On December 1, 2011, CNN released an article stating that one major city in California was going to stop giving away toys and trinkets in kid’s meals. San Francisco has passed a new law that went into effect yesterday, December 1, 2011, that will halt all toys being included in kid’s meals unless the food in those meals meets nutritional requirements. The new law will affect approximately 50 fast-food restaurants, which include McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, Sonic, and Carl’s Jr. I think this law may be a good thing, but I do not think it should be limited to kid’s meals. The toys included in kid’s meals is not the actual issue, the issue is that meals served at fast-food restaurants are unhealthy and unbalanced nutritionally.
Currently, McDonald’s Happy and Mighty Kid’s Meals do not meet the requirements of the new law. For example, the kid’s meals must be less than 600 calories and contain fruits and vegetables. The meal also must contain less than 35% of the total calories coming from fat, less than 0.5 milligrams of trans fat, and less than 640 milligrams of sodium. The city of San Francisco believes as a result of the very high calorie intake that the Happy Meals supply, it would be extremely unhealthy to include a meal that should be a balanced nutritional meal.
“This is not an anti-toy ordinance; this is a pro-healthy-meal ordinance,” says Rajiv Bhatia, director of occupational and environmental health for the San Francisco Department of Public Health. I still believe toys that are included in kid’s meals are not a bad thing. Personally, I take the toy out of the Happy Meal and put it up until my kids are finished eating. For my children, it provides them with incentive to eat so they can receive their toy when they have eaten all their food. I understand that the kid’s meals may be unhealthy, but if they are so unhealthy, then do not eat at unhealthy fast-food restaurants. Also, repair the meals to make them more nutritional, instead of taking toys out of kid’s meals. For instance, instead of making only the kid’s meals more nutritional, make all meals “across the board” nutritional and healthy. In 2009, 63.1% of Americans were either obese or overweight. That is a prime example of why meals at fat-food places should be upgraded nutritionally.
As for the toys, parents can still purchase toys at the local fast-food restaurants. The toys will cost 10 cents extra. I think this is a little ridiculous because the toys are not the issue. People have debated that the toys in kid’s meals “lure” children in to wanting a kid’s meal. I understand that a child may want a kid’s meal to get a toy, but the parents are the ones who decide whether or not to buy the child a kid’s meal. In regards to McDonald’s, what is a Happy Meal without a toy? Happy Meals have consisted of toys since their debut in 1979. I guess I just do not see why we, as Americans, cannot just make kid’s meals more nutritional and continue to add toys into those meals.
Overall, this new law passed in San Francisco is ridiculous. Do we not have anything else worry about, instead of focusing on toys in kid’s meals? It has been said that this law may go nationwide. I will be outraged and on the front lines of the protestors. I just think that meals within fast-food restaurants need to be more nutritionally balanced and healthy for everyone to consume, not just children. I do not wish to see this law go into effect in my area.
Pretty much it boils down to, Bah Da Bah Bah Bah, I’m not lovin’ it!
I think simply making the meals healthier would be the way to go. If the child is still going to want the toy - perhaps they will be more likely to eat the healthier version of the meal if at the end they still get the toy. My son is a slightly picky eater. The good news is he loves fruits and veggies; his favorite ever is broccoli. To get him to try new things - a two bite minimum - we often offer a reward such as a popsicle or a bowl of fruit sorbet. Given that it works almost always - I think that the reward of a toy at the end of the meal would help get the child - especially those picky eaters - to eat the healthier meal.
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