Food For Thought...

You got it! Today I am writing about the home of the golden arches! If your child is like mine then this is his or her favourite place to eat and play! Well today I am posting my opinion on thier menu choices and healthy food options that they provide or lack to provide! In particular I am writing about thier Happy Meal choices!
As we all know McDonald's strives to provide thier customers with healthy eating choices. They advertise on T.V. about keeping active and keeping fit. They realize how obesity is overwhelmingly high in our day and age because of our fast paced lifestyles and need for fast food, so have decided over the past several years to provide us with menu items such as salads, sandwiches and thier yoghurt parfait. This is thier attempt to help us with our goal to eat healthier and live healthier.
What I don't understand is within this goal they have forgotten about the children. The number of obese children has risen over the years as well due to our busy lifestyles and eating fast food more often than we used to. When you look at all the healthy food choices that are available on thier regular food menu and then take a look at the choices on the kids menu you see that it is lacking! There is no choice other than apple slices to go along with thier meals.
You see why I am bringing this up is because as a parent of a child that enjoys and wants to eat healthy he isn't given the room to choose to do so. He would rather have a small salad with his kidsmeal than a handful of frenchfries but when we asked if he could do so we were told abrubptly that he could not. He would have to order everything seperately and miss out on the toy because to order everything that way would be more expensive and I would not be able to buy the toy! So therefore because he is a kid and wants that toy he gives in to the lack choices that are available and takes the fries that he doesnt want. I don't understand why my child isn't given that choice when I as an adult am able to choose a salad with my meal. Do they not want our children to eat healthy as well?
I am actually quite disappointed on this issue because I feel that my son, even though he is only 5, has made a valid point about wanting to be able to eat healthy within a foodchain that advertises to do so. I have actually taken it upon myself to write a letter to head office to complain about this and also to suggest that they add salad and other healthy food choices as an option for our kids. I don't know if the Mcdonald's food chain has thought about this at all, or if it has been over looked, but it needs to be brought to thier attention. I am asking that if you agree with me that our children need to have healthy food choices as an option on thier menu at McDonald's then please do your child a favour and write your own letter to them. Click here for contact info