Every once in a while, my husband takes my kids to McDonald’s.

We’ve talked a lot about fast food – how it’s fattening, unhealthy, bad for the planet, etc. But it’s no longer a mystery to my kids. At 3 or so, it seemed that both of my kids already recognized the golden arches. And even though my children tried to appease me by parroting my own words, “No, we don’t eat fast food,” I knew they secretly yearned to try chicken nuggets, drink soda pop and play with the little plastic toy inside every Happy Meal.

So despite my best intentions early on, we eventually gave in. Eating fast food is not a regular practice at my house, but like sugar, TV and all the other things I thought we would ban from our household, I didn’t want fast food to be something forbidden that it would almost become an obsession for my kids.

New York Times dining editor Pete Wells did the same thing in his latest column, “Happy-Meal Me.” He actually took his 5-year-old son, Dexter, to McDonald’s.

“For some well-meaning parents, McDonald’s is anathema," he wrote. "They would no sooner take the family out for Happy Meals than they would let their kids follow the meal with a postprandial cigarette. My convictions aren’t quite that strong, but Dexter’s friend pretty much got it right: Other kids eat there. Mine don’t.”

But when his son asked, “What’s in the food that makes it bad for you?” Wells figured it was time to learn first-hand. His account is quite fascinating, I think.

While we try really hard to eat whole foods at my house, I don’t think an occasional Happy Meal will make my kids fat and lead to unhealthy eating habits. I won’t condone fast food, but I also don’t want to be a snob. In this economy, a 99-cent hamburger might be the only food that some people can afford.

How about you? Do you let your kids eat fast food? Why or why not?

What's the best way to teach moderation?

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