Kids meal toy ban is disappointing to children only?
Photo Flickr user jasonippolito
The tiny blue thing clutched in my son’s 4-year-old grasp became even more objectionable when my son excitedly exclaimed that he had to go see the movie that these “toys” came from. While this normally would not have been an issue, my son was too young to see Avatar! And the toy in question was the current Happy Meal toy being pimped by McDonald’s.
At the time I remember being angry. Why would McDonald’s include a toy for a movie that was PG-13 and clearly not for children under age 13? This wasn’t the first time I noticed inappropriate toys; however, since my son was now old enough to ask to see this particular movie tie-in, I was appalled.
When I dared mention it to friends with older children, they basically told me to get over it and get used to it. After all, Happy Meals toys were iconic, even historic, and should be considered a passage to parenthood. I would simply need to be the parent and say no! They were right.
As my children are now a few years older, I know when to avoid the drive-through fast food lanes when inappropriate toys are offered. It seems now that I may not have to worry about our occasional Happy Meal toy, though. With the city of San Francisco banning fast food kids meals with toys, I’m wondering if other cities across the nation will do the same.
Do you think that banning toys from kids' meals will prompt fast food establishments to serve healthier meals? Will it disappoint you if toys are removed from kids meals? Is it OK for government to step in and tell us which meals can and can not have toys included?
I know that I won't be disappointed to see the toys removed from kids meals. Happy Meal toys can be collectables and big on eBay and other websites, and they were great fodder when I had a "potty training basket of goodies" going; however, I throw out so much of it three months later that it seems wasteful to me!
Tammy Mayrend is a Ann Arbor search marketing professional and mother of two who blogs about low-cost local activities, events, and Ann Arbor area freebies for families at annarbormom.com. While she spends much of her time cooking healthy food at home, she occasionally splurges on Happy Meals - especially on $1.99 Happy Meal Night!
Comments
Aaron Wolf
Sun, Nov 14, 2010 : 2:40 p.m.
@Tammy: Thanks for your reply. I certainly disagree with your claim that there are no wrong choices. That sort of relativism is not valid. I hope we can agree that is a wrong choice to beat your kids, for example. We should be careful not to be dogmatic and prejudiced, but there does exist right and wrong, and my judgment is that drive-through food is on the wrong side of the spectrum, though definitely more open to debate than some other things. But anyway, I suggest you check out the "Paradox of Choice" by Barry Schwartz. He has a book, but you can see a (fast, under 20 min) video overview at TED: http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice.html I find that to be one of the most compelling and valuable presentations I know of, period. You will find the ideas enlightening and help you personally and in parenting. And I sincerely don't mean to be condescending as though I somehow get to tell you what you need to do. Please check out the link, I think you'll truly appreciate it.
Brian Blasko
Fri, Nov 12, 2010 : 11:51 p.m.
McDonald's Worker: Can I take your order? Parent: Yes, I'd like a.... Kid (louder than parent): I want a Happy Meal! Parent: Yes, I'd like a Happy Meal with NO toy. McDonald's Worker: OK. Please pull to the window. Kid: whine...whine...whine....insert 2 minutes of whining.... Kid eats food and quickly forgets about lack of toy in favor of some randomly new point of interest! Parents shouldn't need government to help us say "no".
Tammy Mayrend
Fri, Nov 12, 2010 : 5:19 p.m.
You are correct Sarah, AnnArbor.com has sections for many topics, including parenting, which this article was posted to. This may or may not be of interest to parents but does appear to be a hot topic online.
Sarah Rigg
Fri, Nov 12, 2010 : 3:38 p.m.
A friend who used to work at McDonald's said that corporate policy is NOT to do Happy Meal tie-ins with adult-oriented toys. They can offer merchandise tied to an R-rated film but can't include it in Happy Meals. However, this appears to only apply to R-rated and not PG-13 movies. I also wanted to say that I am puzzled by comments on this thread and on other community posts asking, "Why is this newsworthy?" Have these people never read a print newspaper? They always have sections for cartoons, horoscopes, travel articles, food articles, etc. that aren't strictly "newsworthy." Same here at AA.com.
treetowncartel
Thu, Nov 11, 2010 : 3:48 p.m.
Hah, That was good rulieg!
robyn
Thu, Nov 11, 2010 : 9:50 a.m.
JSA: Absolutely! It's really no different than some panel deciding what we can or can't watch on TV. Or groups trying to shut down programs that they don't like. I am getting so tired of the 'big brother' mentality in this country, there will always be some one or some group that believe it knows what's good for the rest of us and tries to force it upon us! Or punish us until we just give in. I don't care which side of the spectrum these people come from, and I'm not really sure I even know which side they come from, no one has the right to limit my rights because of their personal ideology. And I don't WANT the right to limit their's because of mine.
JSA
Thu, Nov 11, 2010 : 8:49 a.m.
Ah, the food nazi's are alive and well. The issue is not is the food healthy, the toys appropriate, but that some people feel justified in dictating to other based upon their beliefs. If you don't approve of the food or toys don't go there.
Whitmorelakemom
Thu, Nov 11, 2010 : 8:38 a.m.
In reply to Jaxie- if you clog the toilets at a fast food restaraunt with their own food you aren't making a statement and sticking it to "the man". You are performing a juvinile act of vandalism that will have to be remedied by some poor teen, college student or older adult who is working a demanding, hot, low paying job to make ends meet. And now they have to clean an overflowing toilet. Way to go!
Peter
Thu, Nov 11, 2010 : 12:13 a.m.
I could say that your pale skin hurts my eyes to look at. That should be illegal. It comes down to an opinion. Yours vs. mine. I choose to make my own decisions on what and where I eat. You can choose not to eat at McNasty's, but don't inhibit my choice because you think the sky is falling.
Peter
Thu, Nov 11, 2010 : 12:13 a.m.
I could say that your pale skin hurts my eyes to look at. That should be illegal. It comes down to an opinion. Yours vs. mine. I choose to make my own decisions on what and where I eat. You can choose not to eat at McNasty's, but don't inhibit my choice because you think the sky is falling.
ribs1
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 10:12 p.m.
Is this really newsworthy?
robyn
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 10:08 p.m.
I wanted to add: While I have the ability to choose what I feed my children. I also have the ability to say NO to them when I want to. It's actually fairly normal for a child to say "I want McDonald's!" when you drive by one. It's also normal for them to want whatever toy is big when you pass by it at the store. Normal to want to stop at the park when you drive by. Very normal to ask for a quarter EVERYTIME they see one of those dumb machines by the door that dispenses trinkets. The magic word is "No."
jaxie
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 9:44 p.m.
If you actually eat the fast-food junk it becomes your your problem. Here's a way to shift it from your problem to their problem. Go straight into the rest room and stuff the entire burger or burgers unopned into the toilet - wrappers, boxes, fries, toys, paper bag and all. Flush the toilet a couple of times. Then go back to the counter and tell them in a polite way that that they have a problem, the toilet is backing up.
robyn
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 9:28 p.m.
I treat my kids to McDonald's... (Heck I have an addiction to their coffee.) The toys are NOT the reason my kids liked going there. When they were little - they loved the play area. This was great in the winter as we could meet up with a couple of playmates and they could run around and have some fun. Most of the time they didn't even eat their meal - it was all about the slides and climbing. They're older now - but they still enjoy McDonald's and my 10 year old will buy a toy if it's something cool even though he's too big for a Happy Meal. I think it's just ridiculous to have the government regulate what a kid can eat or tell a restaurant what they can serve to kids. That's MY decision. If my kids are healthy, (neither have been out of school sick for more than a couple of days in any given year - they just bring home the cooties and I get desperately ill, at 10 and 14 - neither have a cavity and neither are over weight) see their doctor and dentist regularly and are active - and they eat good food at home the majority of the time --- it's no one's place to determine what my kids eat if I choose to take them for fast food or a pizza when I want to.
Tammy Mayrend
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 8:57 p.m.
@Quadrangle - I am sorry you feel that way, and respect your opinion. Choices however are never wrong, they are just that choices, and I on occasion choose to eat where I would like to eat fast-food or otherwise. At some level that is why the banning of toys in kids meals bothers me as it has removed me from being able to make choices.
Aaron Wolf
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 8:14 p.m.
You CLAIM that you "know when to avoid the drive-through fast food lanes", but then you say "when inappropriate toys are offered" *EEEEEEAAAAAANT* WRONG ANSWER! The correct answer to "when to avoid the drive-through fast food lanes" is "ALWAYS." If you need food with no time for preparation, stop in at a supermarket and buy some sandwiches or fruit or other healthy snacks. I don't think it is ever good to serve drive-through food to anyone, let alone to your kids. And stop despoiling my air with your drive-through engine-idling.
Ryan Munson
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 8:04 p.m.
I have personally decided to stop eating at the big fast food chains. I think a lot of the large fast food chains that have provided toys have become disgustingly over zealous with marketing agendas of popular culture. The toys have changed considerably since I was a kid. I think this goes the same for television in general with major fast food chains. I am on an email list for an organization that is a watchdog of the proliferation of inappropriate advertising to young children. http://www.commercialexploitation.org/ (Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood). I find this site quite informative with regard to this topic.
fremdfirma
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 7:44 p.m.
Honestly this is wasted effort, and to some degree ridiculous. For a fact, the stuff on supermarket shelves isn't much healthier in many cases than what you would get at McDonalds, and I have as of late been much gratified by the reality of consumer pressure starting to reverse that trend a bit - in the last year I have finally been able to buy REAL maple syrup, and actual fruit preserves, rather than the imitation flavored corn syrup products which were all that was available previously, and this occured without legislation, mind you. If I were to have any particular issue with McDonalds myself, it would be over the fact that their apple pie thingies of today are wholly pathetic in comparison to ones I recall from ages ago, but this is a minor nitpick and as always, on such things I "vote" with my money, by simply taking it elsewhere - and so it does offend me slightly that when people *remove* choices from the list because they do not agree with how I should choose to live my life, that smacks of a disrespect I cannot tolerate, and seems another step down a slippery slope with an awfully dark bottom, in my opinion.
rulieg
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 7:06 p.m.
I see the Ann Arbor yuppies are out in full force today. "we never allowed our children to have fast food"(and what exactly is a'corporate fast food' place anyway?). oh, my! you, sir, are obviously a WAY better person (and parent) than I am. yeah: "we never allowed our kids to have fast food, or watch TV. actually, we don't own a TV. after coming home from the Rudolf Steiner school, the kids were allowed to listen to Raffi records (we still have a turntable), and then, after putting on their hemp-fiber pajamas, they ate their vegan tofu casserole and vegan tofutti for dessert, and we'd read them a little Marx until bedtime, when we talked about social justice and the importance of making our own clothes." I love my hometown.
belboz
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 5:43 p.m.
Man, the morality police is out in full force. Complaining of the choice of words in an article, lecturing people on how they live a life with poor priorities, defining what is and isn't healthy, generalizing about parents... I think I'll take my family out for another McRib, large Fries, and we'll make our own toy out of a couple dozen straws. It is probably more healthy than sitting on a computer and posting messages, complaining about the world around you.
Tammy Mayrend
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 5:37 p.m.
Wow, that's a lot of passionate response to this post and from so many angles. It's a topic that quickly snowballs into so many other areas of concern: childhood obesity, higher health care costs, government censoring, freedom of speech, etc... @lexnex and Doug, I am sorry that my choice in words offended you. I do feel that marketers use these tactics to gain the attention of children to fill their world with inappropriate ideas. @SemperFi what a wonderful gift you have given your children. I applaud you for it. We also have family dinners and game nights. We grow much of our own food, can it and eat it throughout the winter too, and my children love to help choose our meals. I don't think the occasional indulgence (in less than perfectly healthy foods) will alter who they are or how they behave, that's simply a matter of good parenting - Which you obviously excelled at! @TopCat - My daughters current favorite place to eat is Applebees and Cracker Barrel because they give her plenty of things to play iSpy with!
L. C. Burgundy
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 4:41 p.m.
Wow. There's an easy solution to this that the market provides: don't eat there. I know the hip thing to do in places like AA and especially SF is to argue for a government ban for everything you personally disagree with, but this is too much. SF is the leftist vision of a dry county. I don't think there's much of anything there worth emulating.
lexnex
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 4:33 p.m.
I actually stopped reading the column upon encountering the word "pimped." Although there may be valid points to the Happy Meal toy issue, the use of the word "pimped" in a column discussing the issue in connection with children is unseemly. From wikipedia: A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who lives off their earnings. Pimping is illegal in most countries...The pimp-prostitute relationship can be abusive, with the pimp using techniques such as psychological intimidation, manipulation and physical force to control the prostitutes who work for him. By analogy then: McDonald's - pimp; Happy Meal toy - prostitute; children - john.
Top Cat
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 4:19 p.m.
I took my kids to the Fleetwood Diner, Mr. Spots and The Bomber instead and they loved it. I hope other cities have better things to do though than to ban restaurants giving out toys. What's next?
SemperFi
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 4:06 p.m.
My wife and I decided to never take our kids to corporate fast food stores from the time they were born. Now our kids, teenagers, don't like them as a result of that. We never used fast-food as a treat and always spoke about the total impact of fast food eating. Fast food was for people who couldn't take the time to have a meal at home. Meals at home, with no cellphones and proper table manners are the norm at our house. My wife and I, who both work full-time jobs, remember growing up with family dinners. We reminesce about how important that time together was and how much of an impact it had on both of our lives. It seems to be carrying over to our kids, who both participate in after school activities. We all love to sit eat together and talk about our day. It's just priorities.
Barb
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 3:33 p.m.
I don't see McD's as a treat - there is nothing redeeming about any of their burgers, nuggets or whatever you get there. Adding apples and chocolate milk instead of pop or french fries is better but a treat to me is not something that has enough sodium to choke a horse. Ice cream is a treat.
caledonia
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 3:27 p.m.
I'm not so sure they're actually collectible/valuable enough to worry about putting on eBay. A quick search of eBay turns up auction after auction of Happy Meal toys with no bids. The highest-priced current auction with any bids is at $14.99 -- but that's for a lot of 100 toys. Wouldn't it be nice if they gave away books instead?
Annie Zirkel
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 3:27 p.m.
Thanks for the article Tammy. Great topic and comments. Here are mine: While I am a huge believer in education - and putting your money where that Quarter pounder was going to go - in too many cases it's not effective and too slow at altering a culturally-embedded behavior. Then there is the thwarting by marketers who try to disprove or discredit your a point (remember the smoking causes cancer timeline?), and there is no consistent educational avenue for informing parents of these issues. Marketers have FAR too much money to outspend any educational campaign and do you think a TV station is going to air an ad that says - hey McDonalds is bad for your kids? So I do believe in regulation as well as education - especially when it is designed to protect children who are being manipulated. We have a HUGE obesity problem in this country. It's a national concern and saying - well everyone just has to ignore these marketers - will not fix it. This ban btw is only for Happy Meals that don't meet a nutritional standard. Parents as a change agent in this country are an iffy lot. Unorganized and way too busy trying to get our kids to do their homework and brush their teeth to keep up on each and every problem that is out there. Look how long it took even this many people to notice that McDonalds isn't great for you. And in the meantime we have a huge obesity problem to address. We are not a match for marketers and their attempts to undermine parenting. These kinds of issues should be addressed by all parties concerned. Parents, Educators, Government agencies and here's a concept - Marketers could grow some integrity too! But until that last one happens we need solutions now.
Ignatz
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 3:20 p.m.
That Mc--------- puts toys in its "meals" is about the least harm that mega corporation does.
Mickie
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 1:22 p.m.
If McDonald put pornographic material in a happy meal I think the WORLD would be demanding the government do something immediately. It is about being "Age appropriate" and if they can't sensor themselves properly then I'm not sure why it is a surprise for the government to step in. Act responsibly and big daddy won't have to step in and smack your hands. PS We don't eat McD's because the food is unhealthy, the service is terrible, and the packaging/toys are wasteful and sometimes harmful.
Tammy Mayrend
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 1:09 p.m.
Great follow-up, thanks Heidi!
Heidi Hess Saxton
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 12:48 p.m.
I'm with you, Tammy -- the occasional McDonalds treat (especially with apple dippers and chocolate milk instead of fries and soda) -- is not the issue. Good heavens, don't these commenters ever indulge in the occasional treat themselves? The key, as always, is moderation. I'm not sure government intervention is the answer. Direct consumer intervention, on the other hand, could be extremely effective. Parents need to make their preferences known at the corporate level -- and to vote with their wallets. Contact Jim Skinner and his executive team, and let him know what you think about this! With 2.5 million Happy Meals sold each year, McDonalds has a vested interest in keeping parents happy. Here's a link to where you can make your feelings known: http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/contact_us.html
Tammy Mayrend
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 11:23 a.m.
At the time it was more about not realizing that the toys advertised movies/games/programs that were not age appropriate and it took my young child to ask me about attending that movie to wake up. Most of the pre-school toys were acceptable when we received them. We don't go out for fast food often and so long as I screen beforehand it seems acceptable enough, although now knowing they throw the junk out almost as soon as it gets home, often now I simply just don't get the toys or if they ask I respond with "do you really need that?" and thankfully the kids will accept that they don't. I was simply pondering the fact that toys in meals may become extinct. The "healthy" concept of fast food is out the window. While many places have healthier choices it is still not as good as cooking, preserving, canning, and preparing it at home together, as a family.
a2idealist
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 10:46 a.m.
While I agree that the toys included in McDonald's Happy Meals are not appropriate for my children (harmful plastics, glorifying violence and/or extreme gender stereotypes), I think that the food in the meals is just as harmful. My kids don't get happy meal toys because I do not get them food from McDonald's.
Doug Boynton
Wed, Nov 10, 2010 : 10:13 a.m.
If one is concerned about healthy meals for children, why go to McDonald's in the first place? Sorry, you lost me at "pimped," especially if you feel that strongly about it. Just don't go. What concerns me are governments that get involved in matters that ought to be left to the marketplace. But, hey...Ann Arbor has a long history of that.