Do you take your child to McDonalds for the toys?

We do not go to McDonald's, ever.

My 3 1/2 year-old son has been, once, when he was a few months old and I was visiting an aunt and uncle who eat at McD's Every. Single. Day.

I try to avoid places that pass out toys along with their junk food. When we simply must have fast food (once a month, if that) we go to Sonic, largely because their toys are not commercial tie-ins.

We do not own a TV and so my kids are not as aware of the big "in" things of the moment, or what movies are tied in to what fast food chain. I hope to keep it that way as long as possible.

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The tone of this post is so passive aggressive that you are only going to get responses from people who don't admit to EVER eating at McDonalds.

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We eat there occasionally, on road trips mostly. I don't think my son as has ever gotten a kids meal there, but either way, we don't keep the junky little toys that most fast food places give out. We prefer to go to Chick-fil-a when it's an option. The food is better, and so are the toys. He loves the books and puzzles that they generally have.

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I think I have to copy paste my answer here.. I JUST adressed the 'nutrition' aspect on another blogger's blog.

I worked at Mcd’s for 4 years and Hardee’s for a year before that. Comparing the 2 I can tell you that Mcd’s is not the craphole it’s made out to be. When I ate there I made my own sandwiches and it was all fresh ingredients! If you didn’t want a burger, they had salads, or fajitas! I usually worked breakfast and you wouldn’t believe how HOME COOKED Mcd’s breakfast is. We didn’t make the biscuits from scratch like I had to do at Hardee’s but everything else was fresh. I had to crack real eggs into forms, I had to personally toast real english muffins and bagels, I cooked the bacon myself on the grill, on and on. Stop blaming a corporation for it and blame yourselves. You choose what you buy from fast food. You can eat healthier there if you want to, just get a nutritional booklet which is free and check it out for yourself. I know for breakfast we’d get special orders all the time where someone wanted their egg cooked without butter or no butter on their muffin, no cheese, etc. They had to wait a little longer, but they got what they asked for.

Ironically I was at my healthiest when I worked there.. and I ate there at least once per day. Have you ever had a chicken fajita? Also made from scratch and totally yummy! Only chicken, veggies, and cheese. If you are so inclined, ask for one without cheese and you shall have your wish granted!

And also want to add a thought on that HOAX Super Size Me. Do some research into how that man proved his point. You can prove anything if you want to. A lady I know wanted to prove you could LOSE weight at Mcdonald's so she ate every meal there for a month and yep, lost weight. It's in the choices you make. You can't blame someone else for your bad decisions.

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We go to McDonalds - not every day or even every week. It is a "treat" for my 4 year old who gets to run around in the play area with the other kids after me trying to convince him to eat something before he runs off. And yes, he gets chicken nuggets and french fries and *gasp* chocolate milk! Do I feel bad? Nope. Not even a little. I have a 13 month old and she gets chicken nuggets and the apple slices and plain old boring milk. And we don't go for the toys, it's mostly for the playplace and the opportunity for my older boy to run amok with other kids. We do keep most of the toys though. He has a backpack full of small toys from fast food places or the dollar store that we take with us to "boring" restraunts so he has small stuff to play with and it is no big deal if we leave one or 2 behind.

So do I think the occassional fast food will kill them? No. Is it the marketing? No. Well, the apples thing was a good move on their part... It's all about the darn playplace! :)

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I take my daughter to McDonald's for a treat because it is safe. She is allergic to peanuts, and places like McDonald's have standardized their menus. While the local organic restaurant will send her into anaphalaxis, fast food restaurants are far safer. I have bigger concerns than whether the occasional happy meal is super nutritious. As long as the rest of the week is nutritious, occasional treats are very good for a little girl who has to hear "no, you can't eat that" far too often.

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My husband takes my son to McDs a few times a month so he can blow off some steam in the playland. I was pregnant and on partial bedrest and a new stay-at-home mom. Our toddler son was bored out of his mind cooped up all day. He went crazy at the playland and had so much fun.

I don't feel that bad about the food there for my son since we never feed him desserts at home. He doesn't crave junk food, and french fries still aren't his favorite foods.

As for the toys, I've been collecting them for months to have in our carry-on bag this winter when we have to fly to see family. We'll have a stockpile of new, sterilized toys to pull out for Ben to play with and enjoy.

Cheryl at http://redpens-diapers.blogspot.com

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My son gets to go with his Nana, which ends up being about once a month at the most.We don't like the way it tastes actually,and only while travelling will we eat fast food, and never MCD's.

I think its about moderation, NOTHING sparks a kid to over-do something than being denied it your whole childhood. While I certainly don't think its healthy food, I think denying it completely adds to its allure.

As for the toys, I hate the marketing, and my son really doesn't care in the end, its all about the play area.

I WILL say, that we have forbidden any McDonalds that have video games instead of run and play areas....gross! Sit and eat, then sit and play? Talk about adding to the obesity epidemic!

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Brava Laura... thanks for your post and point of view. I completely agree with you on "Super Size Me". What a joke... his rules were absolutely designed for weight gain!

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We always go to McDonald`s in the morning before we head to visit the grandparents - which is about once every 3 weeks to a month. It`s a long car trip, so we leave bright and early - and I`m not getting up even earlier to fix a rushed breakfast that we probably won`t have the time to eat... Leaving leftovers that will be bad by the time we get home. Just not worth it.
So we stop by McDonald's on the way out.

We also sometimes pick up something small on the way home if we`ve been out all day. We never eat a McDonald`s dinner - but we will have a tie-over-until-real-dinner snack there. I`d say that in total, we have something McDonald`s maybe once a week.

That said - My son has never had a "Happy Meal". I don`t think he has the slightest clue that they even give out toys there. He doesn`t like their hamburgers (and neither do I. I always get chicken or fish something or other if it`s not a muffin in the morning.) so he only really eats the french fries. Let me reword that - he LOVES the french fries. He eats virtually nothing day to day, so I am actually thankful that he will scarf down something so fatty and high in calories.

We don`t go for a "balanced meal". When we go it`s to put something in our stomachs to hold us over until the next *real* meal. I don`t expect it to be nutritional - just like I don`t expect a piece of cake to be nutritional. Going everyday is obviously out, but the occasional trip isn`t going to hurt you. Why treat it differently than any other snack food out there?

If the lure of a toy gets a child who wouldn`t normally eat something from McDonald`s to eat it in that case, is it really *always* a bad thing? In the end, it`s up to the parent to decide if the marketing is going to compel them to go to whatever they`re advertising.

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We go to either McDs or BK once a week. It is a treat for our daughter. Honestly it's too darn expensive to eat out, even at a fast food joint more than that. I dont know how some people can afford to feed their families that nearly every day. The money would be better spent at the grocery store and the time waiting in the line would be better spent cooking a healthier meal.

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Is McDonald's really that much less healthy than many other restaurants? I doubt it. Restaurant food isn't designed to be healthy and nutritious. It's designed to taste good so that you'll come back and buy some more.

Even healthy-sounding stuff often turns out to be high in fat, sugar or other undesirable ingredients. We've got to use our heads, think about what goes into the food we're ordering, and eat accordingly.

Thanks, Laura, for pointing out the different possibilities. I know that I was quite happy to read the McDonald's nutrition info and see the huge difference in a hot fudge sundae and a chocolate milkshake. Gimme the sundae!! Tastes better and not as bad for me!

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We live out of town, and usually when we go into the city for shopping we will stop at McDonalds for a Happy Meal. It's incredibly convenient and it's food my child will actually eat. I don't feel bad about it, and I don't think that a crummy toy, a burger, chips and some chocolate milk every 2 weeks will make my daughter an overweight couch potato.

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We never go to Md's. We don't like it. However we will go to Wendy's, BK or Arby's once or twice a month. My favorite of the three is Arby's.

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We haven't done it yet, but I do expect that I'll treat my daughters to McDonalds sometimes. The food is easy for little ones to eat. As for nutrition, it's not exactly organic spinach, but it's no worse than many other restaurant choices. I used to eat there every day during college and my first job, because it was one of the few places where I could afford to eat at all; and I never was overweight nor suffered any diet-oriented problems.

That said, who says you have to buy the toys? I have never bought a happy meal for any child in my entire life, nor had one bought for me, and I don't think anyone has been scarred for it. Personally I consider it a waste of money. It's entirely your choice whether you buy or don't buy a crappy toy, so how can you blame a business for offering it? Parenting is your responsibility, not that of the local businesses.

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When the great-granddaughters were younger, we had what I called a french fry allotment. Once a month we'd do fast food. Not usually McDonald's but one of the places that served the equivalent of a kid's meal with a toy.

Or we'd eat at a family friendly restaurant but they were still allowed to have what they wanted (which was always the fries).

They're all slim and healthy, their teeth are excellent, and they don't seem to have suffered any lasting damage.

For me, its always been about moderation, not prohibition.

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Afterthought - they're 12, 12, & and 14 now and have long since outgrown the french fry craze. I think that's partly because we never considered it as forbidden fruit.

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We go because it is a dry safe warm place to play in the winter or rain. He loves the play place. He never eats french fries, my son hates french fries. He loves the nuggets and the toy.
They do have healthy options. and compared to others it is cheap.

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Afterthought #2.

How did comment #16 get ahead of comment #18?

Very strange.

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Afterthought #2.

How did comment #16 get ahead of comment #18?

Very strange.

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