just like up until recently cereals had free toys inside with kids chosing the cereal that said 'free inside'.
It totally is the kids. I remember guilt tripping my grandmother into going to nearly every McDonalds on the north side of Miami to find the whole set of Charlotte's web toys in like 1994. I was about 9 years old and basically lived on fast food.
Now that I'm in my 20s, weight loss is such a battle and of course I could care less about a toy!
no the point is. u can legally smoke weed get the munchies bring the kid and u for a happy meal get toys!!! then repeat it 2 hours later cuz of the munchies again
The recent political phrase of "man up" comes to mind. When is the American public going to take responsibility for it's own responsibilities and decisions. I have six kids who grew up down the street from McDonald's that are now grown and all extremely healthy and active. Much of the reason is they had parents who generally said no to their requests to eat at McDonald's. Additionally, they all were active kids including participation in sports rather than sitting on their butts in front of a TV screen and video games. It's so amazing to me that they also have healthy kids........take responsibility people
I don't really visit fast food joints but recently I took my grandson to his soccer game (he is 5 yrs. old) and he requested McDonalds after practice. Got a kids meal for the chicken nuggets and tea didn't even mention a toy. Think a lot of the hype is in the minds of people trying to control other peoples lives. The government is one group which is trying to tell us what we can and cannot buy. Think the government needs to leave us alone and start realizing China is a much bigger problem than parents taking their kids to Mc'Donalds. By the way I drive a Suburban and love it guess this won't last much longer either if the government has anything to do with it! SHAME ON YOU
I pretty much agree. My nephew wants the toy and hardly touches any of the food from the meal. I must say that I do purchase fast food for my own son at least 7 times a week. He either gets chicken nugget mighty kids meal or 2 five piece nuggets and value fries from Wendy's. However, my son will ONLY eat chicken nuggets, fries, chips, crackers, cereal, apples, grapes, green peppers, and celery. He has severe autism, ADHD, and a cognitive disability. I do make home cooked meals for my other children. I have also tried to bake my son's food but for some reason he will not eat baked nuggets only fries. Anyhow, every time I buy a meal I throw the toy away because he doesn't play with toys (any toys) anyhow. If I could purchase their food and cook it myself at home I would.
Not to sound ignorant or confrontational, but aren't the cooking oils used on fast food associated with worsening autism?
Um, I've bought meals to get the toys as an adult. I bought kids meals to get Star Wars toys for my geeky self. LOL
I like fast food in moderation, though. I eat a LOT when I go out, but I don't go out often.
@Mike You are already. When people can't afford to pay their doctor bill, guess where the costs are passed on to?
Found that book. thanks for the christmas idea thought the entire site was freaking funny.