Anonymous wrote:My youngest (4.5) loves McDonald's. Would eat it everyday if she could. We just got out of a bad habit of buying her McDonald's after her preschool pick-up. It was pretty much 3-4 times a week for a few months.

We still frequent McDonald's. It's quick, cheap and gets the job done if we're out too late for me to make something at home (family of 6). Some weeks we go about 3 times, other weeks not at all.

None of my children are overweight, but I just wanted to say this: Being thin does not equal good health. There are plenty of thin people with cholesterol/heart disease issues, so weight is not always a sign of good health.

Anonymous wrote:I see a family that eats/makes available/buys McDonald's food for dinner practically every day. They have at least two kids (boys, aged 3ish and about 7 or so). While I'm waiting for my son to finish an afterschool program, I wait in the McDonald's parking lot for him. EVERY week day, either the mom or dad of the family brings the boys to the McDonald's and when they come out they have some variation of the same things...Happy Meal boxes, sometimes ice cream too or smoothies.

I am honestly not judging, though it's not a choice I make for my family, and realize that there could be any number of reasons why they do it. I'm not in their shoes...I believe that most people do the best they can with the information that they have at hand.

So, anyway, I have been pondering the whole situation in my head for a few weeks now and have an honest question:

What, if any, kind of long term impact this will have on the kids involved (two boys, aged 3ish and 7) if they eat McDonald's every week day (at least) for an entire school year or longer, but then stop and start eating it on a more occasional basis?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In "Supersize Me," Morgan Spurlock didn't eat ANYTHING but McDonald's, said yes every time they offered to supersize his meal, and then actually ate it all.

As far as these kids you're observing, you don't know what else they're eating, and you're assuming they're actually eating those happy meals.

My daughter ALWAYS asks for a Happymeal -- because she wants the toy. When we get her one, she typically eats half the fries and drinks the apple juice and that's it. She doesn't like the nuggets unless she's really hungry and there's nothing else available; if I order a burger for her and cut it into fourths, she might eat two of them (so, half the burger).

Then, when we get home, she says she's hungry, and when I offer slightly healthier options like carrot sticks w/ranch dip, she's all over them.

I love America. Only here would carrots and ranch dip be considered "healthy" - I guess compared to fries and apple juice - yeah.

Anonymous wrote:In "Supersize Me," Morgan Spurlock didn't eat ANYTHING but McDonald's, said yes every time they offered to supersize his meal, and then actually ate it all.

As far as these kids you're observing, you don't know what else they're eating, and you're assuming they're actually eating those happy meals.

My daughter ALWAYS asks for a Happymeal -- because she wants the toy. When we get her one, she typically eats half the fries and drinks the apple juice and that's it. She doesn't like the nuggets unless she's really hungry and there's nothing else available; if I order a burger for her and cut it into fourths, she might eat two of them (so, half the burger).

Then, when we get home, she says she's hungry, and when I offer slightly healthier options like carrot sticks w/ranch dip, she's all over them.

Anonymous wrote:Let me answer honestly, as someone whose mom hit the drive-thru basically every day when she picked us up from our after-school program (though we rotated Wendy's, Burger King, and McDonald's, sometimes stopping to pick up pizza, and having donuts for breakfast-- don't know if that more varied diet changes things):

I became a vegan when I was a teenager and am an extremely healthy eater now, who is no longer strictly vegan because I've traveled a lot and love experiencing different flavors and foods. I went to Yale. I have, thankfully, not had any significant health issues and I am about a size 6 now, while breastfeeding. I've run one marathon. I never take my kids to fast food places because I just have no desire for them or craving whatsoever. I still like pizza and donuts, but I prefer palak paneer with naan or injera and doro wat if we're doing take-out.

Maybe one day I'll have huge health issues that stem from my earlier poor eating, and unfortunately, I feel sometimes like that would make a certain subset of people happy: the people who feed their children healthy food OBSESSIVELY and reassure themselves, when the children of others have serious health issues and diseases, that they must have done something unhealthy to cause it.

*It's okay to judge, but we were not wealthy and both my parents worked full-time and overtime and didn't enjoy cooking when they had time to spend with us, and they also weren't at all well-educated about nutrition-- now that they know better I know they regret feeding us so poorly, but I'll never judge them for it myself. We had a good run of it, McDonald's and I!

Anonymous wrote:Let me answer honestly, as someone whose mom hit the drive-thru basically every day when she picked us up from our after-school program (though we rotated Wendy's, Burger King, and McDonald's, sometimes stopping to pick up pizza, and having donuts for breakfast-- don't know if that more varied diet changes things):

I became a vegan when I was a teenager and am an extremely healthy eater now, who is no longer strictly vegan because I've traveled a lot and love experiencing different flavors and foods. I went to Yale. I have, thankfully, not had any significant health issues and I am about a size 6 now, while breastfeeding. I've run one marathon. I never take my kids to fast food places because I just have no desire for them or craving whatsoever. I still like pizza and donuts, but I prefer palak paneer with naan or injera and doro wat if we're doing take-out.

Maybe one day I'll have huge health issues that stem from my earlier poor eating, and unfortunately, I feel sometimes like that would make a certain subset of people happy: the people who feed their children healthy food OBSESSIVELY and reassure themselves, when the children of others have serious health issues and diseases, that they must have done something unhealthy to cause it.

*It's okay to judge, but we were not wealthy and both my parents worked full-time and overtime and didn't enjoy cooking when they had time to spend with us, and they also weren't at all well-educated about nutrition-- now that they know better I know they regret feeding us so poorly, but I'll never judge them for it myself. We had a good run of it, McDonald's and I!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I was eating a double cheeseburger right now.

I wish I were eating a double cheeseburger right now.

P.S., I went to Yale!

Anonymous wrote:I wish I was eating a double cheeseburger right now.