Ban Happy Meal Toys?

As much as I hate added responsibilities (specially at work), I don't shrug off ones when it comes to my kids. I think there is still value in parents saying NO, and not letting kids run wild with whatever they want. One of my pet peeves are people who have a sense of entitlement. People who think they are the center of the universe. And I think they all start from bad parenting.

Having watched this story from San Francisco unfold for months now, the story behind the "happy meal toy" from McDonald's and the city council for the city of SF, is only an example of someone thinking they are getting a handle on childhood obesity through legislation. Give me a break! What happened originally with this story, McDonald's told the city council when originally they wanted McDonald's to change the food in a happy meal to only what they considered healthy, that if they legislated that ordinance in SF, McDonald would close all the McDonald stores within the City of San Francisco. McDonald has already beat the "free" toy legislation by charging $.10 for the toy and the council can't charge McDonald's with anything. When politics, business and parental responsibility collide, business usually wins one way or the other these days. SF council backed off the change in the happy meal food and went after the toy because the loss in jobs by McDonald closing their stores was not one they were willing to have happen. In regards to responsible parents who need to teach discipline in all things to their children, eating right is a discipline that many are sadly lacking on their own adult level. Hard to teach good eating to children when you do not practice it. Food addiction is a big problem behind obesity. Addiction is the keyword for what is wrong with society and obesity. Until we see that, and deal with all the addictions people have equally, it will continue to avoid us. Everything I see, says obesity is as much a family disorder as many other dysfunctional issues. I was raised on the other end of the spectrum and probably suffered from malnutrition most of my young life. It wasn't until after my second child that weight started to be an issue. When I quit smoking, the climb up the weight ladder was very slow. It has been the last eight years that it has become a big problem for me. My weight isn't due to fast food, or bad diet, it is due to quantity and years of feeding foods to my body which it was intolerant too. Changing my diet to eliminate those foods has required a huge change, since my husband as far as we know at this time, doesn't require a food intolerant diet. But that is my issue and off the subject. Frankly, I'm beginning to think many life skills are not being taught in school and the menus for many schools is sadly wrong. Children need to be taught healthy eating and it not only means at home, but at school. Consistence is demanded everywhere in order to change society from a nation suffering with obesity. Parents usually are doing what they are taught, and teach what they know. IF they don't eat right, they cannot teach eating right to their children. Blaming is what people do when they don't know a solution, and frankly, I believe many parents don't know where to start with the issue nor have the time or energy in today's economy where both parents seem to work, to re-educate themselves in proper nutrition. If only the schools start to take on the problem, and it isn't reinforced at home, obesity will continue to be a childhood problem that we are just now recognizing. I recently had a friend call me because of a child of the person she is in a relationship with and his behavior. She loves the person but not the child. She is angry at the child and should be aiming all the anger at the parent. Hopefully, she will open her eyes and realize that child didn't get there by himself, his parent created the big portion of the problem and the parent's excuses for not correcting the child are totally bogus. The dysfunctional family is the thing that concerned me, and my friend's inability to deal with it. If my friend thinks that her lover is going to suddenly get the child out of their lives, she is sadly mistaken. There is nothing my friend can do, because she has been given no authority over the child and in fact, been told hands off. I know what I'd do, I wouldn't continue to fight that battle, I'd find another lover who didn't have a child with problems that definitely need to be addressed and aren't, and probably never will be. I know my children never ruled my family. I wish I had done a better job teaching them proper eating habits. I wish I'd been taught proper eating habits. But you can't teach what you don't know. But my children were athletes, and they never had an obesity problem but I can't say because they looked good, that they ate the way they should. Until we educate the parents along with the child about eating right, I think it is pretty hopeless that the child obesity problem is going to end quickly. It seems the word "no" is non-existent in many ways these days with children. Parents seem to be afraid of disciplining their child and truly don't even know the meaning of the word "discipline" in their own lives.

Hello tessah. I agree with cotruelove. Many parents don't know how to parent. I started school in a small country school two grades to a class room. we were taught health including nutrition. They took Phis ed out of the schools for a long time John Kennedy put it back in. Now it's gone again. Then the psychologist came out and said we must not hurt the kids self image. Parents are not taugght to be parents at all. they only know what their parents have taught them and so it continues. There was a time that it was safe to send the kids out side to play too.

I think it's a good idea to ban toys in the meals and soda and they like in schools. Also, you realize I'm sure that parents aren't around every moment to monitor what kids eat. Yes, parents do need to be in charge, but they (more importantly in my opinion) need to be given the tools to empower their kids to resist the corporate take over of food and other things.

This is stupid. I agree with you. Parents need to take responsibility for how they raise their children. There will always be temptation, but they are kids. Their parents can say no and actually cook a meal for their children. As far as schools go. I can understand not having the snack and pop machines in elementary schools, but beyond that, kids already have developed eating habits and are old enough to make their own decisions about what they eat.

what an Ordinance. This is the first time I heard of such law. Hey, such law doesn't really prevent the kids from eating unhealthy food. It should be parents and adults job to advise their kids on healthy diet. Do they actually think that banning toys can prevent kids from eating those food? Those food are everywhere around us and as long as we don't take them too frequently, it shouldn't be much of a problem for the law makers' concern.

The problem is that some of the parents are bigger kids than the kids - they've never grown up and taken responsibility for themselves so the kid has no chance of being raised properly. I know parents who live on junk and video game every spare minute - why would their kids be any different? This is why I have some sympathy when people try to get soda machines taken out of schools and school meals improved - they are often stepping in to counteract bad parenting. Of course, this is attacking the symptom rather than the cause of the problem and it means that choice is restricted for everyone because they won't tackle a lazy, immature and self-absorbed minority of idiots who were allowed to breed.