Kids and fast food

Every once in a while, my husband takes our 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 them 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, 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 it to be something forbidden that 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.”

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

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?

Posted by Virginia de Leon

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