confronted girl-mcdonalds-ceo we-dont-sell-junk-food

I think that people should take personal responsibility for themselves and their children.

Agreed.

A salad with a calorie count of like 500-600? Junk food IMHO.

I understand what you're saying, but just want to point out, the salads don't have that many calories... it's the dressings and crap that are added to them. You can easily have a full salad with grilled chicken for under 250 calories by not using dressing or squeezing lemons onto it instead. The premium bacon ranch salad with grilled chicken is only 230 calories (410 with ranch dressing - still not 500-600).

http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/meal_bundles/favoritesunder400.html


(Note: not picking on you or trying to be rude or anything - just wanted to clarify :flowerforyou: )

True - but you know that because you take the time to educate yourself on making healthy switches. MOST people aren't doing that. They're thinking "oh look a salad - that's much healthier" and they're eating it how it comes. Most of the salads at chick-fil-a are like 500cals as they serve it. Then they pair it with a Diet Coke (it's 0 Calories so that's HEALTHY right?) Nevermind all the artificial sweeteners that you're slowly poisoning your body with. I won't even talk on how ridiculously expensive these salads are for lettuce and like 3 slivers of chicken.

Oh, I completely agree, but that's why people should put in the effort to make good choices for themselves instead of jumping to blame a company. Also, agree about the cost - it's ridiculous.

P.S. I don't eat McDonalds because there's very few options that fit my health choices, and I'm also a vegetarian so there's almost nothing I can eat there anyway. Oh well. I don't feel a loss from not having it. lol

Sure, treat your kids to mcdonalds once and a while, big deal?

It's an issue though when thats all they are eating - fatty, processed foods.

Take some damn responsability for yourself and your children.

^^ THIS. Also remember, most McD's have playgrounds for your children to play after they eat. I'd much rather take a child to McD's and let them play on the playground for 30 minutes after, then feed them pizza rolls and corn dogs and let them watch TV all day.

Don't let that fool you! Those playgrounds are a marketing ploy to have your child scream to stop there. There are playgrounds mostly in inner city mcdonald's, not in more affluent areas. It is not only a way to get your kid in there, but to get you to stay and keep getting more food. It is disgusting. Yes, there is always personal accountability, but don't give McD a bunch of credit for being socially responsible.

All else aside....I live in suburban Phoenix. There are more millionaires in my zip code than anywhere else in Arizona... I only know of one McDonalds that doesn't have a playland and that one is located in a retirement community.

That's racist. Old people need to play just as much as younger folks.

That would actually be discrimination against the elderly not racism.

Is it just me, or is there a bit of irony involved with using a 9 year old hand puppet to complain that McDonalds is using advertising to kids to make parents bring the kids in to McDonalds?

Complain about using kids by using kids.

You beat me to this. Agree!

I don't really see the issue with the mom raising HER child the way she sees fit honestly

I think that people should take personal responsibility for themselves and their children.

That sums it up enough for me. If you don't think it's good for your kids, don't bring them there. Personally, I think Mc D's is fine every so often. My kids eat both the apples and the fries and they're not anywhere near being overweight.

If it isn't McDonald's it is going to be some other place which serves less healthy food.

Our son goes grocery shopping with me. He has seen me read food labels and talk about the amount of sugar/fat in various products. When he was about 8, I charged him with being the King of Label Reading....so he has learned how to read labels and to make good choices.

That lead into his asking me about the nutrient content of other foods.

He has the skills now to make good choices and that's what I want for him.

And, we made a deal now that he learned on his own how fatty fries are that he can have fast food fries once a week. He choses a medium size without salt.

It isn't Mcdonald's responsibility to teach this child about healthy eating.

Excellent parenting skills! I wish I had that. I have the best of intentions with my kids but it doesn't always come out right. And then there's the ex on the other side, undoing everything I try to do. Ugh!

I'm actually teaching my daughters that they don't have to be mothers. So many of us have kids because we're expected to. I never wanted children. I don't have the skills or any of that good stuff. If you think about it, how many women actually think and plan to have kids? And how many times did you gasp in shock because someone said they didn't want kids? It's a strange world we live in, where the most difficult job is just expected and hardly ever prepared for. I'm off on a tangent again....

My main point was, KUDOS to the women with excellent parenting skills.

I see no problem with eating at McDonalds for adults or children. I eat there but prefer other fast food places. A happy meal with chicken nuggets / hamburger, apple slices and milk is not an unhealthy choice for a child. In my opinion, it is better to teach your kids to select healthier choices when faced with options than to hide places like that from them. When they get old enough to go to fast food on their own they will go there if they weren't allowed to as a child. If you shelter a kid from something, they are very likely to rebel and try it anyway. My cousins who are 7 have always been taught whats a healthy option when eating out and they by default pick the healthier options whenever we go out. Sure they occasionally want a sweet or candy but more often than not, they ask for a salad, chicken, a bowl of fruit, etc.

Exactly!
I don't see McDonald's as being junk food. Yes, some of their food has more salt than it should, but they're been lowering their salt levels over the years. Also, my kids go there, they eat more of the yogust than burgers etc. And to the one woman who said they have fillers... they don't.

I think McDonald's is a good place to teach your children that you can make choices and healthy ones. i.e. salads, fruit, yogurt, a parfait for desert, etc. But that it's also ok to have a burger sometimes.... as long as you don't have the 'bad' items every day.

I'd rather take my kids to McDonald's than to a sit down restaurant where a 'healthy' meal consists of mashed potatoes that have way too much butter or a piece grilled chicken that is smothered in a rich sauce, that have a 'healthy' designation written beside them.

As to the video, I didn't see it but as to waht i've read agree that the mother should be teaching her responsibility not how to blame others. It's my fault I got fat, not the fault of all the healthy and less healthy restaurants I went to. I generally always ate healthy, just ate way too much.

I'm actually teaching my daughters that they don't have to be mothers. So many of us have kids because we're expected to. I never wanted children. I don't have the skills or any of that good stuff. If you think about it, how many women actually think and plan to have kids? And how many times did you gasp in shock because someone said they didn't want kids? It's a strange world we live in, where the most difficult job is just expected and hardly ever prepared for. I'm off on a tangent again....

Off topic, but thank you for teaching this to your daughters. :flowerforyou: :drinker:
I don't want to ever have children and haven't wanted to since I was in my early teens, maybe earlier. People think I'm crazy and/or selfish because I don't want kids. I lived with my sister's family (including my 2 nephews) for awhile and love being with them... That's good enough for me. Some people want kids, some don't. Get over it, society!

Of wow, that little girls' parents are a real pack of douche bags who scripted the whole thing.