Happy Meal Toy...the root of all EVIL

[thrillme]

Question? How many times a month do your children (under 10) borrow the car keys and credit cards and drive themselves to McDonalds to eat an unhealthy meal ONLY to get a toy?

San Francisco seems to believe that "evil TOY" is contributing to the obesity problem...When my son was younger I didn't allow him to "drive" to McDonalds...I made him "walk" :D...no no really...sometimes I actually DROVE him myself and upon occasion actually paid. After he ate...OMG...he blew off the cheap toy and headed for the tunnels..."Blast them" actually enticing my child with physically active playtime! :thedolls:

[DizneyRox]

Reminds me of a classic line from from SNL.


"Oh, It's the computer that's stupid, not you, right?"

[LibertyTreeGal]

Speaking from experience (lived in the Bay Area for waaay too long), the folks in SF (as well as way to many in the rest of CA), seek to control behavior by attcking the wrong thing. It is funny, the things that they want to control vs the things that they don't. Happy Meal toys do not entice the children nearly as much as the tasty fat content ;)

And it is the parents making the decisions, not the kids. My kids ask for fast food all the time and I have this magic phrase that solcves everything, it's goes like this "NO, but if you are that hungry, then I have a plate of leftover green beans and meat loaf from last night!"

[Kenny1113]

And it is the parents making the decisions, not the kids. My kids ask for fast food all the time and I have this magic phrase that solcves everything, it's goes like this "NO, but if you are that hungry, then I have a plate of leftover green beans and meat loaf from last night!"

Nicely put!!!! I tell my kids "no it is not healthy".Everyone knows these foods are not healthy.

My kids never ask to go to Mickey d's for the toys. It's because they want the cheeseburger, french fries (yum:blush:) and chocolate milk. The toy is just an added bonus.(that lasts all of 10 min).

I think this is so ridiculous. This is a parenting issue not a toy issue.

[BrerGnat]

The thing is, lots of "parents" don't know how to parent. They need someone making these kinds of rules because they otherwise don't know how to make good choices for their children.

I think WE can all agree that this is "stupid", but we are also generally a group of level headed, well educated, and street smart people, who "get it".

[Dulcee]

*gasp* I occasionally ate happy meals as a child. I occasionally buy myself a happy meal now. Are they really all that bad?

Why do so few realize its all about moderation??

[clausjo]

I read about this a few months ago. I want to say that some family organization, or something like that, was trying to sue McDonalds to stop them from including toys with the Happy Meals because it entices children to be unhealthy. I think there was something about the packaging being too enticing as well. Crazy! We let our kids eat fast food from time to time as a treat, but it's up to us, not them and that's the key. If allowed, my daughter would eat junk food for every meal - with the occassional steak thrown in. I don't let her and that's my job. Everything in moderation!

[White Rose]

Seriously, this is just too crazy. Second of all, if you ARE going to buy your child a Happy Meal, from my understanding they do offer "healthier" options. I'm not sure how much healthier they are, but hey, they're THERE! As everyone else has said, moderation is KEY! :nono:

[NewDVCowner]

Seriously, this is just too crazy. Second of all, if you ARE going to buy your child a Happy Meal, from my understanding they do offer "healthier" options. I'm not sure how much healthier they are, but hey, they're THERE! As everyone else has said, moderation is KEY! :nono:

The law is that toys will not be given if any happy meal has over a certain number of calories. If the child (or parent) choose the option with apples and milk versus soda and french fries the toy is in the meal. It can be used as a tool to encourage children to eat healthier.

[White Rose]

The law is that toys will not be given if any happy meal has over a certain number of calories. If the child (or parent) choose the option with apples and milk versus soda and french fries the toy is in the meal. It can be used as a tool to encourage children to eat healthier.

Oh, wow! Thanks for this. I did not realize it was just excluding the option for the toy. Several news articles I read on it, simply said they were outlawing Happy Meals altogether.

I appreciate the correct info! :thumbsup:

[Kenny1113]

I think offering the option for the toy is even worse! Now when I choose to "treat" my child to the occasional cheat, allowing them to eat mcdonalds. They do not get a toy because other parents could not say "no" to their kids!?? Ugh! I really hopethis does not make it my way!


I suppose apples and milk will make the hamburger and chicken nuggets healthy???


Ok Im done.That's my two cents.

[bostonsam]

Hope this doesn't happen all over:humph:my youngest loves to get the toy,I mean what kid doesn't and most of the time he leaves half his fries anyways,eats 4 chicken nuggets and the milk/juice option;which is better than soda,but to skip giving the child a toy cause they didn't pick the "healthier" option someone else would prefer??C'mon!and I don't think anyone should judge another's parenting skills(unless unsafe)over food?!Every child is different/unique... some might prefer to eat what another doesn't.My 2 cents;)

[Carol]

MODERATOR ALERT

Folks --- if this turns into a government bashing thread it will be closed. There are several topics we don't allow on this board and politics is one of them. There are forums on the Internet that are designed for this type of hot topic -- INTERCOT is not one of them.