McDonalds for a 4 year old

Tombo2001

missis aggie wrote: »

Its if course up to you, but I personally don't like the idea of McDonald's being associated as a treat... in the end of the day its a take away with highly processed food...

very few treats are good for you, that applies in adulthood as well as childhood.

But i take your point.

Its not so much 'denying him a treat' that would concern me....

.....more that I dont want him to be the only kid in the class that never went to McDonalds.

Ayla

amiable wrote: »

What do you think are in the Burgers and Nuggets?

Burgers = mince meat, which means it gets all the leftover bits of the animal. Then it has grease, sodium & whatever additives they use to bind the mince.

Nuggets = technically McD's says it only uses 100% chix breast meat, but again there are binding additives, not to mention whatever they use to make the crumb coating. Butter, grease, deep fried oil.

These are not specifically against the burgers/nuggets produced by McD's. They are used by every mass food producer to make the food, which is what I stated in my original post. But I think giving a child these foods (wherever they are made) should be considered carefully & in moderation/balance with other natural & healthy foods.

Tombo2001

Greenmachine wrote: »

Not sure how your child has seen the commercials and not you.

happy to address this point

(i) he has been with a child minder for much of the past year during day time. I dont have much control over the ads he watches while there.

(ii) maybe I did see them but just didnt notice. Any more than I would notice an ad for any other thing that I've no interest in. I am guessing McDonalds know full well how to pitch an ad a child.

If I see an Aldi ad for cycling gear, I will pick it up and read it in some detail......the lights, the reflective gear, tee shirts and so on. My kid wont notice it though. How come he wouldnt and I would?

amiable

Ayla wrote: »

Burgers = mince meat, which means it gets all the leftover bits of the animal. Then it has grease, sodium & whatever additives they use to bind the mince.

Nuggets = technically McD's says it only uses 100% chix breast meat, but again there are binding additives, not to mention whatever they use to make the crumb coating. Butter, grease, deep fried oil.

These are not specifically against the burgers/nuggets produced by McD's. They are used by every mass food producer to make the food, which is what I stated in my original post. But I think giving a child these foods (wherever they are made) should be considered carefully & in moderation/balance with other natural & healthy foods.

You made it sound like there was lots and lots of bad stuff in them. (leftover bits aren't all bad)
McDonalds also don't fry their burgers in oil unlike a lot of other fast food outlets so it is a small plus.

They are burgers. They are not designed to be healthy but we both seem to agree in moderation is not a bad thing.

Tombo2001

amiable wrote: »

You made it sound like there was lots and lots of bad stuff in them. (leftover bits aren't all bad)
McDonalds also don't fry their burgers in oil unlike a lot of other fast food outlets so it is a small plus.

They are burgers. They are not designed to be healthy but we both seem to agree in moderation is not a bad thing.

I would be making the assumption that Mcdonalds food has zero nutritional value, or close to zero.

Which I would say of most fast food. Maybe a proper fish and chips (ie made with fresh fish) would be an exception.

amiable

Tombo2001 wrote: »

I would be making the assumption that Mcdonalds food has zero nutritional value, or close to zero.

Which I would say of most fast food. Maybe a proper fish and chips (ie made with fresh fish) would be an exception.

And in my opinion a meal with zero nutritional value every couple of months will do kids no harm but I stress that's only my opinion OP.

Do what you feel is right and I think you won't go far wrong.
Each parent has different ideas.

I would guess that fish and chips from a traditional chip shop would have more calories but I'm open to correction on that.

liliq

Big Bag of Chips wrote: »

I don't see any harm in it occassionally. It's a treat in our house too. But not a 'treat' in the sense of a reward, its a treat in the sense of it's seldom!

This would be my biggest "thing"... I don't like the idea of using McDonalds as a "treat" in the context of a reward- I don't like the idea of any food being used like that to be honest. It could set someone up for using food as a reward for themselves for any little acheivement and generally to create a feel good factor down the line as a teenager or adult.
I'd rather spend a fiver on a crappy toy or put it towards a day out at the zoo or something.

I tend to agree with the "everything in moderation" sentiment. I suppose if you never go you will create a mystery around it, and he'll just want to go even more. Hopefully like has been said, he won't even like it if he gets there!
The main issue I would have with McDonalds food would be the amount of salt in it, and how highly processed it is.

Tombo2001

one point.....I;ve noticed the words "in moderation" a lot.....which i presume people mean is "once in a while".

But the McDonalds meal as a treat is not a moderate treat compared to giving them a kinder egg or bowl of ice cream.

A kids happy meal has the same calorie count as 10 actimels.

EDIT: Illiq, this wasnt a response to your post, I was writing it the same time as you. Your point on fish and chips is well made, I would accept that.

amiable

I've never heard of GBK or Bobo. Can somebody fill me in what they are?

Big Bag of Chips

Does everything we eat have to have some nutritional value? How boring would that be?!
An occassional outing to McDonalds is not going to do any damage, lasting or short term, to your child.

You are the parent. You are in control of what he eats day to day. The occassional 'slip' is actually healthy.. in the sense that it takes the mystery away.

I had friends growing up who were never allowed sweets. After mass when we'd all get 10p to go to the shop they would be brought straight back to their car and given an apple. Which resulted in them gorging on sweets whenever they were invited to parties. They would spend the entire time at the table and would even be stock piling them in their pockets.

Rasmus

Why is there the assumption that everyone means 'reward' when mentioning 'treat' ? A treat is just that - treating the child to something different and not an acknowledgement of good behaviour.

pwurple

Tombo2001 wrote: »

A kids happy meal has the same calorie count as 10 actimels.

What an odd thing to compare it to. I wouldn't give a child an actimel either. One of the most highly processed and heavily marketed items on the market, with a list of ingredients as long as my right arm. Yikes.

Plus, the sums are a bit off. Actimel is 75 kcal.
I'm not sure what's in happy meal, but I'm guessing from the thread it's child portion of nuggets (160), chips child size (100), apple slices (15) and a drink.. from water (0) or juice (90) or coke child size (110)

That's 275 with water, or 385 with coke. Nowhere near 750 calories. So it's more like 3.5 overprocessed actimels.

liliq

Tombo2001 wrote: »

EDIT: Illiq, this wasnt a response to your post, I was writing it the same time as you. Your point on fish and chips is well made, I would accept that.

Amaibles post, but it was a good point

amiable wrote: »

I've never heard of GBK or Bobo. Can somebody fill me in what they are?

GBK= Gourmet Burger Kitchen, I assume Bobo is similar.

Rasmus wrote: »

Why is there the assumption that everyone means 'reward' when mentioning 'treat' ? A treat is just that - treating the child to something different and not an acknowledgement of good behaviour.

Probably just the vernacular. We got a "treat" for getting a good school report, or not running riot at a funeral or something when we were kids. It was the word used for reward...

Tombo2001

pwurple wrote: »

What an odd thing to compare it to. I wouldn't give a child an actimel either. One of the most highly processed and heavily marketed items on the market, with a list of ingredients as long as my right arm. Yikes.

Plus, the sums are a bit off. Actimel is 75 kcal.
I'm not sure what's in happy meal, but I'm guessing from the thread it's child portion of nuggets (160), chips child size (100), apple slices (15) and a drink.. from water (0) or juice (90) or coke child size (110)

That's 275 with water, or 385 with coke. Nowhere near 750 calories. So it's more like 3.5 overprocessed actimels.

According to this the average Kids happy meal has 616 calories.

I had referenced a number for an adults meal.
http://www.fastfoodmarketing.org/media/fastfoodfacts_kidsmealcalories.pdf


As regards choice of Actimel.....it also is a 'treat'.

Using the 616 figure, one average happy meal = 8.2 Actimels.

I used Actimel to give context to the word "in moderation".

Would you give your kid 8 Actimels in one sitting.

amiable

Tombo2001 wrote: »

According to this the average Kids happy meal has 616 calories.

I had referenced a number for an adults meal.
http://www.fastfoodmarketing.org/media/fastfoodfacts_kidsmealcalories.pdf


As regards choice of Actimel.....it also is a 'treat'.

Using the 616 figure, one average happy meal = 8.2 Actimels.

I used Actimel to give context to the word "in moderation".

Would you give your kid 8 Actimels in one sitting.

I personally don't give my kids any Actimels

Ayla

If anyone's really that interested, here are the nutrition figures straight from McD's website:

http://www.mcdonalds.ie/content/dam/ireland/docs/nutrition.pdf

dark crystal

My goodness, you'd swear it was class A drugs the child was asking for, not a hamburger!

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a child, who otherwise eats perfectly healthy food, having a hamburger, fishfingers or a few nuggets every once in a while. They also provide raisins or a fruit cup with every Happy Meal and a drink such as milk, water or juice.

I wouldn't be promoting McDonald's as a regular meal for kids, but I wouldn't be demonising it for them either. A healthy balance is what it's all about, imo.

pwurple

Tombo2001 wrote: »

According to this the average Kids happy meal has 616 calories.

I had referenced a number for an adults meal.
http://www.fastfoodmarketing.org/media/fastfoodfacts_kidsmealcalories.pdf


As regards choice of Actimel.....it also is a 'treat'.

Using the 616 figure, one average happy meal = 8.2 Actimels.

I used Actimel to give context to the word "in moderation".

Would you give your kid 8 Actimels in one sitting.

I don't give children any actimels. I wouldn't even have them in the house. How the yoghurt market got so enormous I will never understand. Marketing masters at work there. But that's a bit off topic.

The site you references gives 385 as a happy meal of 4 nuggets, apple slices and a glass of milk. The figues are just wrong as far as I can tell from the official ones. It has used the adult portions to calculate those, instead of the child ones possibly. See the official site Ayla posted above for the actual figures.

Tombo2001

dark crystal wrote: »

My goodness, you'd swear it was class A drugs the child was asking for, not a hamburger!

.

No you would not swear its Class A drugs the child was asking for.

We've been discussing the calorie content of McDonalds happy meals, not bloody syringes and methadone.

Why is it not possible to have a discussion about childrens nutrition without this sort of comment.

amiable

I have a brother who wouldn't dream of bringing his kids to McDonalds but has no problem bringing them to Supermacs.
It's a strange world we live in. He's adamant that Supermacs isn't as bad for them as McDonalds.

Tombo2001

pwurple wrote: »

The site you references gives 385 as a happy meal of 4 nuggets, apple slices and a glass of milk. .

if that was the happy meal the child would go for, then i wouldnt have started the thread.

As regards your comments on Actimel, yes I completely agree. A marketing miracle that it is regarded as 'healthy'.

But the choice was for context.

An alternative. A 17g packet of Snax crisps has 85 calories.

The 616 calorie kids happy meal (ie burger, chips, fiizzy drink) = 7.5 bags of Snax.

Would you give your kid 7.5 bags of Snax in one sitting. Could you call that 'moderation', or ok 'once in a while'.

Rasmus

OP, when I bring kids to McD, I get the simple burger and milk as a drink. They don't even like the chips. So if you bring your son there one day it is possible not to fill him with sugar and it is not necessarily replacing a meal.

Ayla

Tombo2001 wrote: »

if that was the happy meal the child would go for, then i wouldnt have started the thread.

Your child is 4. When you approach the McD counter, you ask your child, would you like nuggets or a burger? Would you like apple slices or raisins? Would you like water or milk? By giving those choices you can direct what they are eating to be as healthy as possible while still giving them some decision in what they get. They have the McD's "experience," you get the healthiest possible food into them, everyone wins.

amiable

Tombo2001 wrote: »

if that was the happy meal the child would go for, then i wouldnt have started the thread.

As regards your comments on Actimel, yes I completely agree. A marketing miracle that it is regarded as 'healthy'.

But the choice was for context.

An alternative. A 17g packet of Snax crisps has 85 calories.

The 616 calorie kids happy meal (ie burger, chips, fiizzy drink) = 7.5 bags of Snax.

Would you give your kid 7.5 bags of Snax in one sitting. Could you call that 'moderation', or ok 'once in a while'.

OP in my opinion you are coming across as a person who has a gripe with McDonalds for some reason.

Moderation doesn't have to be taken in the context you are choosing to use it in.
People seem to be giving all types of opinions to you which everyone is entitled to but unless it's the opinion you agree with you don't seem to want to hear.
My idea of moderation with McDonalds is once probably every 2 months for myself and my family and my kids seem very happy and healthy with that.

Do my kids ask for McDonalds on other days? Of course they do but I simply explain that we won't be having it today. We will have it another day.

In my opinion also a treat doesn't have to be a reward. a treat can be just a nice family evening going to McDonalds.
We also go to the beach, forest, playground and other places as a treat.

amiable

Ayla wrote: »

Your child is 4. When you approach the McD counter, you ask your child, would you like nuggets or a burger? Would you like apple slices or raisins? Would you like water or milk? By giving those choices you can direct what they are eating to be as healthy as possible while still giving them some decision in what they get. They have the McD's "experience," you get the healthiest possible food into them, everyone wins.

Great point made here. Give a child a choice of two things you chose that way they feel like they are in control.

Tombo2001

amiable wrote: »

OP in my opinion you are coming across as a person who has a gripe with McDonalds for some reason.

.

Amiable, believe me I dont wake up in the morning thinking Grr that bloody McDonalds.

The OP gives the context for the discussion. Same would apply if it was BK, KFC, Taco Bell or Eddie Rockets.

amiable

Tombo2001 wrote: »

Amiable, believe me I dont wake up in the morning thinking Grr that bloody McDonalds.

The OP gives the context for the discussion. Same would apply if it was BK, KFC, Taco Bell or Eddie Rockets.

I didn't suggest you do

Tombo2001

amiable wrote: »

I didn't suggest you do

I have no gripe against McDonalds as a corporate entity.

I dont like the food that is sold in fast food chains.

Now in response, please dont suggest that I have a gripe against them, because in my view that suggests some sort of personal issue I might have with the company, or that I have another agenda; and that is unfair to me.

Again, as with the hard drugs comment.....why is it not possible to have a conversation about the calorific content of fast food without a "you have a gripe against McDonalds" comment....

Rasmus

amiable wrote: »

Great point made here. Give a child a choice of two things you chose that way they feel like they are in control.

+1!

dark crystal

Tombo2001 wrote: »

No you would not swear its Class A drugs the child was asking for.

We've been discussing the calorie content of McDonalds happy meals, not bloody syringes and methadone.

Why is it not possible to have a discussion about childrens nutrition without this sort of comment.

I was commenting more on the tone of your OP, in which you seemed alarmed that your child had encountered a McDonald's advert and then mentioned a burger.

I personally wouldn't let it bother me quite so much, as I believe there to be too much fear these days spouted in the media about food. If you honestly don't wish your child to visit McDonald's, then don't bring them. At the end of the day, you're the parent.

I just think over analysing every morsel that goes into a child's mouth or worrying about every advert on TV could get really exhausting after a while. Of course we all want our kids to be healthy and happy. I just happen to believe there is nothing wrong with a child eating a hamburger every once in a while as part of an otherwise healthy diet, that's all.