Real menus for children - campaign?

I'm sure I read that a surprising amount of restaurant food is pre made and frozen in so many places with great reputations, wasn't there a story with the Gordon Ramsey places before?
So in reality in these places one portion would serve 2 children in the end and obviously would cost a little more to store and heat 2 smaller portions but who would resent paying say £7 for a child's meal when the adult version is 12/13 pounds?
Also alot of the meal packages are a bit surplus now drinking juice is a bit olden days now we are more aware of dental health, I can only speak from my own experience but the nurseries I worked in only offer water with meals, my own dc doesn't drink juice and the dc's I have nanny'd for would not have been allowed fruit shoots, not saying they shouldn't be available but if they were not a compulsory add on to the meal package then the money would be spent on good food instead.

You're not obliged to eat in restaurants you know. It's not an enforced stay in hospital or prison. It's your choice. Restaurants are businesses, not charities. If you don't like what's on the menu, go elsewhere.

Or pay full whack for your child's meal, plus crayons, plus free tap water, plus changing facilities, plus their staff to clean up after your little darlings - it all costs money you know.

I think this is a ridiculous thing to get indignant about.

Its been a long time since I've had to deal with this but I don't remember bemoaning the quality of starters and if dd didnt fancy the starters she could have some of ours.

I do think that more places should offer a small portion size where possible. obviously some things cant be made smaller easily but it shouldn't be considered a children's choice - there are plenty of times when people don't want large portions (like for example when they've got one eye on pudding )

But the starters arebt usually much better are they.

Mushrooms,butterfky king prawns, and a load of other deep fried stuff

Maybe a soup
Prawn cocktail

Nothing you'd really give your child as a meal as they don't really come with anything but a sauce or garnish.

Sides are usually a green salad or chips, onion rings , sauce portions, coleslaw, bread, garlic bread etc

Again not something you would make a meal out of.

All we want is a kids portion of shepherds pie or macaroni made with real cheese or grilled chicken or a small portion of a mild curry or lasagne etc

Some places manage so why can't others

Fuzzpig, you could draft a letter and post it here along with the names and email addresses of the chains you wish to target then anyone who agrees with you would just have to copy and paste.

To add - it's the treating children like they are separate species from adults that irritates me. I don't like children's menus because they dont need special food, they just need smaller quantities of it.

dd never used the children's menu - it wasnt an issue in the slightest. - we would either order a starter for her or ask for a small plate and she would have some off our plates or sometimes both. The smaller plate option was sometimes there too. I really dont think there needs to be a campaign.

Its not just crap places though, thats the annoying thing. You can go to a really nice place and they will still often serve the same rubbish for children

It doesn't have to be a waste of food -- some main courses are not that big or you can take the leftovers home.

Or order a starter, I disagree there are not good choices among starters. I often end up getting two starters instead of a main.

If the children's food is actually inedible then it's a crap restaurant and don't go back.

Basically I agree with TeWi, I think this is an annoyance for some people that can be managed by going to the right places and being flexible in what you order. Or giving feedback to specific restaurants to get them to improve. A proper campaign seems overblown.

nice restaurants do half portions of adult meals already (officially or unofficially). Though most pubs offer dire kids' menus.

It's the McDonalds effect:

Parents don't want to spend more than a fiver on a kids meal.

You get what you pay for.

You could always eat Oriental/Asian food and share dishes.

There are options, but the sad sort of places offer sad sort of food. It must be what people like.

I don't think this is really appropriate for a MN campaign. I can see the annoyance - but it's just that, an annoyance. Not something that really has a negative impact on our children whether we buy into it or not.

Why not band together and set up your own campaign, targeting chains and asking for better quality children's food, instead of expecting MN staff to do it for you.

So I should order an adult meal for a 4 year old? What a waste of food if nothing else!

I would hope anywhere I was dining that the ingredients were not the cheap part of a meal. Quality food costs money! Yes, halving the price for a half portion would not factor in overheads, presentation, etc. but equally expecting to pay the same price for half the food would be farcical!

Ingredients are usually the cheap part of a meal surely? You are paying for the ambience/staff/skilled chef. There is no way that a half portion should be half the price of a full portion. Add in the faff of having to figure out what ingredients are halved an would probably work out the same cost to restaurant.

So, IMO I think restaurants should make half portions available where possible (some ingredients probably can't be halved?) but you should pay the same for them.

But if course how dare we ask restaurants to serve actual food

Haven't you read the thread? It's not just about giving them a selection of the adult menu, but also about the quality of what's on the children's menus. Cheap sausages, freezer burnt nuggets, plastic cheese, instant mash/cheese sauce etc.

So if you want kids to have the same options and choice as adults, order for them off the regular menu. It's not forbidden!

If you want a cheaper meal or smaller portions, then you have to face the restrictions of children's menu/starters+sides/sharing plates.

I think restaurants really can't win and it's up to us as parents to give our kids the dining experience we prefer.

I also said on the other thread that efforts with presentation need to be made too.

Just because it's a kids meAl doesn't mean you should be able to just re dunk the chips or plonk chips that were left over in the basket and semi warm on a plate with some freezer burnt nuggets and call it a meal.

Present it nicely, it matters!!

Im quite new to mn what are campaigns usually about?
I think this is important, every time food comes up on this site people preach about how processed is so disgusting and slyly take the p out of visiting fussy children who are 'pandered to' under the disguise of being concerned for them yet at least 8 out of 10 times when ive taken dc out to eat the fussiest immature pallets are being pandered to and a child who is used to home made real food is not considered.
Eating is a social thing and this is what happens if you try to change venue for you own purposes.

The issue I have is that my two will ask to see the children's menu and then pick something off it. If there is no children's menu, it takes them out of their comfort zone a little and they are forced to be more adventurous, normally to positive effect.

I know it's difficult to size down some things, but I have yet to come across a pub or restaurant that wouldn't even try if asked or come up with something.

Where we are, I would say there is a 50:50 split in terms of whether they have a dedicated children's menu or not. And some of the children's menus are actually quite good - with cottage pie, lasagne, etc. instead of just deep fried rubbish!

I'm in. I just want the option to have smaller sized portions of the 'adult' menu.

To be honest, although it's annoying I really don't think it's worthy of a MN campaign. Those should be saved for really serious matters.

And what if the adult actually wants to eat their own meal as in comes, not with half missing?
No one is saying they should order food in that isn't on the menu anyway, just say on the menu that they can serve smaller portions.
I am quite shy and would feel like a pita asking for something not on the menu, so even if all of the places people have had success getting reduced portions in were to advertise this on the menu then people like me would order them, smiley face symbols great idea.
I agree 100% with people saying its not just variety ts quality of food which is much lower for children even when the identical meal is on the adults menu.
Who knows if commercial places did this and dc's were not just eating curry, creamy pastas and fish without breadcrumbs behind closed doors then maybe schools would be inspired to up their games in the dinner hall?

starters/sides - so limited choice and not normally a 'meal'
Spitting with an adult - so they have to have what the adult is having?

Why should children not get the same, or at least similar, level of choice and quality adults get?

I think this campaign would make sense if there were some sort of law that children had to eat off the children's menu -- but they don't, there's usually other options. You can order starters/sides, or split meals (we usually find two full adult meals is enough for me, DH and young DS).

Restaurants are a free market. They can never make everyone happy, the whole idea is you go to places that suit you, not try to change ones that don't. Yes, I can see why it's annoying, but I just think there are already some solutions to the problem, no need for a big campaign.