June 23, 2010

  • Happy Meal Toys Blamed for Making Kids Fat...

    The Center for Science in the Public threatened to file a lawsuit against McDonald's Tuesday
    charging that the fast food chain "unfairly and deceptively" markets the toys to children saying "McDonald's marketing has the effect of conscripting America's children into an unpaid drone army of word-of-mouth marketers, causing them to nag their parents to bring them to McDonald's,"  Article  HERE.
    I say...pull a Nancy Reagan and "Just say No".
    Sometimes I stop in at McD's and just buy the toy if they want to collect them.
    Maybe twice a year we get Happy Meals,
    I recently got one for my nephew on his last day of school.
    I cook at home most often but if I take kids out we go to Wendy's and get chili,
    they already know that is what I will most likely get for them unless it i a special date.
    I will get them a either fries or a small Frosty if they are good.
    A small chili is $1 as are the value fries.
    (Chili and crackers 250 caleries, small fries 210 small Frosty 310 info)
    They all love it . If they beg they don't get a Frosty.

    A little Trivia:
    Top 10 Happy Meal Toys of all time: Source

    In 1992 I  collected 'Snow White' for the girls , they were cute.

    I got the Wizard of Oz dolls for my niece also

    Do you think Happy meal toys are responsible for fat kids?
    What is a good fast food choice for kids?
    What is your favorite Happy Meal toy, if any?

Comments (67)

  • I don't think Mickey D's is even remotely responsible. They only offer it for sale, it's the parents that buy it, because it's easier for them than cooking. Those same parents also probably let their kids pig out on snack foods and junk while at home, watching TV or playing games. The parents always have the ultimate responsibility for what goes in their childrens stomachs.

  • it's not like McD's is hypnotising kids to beg Mom and Dad.  parents should just be parents and say NO sometimes.

  • People will say anything to make you believe it's THEIR fault YOU are eating their bad food.

  • McD's is just providing a product. If people don't want it, they're not forced to buy it. My kids whined for stuff too, and it's the parent's job to say no. 

  • Apparently some individuals think it's easier to blame toys than try to get McDonald's to just improve the quality of their food. And I'm not talking fat and calories. But hey, if people are ok with eating meat so poor in quality that it has to be treated with ammonia, McDonald's has no *reason* to improve.

    The toys truly are not the problem. Talk about messed up priorities on the part of a special interest group.

  • @SoapAndShampoo - Really? Eowwww.

  • Toys are not responsible for obesity....parents taking their kids to McDonalds every day is.  I take my kids to McDonalds every once in awhile, but it's very rare.

  • And thus we continue to promote "You owe me" mentalities. Pathetic...........

  • I'm sick and tired of the Government telling me what is and isn't good for me.    It's a prelude to thier mentality of confiscation.

    The Surgeon General said smoking was bad for us.    Eventually, we raised lots of tax revenues from taxing the substance.  

    Alcohol is bad for us.   We pay heavy taxes on it.

    Philadelphia proposed a 2 cent per ounce tax on soft drinks.  Yep, that case of 24 has 288 ounces.   Do the math, $5.76 in taxes on the $5.00 case.    Did I forget the 30 cents state tax?    Oh, I forgot the other nickel Philadephia gets in sales tax too.

    The government does't want to ban these things, they just want to tax them.

    Yes, the government makes more on a gallon of gas than anybody else too.

  • Do these toys make kids fat? No. Leave McD's alone!  Parents NOT saying NO to poor choices is what contributes to kids being fat. However; I am betting that if McD's put a totally healthy Happy Meal for kids to eat, kids would want it if it had a toy in it. Just sayin'...

  • Really? I heard this on the news this morning, and it just makes me cringe. People don't take responsibility for their own choices as it is, and now there are even more reasons to blame someone else. Most fast food restaurants market some sort of toy along with their kids meals, not just McDonalds.

    When I take the girls to a fast food restaurant, they get chicken nuggets, chocolate milk, and apples. No pop, no fries. I don't always make the best choices for myself (I prefer a big mac, fries, and coke haha)... that's MY choice, no one else can be blamed for me taking my butt in there and ordering something.

  • "California's Santa Clara County voted earlier this year to ban restaurants from giving away the toys and other freebies that often come with high-calorie meals aimed at kids."  If we start passing laws to compensate for bad parenting decisions legislators are going to be working over time.  And then some! 

  • Ha, Mcd's is not responsible. Parents need to parent, and teach their kids to make responsible choices.

    I do take my son to McD'S.  I am teaching him (He has Down syndrome) that foods like that are "sometimes food". It doesn't make him want it any less but at least he thinks about it. Also we don't usually buy the kids meals so he doesn't think that the whole idea is to get a toy.

    I bought some of the Wizard of Oz dolls for myself though!

  • From my experience just the opposite is true. When my boys were little they would plead and cajole my wife or me into taking them to McD's evry so often. They'd get the Happy Meal and the little toy inside, but they'd be so focussed on the toy they wouldn't eat the food. "You can't have the toy till you eat your hamburger" became the mantra. Those boys are now 16 and 20, and neither of them are fat in the least. I think this whole issue is another example of the "It's not my fault" society which has developed around us.

  • It is probable the toys attract the kids but the parents can control what they eat .
     Love
    Michel

  • Please! Blame the parents, not the toys. 

  • Looks like agreement...it is the parents job to parent!  We don't like McD's food so very rarely went there.  Raised the kids on healthy food, so they don't like it either. 

  • 1. No~ Happy Meals are not responsible for parents who give into unhealthy food choices for their kids.

    2.Subway or Taco Bell

    3. Being a homegrown Kansas girl~ Wizard of Oz.

  • Oh my gosh, those Snow White toys just brought a wave of nostalgia.

  • I think people are responsible for making healthy decisions for their body, and parents are responsible for both teaching their children healthy habits, and having the will power to tell their child "NO".

  • I only liked McDonalds for the toys, we ate there a lot though because of that.

  • People need to prepare their kids food themselves and they will be less likely to be fat... Assholes..

  • Yeah. Because the same parents who take their kids to McDonald's ate there as kids. Parents themselves do not seem to make wise choices nowadays.

    I wonder how many of the same people who said no would have said no about Joe Camel.

  • I laugh at parents who blame fast food chains for their irresponsibility. 

  • Parents, it's the parents

  • This is such a load of crap!

    Yet another pathetic attempt to excuse poor parenting. I am so sick of shit like this.

    When are we going to place the blame where it belongs...with the parents.

  • Choir. Here. I agree with you.

  • My thought is if the tobacco industry handed out toys with cigarettes, everyone would be up in arms. 

  • Parents make choices for kids. McD's makes choices for their bottom line. If you have a fat child you cannot blame anyone but yourself. I'm an overweight adult. Who tricks me into eating more than I should? NO ONE. I do it all alone.

  • I don't know about that.  I think it's easy to push responsibility on others as oppose to taking your own blame.  I like happy meals.  :0)

  • Happy meal toys aren't what's making kids fat. It's the parents who cave into the little screaming monster's demands and buy the meals in the first place.

  • Are Burger King, Wendy's, Dairy Queen, or Chick-fil-A included in this lawsuit?  McDonalds isn't the only fast food chain that offers toys in their kids' meals.

    IMO, it's the parents' fault that their kids are fat.  It wouldn't kill them to keep fruit in the house and make a home-cooked meal at least once a week.

  • Nobody want's to take responsibility anymore now days.  Let's blame someone else.  Oh yeah, I liked the Batman toys.

    @Ayliana87 - You know what...I like the way you think.  We're on the same page, same line of thought here!

    @the_rocking_of_socks - Exactly!

  • Even though happy meals are still unhealthy, they have better options now than they did a few years ago. Now, you can get milk or apple juice instead of soda, and fruit instead of fries.

  • The toys are making the kids fat? Are they eating the toys???? If not, then it's not the toys. It's Mom and Dad who forgot how to say no. I took my son to Micky D's on Monday to celebrate the last day of school. The last time he'd eaten at a fast food restaurant was about 3 months ago. We were visiting relatives out of town and needed food fast. If you let the kids eat that stuff every week, you're asking for problems.

  • @buddly47 - You are right it the parents job to not buy such things and a jr burger is 29 carbs the fries are the killers...Don't they have a healthier choice like fruit like sonic has

  • By that logic Christmas should be outlawed. Or give them underwear and mittens. The Easter Bunny should be on death row. Halloween, FORBIDDEN!!!!!! 

  • It all started with Santa Clause. He may only deliver toys but look how fat he is just by being around toys. Toys, the root of all evil. 

    Seriously, my kids never ate one third of their happy meal, lost the toy in the back yard and I minced it with the lawn mower. All six of us are skinny to this day. Go figure. 

  • Christmas should be outlawed. Santa started it way before McD's. Santa is fat just being around toys.

    Seriously my kids never ate a third of their happy meal and they lost the toy in the back yard the same day. Lawn mower minced them into shards. All six of us are skinny to this day. Go figure. 

  • I'm having problems. Need a quarter pounder. Sorry for the multiple entries. 

  • I really loved the beanie baby toy collection. I was kind of a loser as a child. LOL

  • Parents, Grandparents and aunts. Just say NO.

  • I took my kids to McDonalds and, oooooh, I let them have cheeseburgers, fries and a coke!  Whoop dee doo!  So, I'm a bad parent!  Aaaah, hell, let em be kids and enjoy themselves.  They never ate the whole thing anyway.  Besides, I also encouraged them to play and get outside and move around.  I admit.  I love fast food!  But I also like to exercise.  And that's what I encourage.  Oh, and I love the toys too, especially the Beanie Babies!

  • I am double commenting, I apologize. However I came across THIS LINK and found it interesting... Evidently packaging makes things taste better. 

  • @TheDarkCreature - That makes sense...we like nice covers for books too. Packaging sells.

  • @seedsower - I guess I go more by the name of books (I use an eReader LOL). It was the cartoon character thing that got me. If I was more lucid (it's past my bedtime) I would draw some connection. But as it is, I am failing. 

  • @TheDarkCreature - I'd like to hear your thoughts when you are more awake.

  • blame metabolism!

  • This is fucking ridiculous; parents don't

    have

    to buy their kids McDonald's.

    And when I was a kid, I never really wanted shitty toys from there.

  • No.  The problem is the lazy parents.

  • You as the parent have all control. They just want someone to blame and of course, there's the chance they can make a lot of money off of it. It's sad, it reminds me of the kind of people that try to be overly involved in everything-like always find a way to make any bad situation personal to them. Get a grip! Uggh. 

  • i'm going to make a video about how fat people blame fast food for their fat-assness in america.

    it will go viral with 20 million views!!!

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  • This is ridiculous. Nobody said parenting was going to be easy, if you can't even be firm enough with your child when you know getting them fast food is bad for them and they just keep nagging at you, then you've got a real problem. And that problem is YOU, not the fast food joint. Not the toy in the Happy Meal.

    I agree, if they want the toy, buy the toy on its own. You can do that. More than likely they want the toy AND the food, and if they won't be happy with JUST the toy, they obviously don't want it that badly, they just want an excuse to go to McD's.
    Parents need to speak up and say no, even when it isn't so easy, for the wellbeing of their kids. Happy Meal toys don't make kids fat, over-indulgent parents do.

  • @SoapAndShampoo - Yeah, then there's the cow manure... which has been proven to be included in industrialized, factory farmed hamburger as well. I think if more people would watch movies like "Food, Inc" or "Fast Food Nation" they might not think fast food was so harmless. I would NEVER let my kids eat at McDonald's or any other fast food joint. I cook for my kids~every meal from real, whole foods.. many of which are grown in my own garden or from local farmers I trust.
    It comes down to what you want to support. The small family farmer is dying in this country, with subsidies and other supports going towards mass production on factory farms. We ALL vote with our fork, every time we buy "food" through a fast food window or buy crappy cheap processed foods at Walmart we're voting to see more of that in the future.

    But no, you can't "blame" McDonald's for peddling their crap processed poison food to our kids with their not so subtle subliminal advertising geared towards toddlers. In the end WE individually do or don't make the choice to buy it and feed it to our kids. The fast food companies aren't out
    to harm us. But what is good for them in the short run, is not good for
    us in the long run.

    If you don't think fast food is unhealthy and potentially poisonous, do some research on the number of kids that have been poisoned by toxic meat through fast food joints. Did you know that up to 200,000 cows go into ONE batch of hamburger in a factory farm? ONE Ecoli infected carcass infects the whole batch. That's why they do recalls of tens of thousands of pounds of toxic meat when a contagion in detected by the USDA. People should know what they're eating, and how it's made; they should
    spend their money at places that make food well. Nobody is forcing people to eat this
    stuff, and fast food places will change when customers demand changes. Even if 2 percent to 3 percent of customers complained, it would make a
    big drop in sales.
    Each day in the United States, about 200,000 people are sickened by food
    borne pathogens (often found in ground beef). Of those who get sick,
    900 are hospitalized, and 14 die annually. An Agriculture Department study that found 78.6 percent of ground beef
    samples from processing plants around the country contained microbes
    that are spread primarily by fecal material.

    Yum, yum! Enjoy your happy fecal matter meal!

  • I can't help but not fully agree with the comments other people have written.  In the article linked, it specifically mentions the county I'm in, so this actually has more of an impact than trying to say something ideal online.  Yes, parents should watch what their children eat, but to be honest, I used to love McDonald's for their toys.  I really can't remember home-cooked meals back then, especially since my oldest sister will sometimes prepare the food. (and it's too good to forget)  I'm not saying that it's my parents' fault because it's not.  I don't know why, but as a little kid in elementary school, I thought weighing more was much cooler and more widely accepted.  I went from a skinny kid who could see their ribs to around three digits of weight . . . but growing up is also a factor to that.  The toys and its relatively close location really made it easier.  My mom had graveyard shifts back then, and she has them now.  My dad's still working in and out the house, except now he's older.  The only difference between now and then, other than me knowing being heavier than most people isn't a good thing, is that the rest of the family can now help out much easier.  Really, the ban only bans toys and not the meals.  I haven't really seen a McDonald's toy series that's attracted me in a long while, so I can't really see why some kids would want them.  It must have been a thing while growing up.  Still, this isn't as much of a parenting issue as it is a family issue.  Everyone needs to do their part in helping out around the house.

    Oh yeah, with younger and younger kids having access to the internet, toys actually don't seem as attractive anymore.  I honestly would say that ten years ago, the ban would have helped me growing up, but nowadays, they don't really seem all that bad.  It's more of a way for collectors to get novelty items in my opinion.  Sorry for not fully going with the flow.

  • I think the problem lies with the parents.  

  • Holy crab... The toys arent the problem! It is allway easier to blame a other one... But if the parents dont teach the kids a mindfull feeding, it is no wonder that they dont know better!

  • Parents are responsible for their fat kids. A good fast food choice for kids is peanut butter and jelly. And I never liked any of the happy meals toys, even when I was a kid. 

  • Children can't buy the McDonalds themselves. It's all the parent's faults who allow their children to eat junk food all the time. All overweight kids (except for the few medical cases), are overweight because of their stupid parents.

  • nope. i think plain old laziness is the reason for fat kids.

    moms turn to "convienience foods" instead of cooking whole, wholesome meals, kids sit around after meals, etc, and so on.

    our society has changed, and that's not mcdonald's fault.

  • It is all a bunch of bogas BS in my oppinion... Junk food is not suppose 2 be healthy thats why they call it JUNK food.. DUH.. & yes its the parents..

  • FINALLY! Someone with some common sense!

    It's the PARENTS fault that these kids are ending up obese. You're telling me that the toys tell them to come to McDonald's? And even so, McDonald's offers healthier alternatives that can be selected - But the parents let the kid's ordered their double cheeseburgers and french fries. Why not the white meat chicken nuggets with apple dippers?

    Thank you for this weblog. It makes me believe there's actually some smart people out there.

  • Good grief!  Great post!

  • I love Happy Meals. They really do make me happy.  When I go to McDonald's (my favorite fast food place), that is what I order most often. 

  • Do any of you wonder why these cute little Happy Meal toys are so cheap? Happy meal
    toys are manufactured in
    Vietnam and China, produced in sweat shops by
    teenaged girls being forced to work 70 hours a week, earning
    just 6 cents an hour while breathing dangerous poisons such as acetone.
    Labor monitoring groups found that workers suffer from wages below
    minimum levels, and health conditions
    are so bad that large numbers of the workers fall seriously ill.

    Whether it be cheap food or cheap toys, someone along the line of production pays the price.

  • @ehrinn_l -  "our society has changed, and that's not
    mcdonald's fault."

    AH, but McDonald's HAS played a large role in these societal changes!
    The McDonald's corporation, one of the largest purchasers of beef, pork, chicken and potatoes in the US, has been the engine behind and the face of
    the industrial food system for the last 50 years.Far from just making practices like monocropping and factory farming more profitable, McDonald’s plays a central role in determining how our food systems work.The corporation demands a high output of cheap, low-quality food, giving it tremendous influence over how food is farmed and distributed.McDonald’s industrialized supply chain has also served as a model for countless competitors, magnifying its negative impacts. In addition, its scale has made it cheaper for food producers to emulate, rather than set-up alternative food production systems.Taxpayer farm subsidies to Big Ag provide another means of keeping prices low and healthier alternatives prohibitively expensive.Changing how McDonald’s does business would create a ripple effect, causing reform up and down the food chain. And breaking the cycle of abuse begins with preventing that clown from hooking kids on a brand built on the back of a broken food system. Yes, it's the personal responsibility of each parent to monitor their children. I wouldn't buy my children cocaine if they asked me for it, but I would still want the drug dealer out of my neighborhood. How did today's oversized appetites become the norm? It didn't happen by accident or some inevitable evolutionary process. It was to a large degree the result of consumer manipulation.

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