Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I remember growing up and being really happy to sometimes get a toy from my fast food meal. I really miss those Mario-themed toys from McDonald's! So I can tell from personal experience that the toys did made me want to go. And we'd go once in a while.

To state that it is the parents' responsibility to choose where to eat is too obvious considering the SE audience. There are families out there that just don't have the time/privilege/knowledge/understanding to fend for themselves. I'd like to draw a comparison with the recent credit crunch where creditors were lending money to people who normally shouldn't be able to get one. Some things may be common sense to some, but not to others.

Here is what I see happening. The government is at this time in the process of seizing complete control of the economy. For the politicians, it is all about power. For many of this country's citizenry, it is a way to be lazy. I don't want to have to worry about Unka Sam, you take care of it for me.

But look at what is happening, folks! The government is taking over everything. That means that the government will attempt to make rules for everything and will likely make an attempt to enforce those rules. Where will that get us?

With the government taking over health care, the people running it will decide that they have the power to tell you what you may or may not eat. Some things will be taxed beyond your reach, in much the same way they are already doing with tobacco products. Somethings will simply disappear from store shelves because the bureaucrats do not approve of them and the companies making those products will intimidated into ceasing production.

Why is this happening? Because we want to make someone else, anyone else responsible for our own stupidity. We don't want to rely on our own judgment. We want Unka Sam to apply his judgment to us.

Just remember this, folks, When you ask the politicians to solve a problem for you, they are going to solve the problem in a way that suits them best. We are way better off taking responsibility for ourselves and telling the politicians to take a hike.

The toys keep the kids coming back for more food. My 6 yo brother could care less if the fries he was eating was made of potato or rocks. All he wants is the toy.

Uneaten meals are a pretty good indicator that the child is being fed too much of the same thing. Parents should make fast food a treat, not a staple. That rule applies doubly to parents who are or who will soon be fighting the "Battle of the Bulge".

When I was growing up, a trip to the local Dairy Queen was a major treat. For health reasons it should be the same for the majority of kids growing up today. This does not mean, however, that the fast food joints are selling poison. They are not, but it also true that you should not feed your child a steady diet of the offerings at the local MacDonald's or whatever, okay? Nutrition calls for adult supervision.

The restaurants are not responsible for the nutrition of your children. You are. You are responsible because your children are not capable of understanding how much of which kinds of foods is good for them. It's that simple. A trip to a fast food joint once a month will not hurt a child who is good health. You, the parent, is the one who must ensure that your children are properly fed.

On what grounds then do we ask the government to step in and take control of yet another segment of commerce? That we cannot say the word no to our kids? How spineless is that?

We are going to lose our freedom because of this kind of cowardice and sloth.

Many kids would be happy eating fast food kid's meals even without the toy. I'm not saying the toy isn't a bonus that makes kids happy. I'm just not convinced that kids are like "Oh...I was going to eat an apple, but these fries came with a toy." At least McD and BK have offered a fruit option with their kid's meals (like Apple Fries or something). Kids get a toy either way, but I think most kids still choose the fries.

So perhaps a more effective way to deter kids from eating fast food would be to ban fries from coming in kid's meals.

The child is not going to drive to McDonald's himself to get the toy. It's the parents who need to be making the decisions.

One a side note, it's unbelievable to me to see parents asking their four year old what they want for dinner. Of course the kid's not going to ask for spinach and salmon. When I was growing up, we ate what was put in front of us. It wasn't an option to say, "No, I'd prefer a happy meal"

Even as a chunky kid, usually I would beg to go to McDonald's for the toy, pick at my meal and get yelled at for not finishing it.

To be honest, being overfed all kinds of food and having paranoid parents regarding physical activity (as well as being physically timid as a child) made me fat, not fast food.

I think fast food tastes terrible, and is poor nutritionally, but I knew many kids who ate it, played with the toys, and were fine, provided that they balanced out the fast food with exercise and a good attitude about 'stopping when they were full.'

Oh, and in principle, should they ban the independent Italian restaurants that give kids crayons to color in a map of Italy on a placemat, Chinese restaurants with connect-the-dot of the Zodiac placemats and other child pacifiers restaurants give out?

I think they're harmless - as long as the parents are setting the right boundaries around appropriate food choices. You can't link a McNugget to "acceptable food choice" if your parent refuses to give in to your whining to eat there. My parents certainly were able to say "no" very effectively and that was the end of it.

@mrbadideasdotcom: My parents made the decision against fast food for me and my brothers. Of course this doesn't prove that they weren't delusional.

Luckily, there were always relatives and friends' parents that could be cajoled into providing that sweet mcdonald's manna.

Offer the toy to go along with the kid's meal that has the apples and milk. Let the other kids play with their french fries.

Because if the fast-food companies didn't offer toys, our kids would eat nothing but salad with fat-free dressing every day. Yeah.

I'm pretty sure the toy is what keeps my child from actually eating the food.