Daily Dose of Common Sense

I know it’s not very PC to say this right now, but I’m one of those parents that occasionally let my kids eat fast food. We eat the majority of our meals at home where I can watch fat, salt, and sugar intake. But, as a fun outing, we take the two little ones to eat at McDonalds and then play on the indoor playground.

And, sometimes my kids get a toy with the meal that they are mildly interested in. For a minute.

Well, Santa Clara, California wants to take those toys away. They have passed an ordinance where meals sold to children have to meet certain nutritional guidelines in order to include a toy.

Any meal that has more than more than 485 calories, more than 600 milligrams of sodium, more than 35 percent of total calories from fat or more than 10 percent of calories from added sugar, or any individual food item more than 200 calories cannot include a toy under the ordinance. Violations would be punishable by fines of as much as $1,000 for each meal sold with a toy.

Now, I know there is a childhood obesity epidemic in this country. No one can deny that U.S. kids need to eat better. I have watched Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution in West Virginia with interest, and I’m encouraged by the idea of National Salt Reduction Initiative. It seems like a ball is rolling that will improve the quality and quantity of our kids’ food. But…the toys? Really? Talk about taking your eye off the big picture.

Should we take away the crayons and color books at the sit-down chains? Their food isn’t much healthier for kids:

For example, popular choices on the Kid’s Menu at Chili’s Grill & Bar might get your child anywhere from 210 to 890 calories just for the entree and a side dish, even before you add on a drink, dressing (like a side of ranch dressing for the Chicken Crispers – 240 calories), and dessert.

Do you really think that our kids are fat because of the Avatar figurines included in a Happy Meal? The toys aren’t the lure; it’s the FOOD. Deep-fried and salty, the food is what most kids really want. And, that’s not the end of the world every now and again.

Even when served with a toy.

This post originally appeared on RationalMoms on Monday, May 3, 2010.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 at 3:16 pm and is filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.