Opinions on Mac Donalds needed for Radio 5 interview tomorrow

We used to go to McDonalds regularly as it was convenient at that time but now we only go there in desperation when everywhere else is closed. I'm concerned about the quality of the ingredients, the way it is cooked, the calorific content of the food and the low nutritional value. We have a local McDonalds and Burger King (in Wales, morningpaper ) and we hardly ever go there. I think that bringing in so-called healthy options when the back lash got too great is too little too late.

PMSL @ toys of shame, beachyhead

Seriously though...it doesn't do of course to get too sniffy about people's choices (I have been known to wolf a quarter pounder with cheese on occasion). Personal responsibility must be a big factor rather than demonising McD's. BUT some of their tactics and targeting of children do leave parents vulnerable. Also their food is so lacking in bulk that we are encouraged to eat more of it (you don't exactly need to chew their food much do you?!).

ds likes the toys and he likes the greasy fries and the icecream and the shakes. We have only been in about three times and always as a last resort. This is because I find the tables etc are always a bit sticky and the people serving the food do not look clean, and the food is just so unhealthy. It has its place, where would backpackers go to the loo in foreign countries if there were no macdonalds?

People who don't like it are free not to eat there. Having said that I do object to their marketing. We cancelled our subscription to NickJr mainly due to ds singing macdonalds adverts all day, he is learning to read at the moment and mmmmm is one of the few letters he always gets right due to macdonalds signs.

I agree with everything in moderation. But as long as it's up to me what ds eats, he won't be going to McDonald's.

It's not so much the food (I do get the odd craving for a Big Mac but have resisted for a couple of years now!) but the marketing. It's cynical at best and downright harmful at worst. I hate all these bloody tie-ins and promotions, I hate junk food being marketed to kids, I hate pester power for a bloody chicken nugget, I hate this 'No, no we serve grapes and carrot sticks now, we're a healthy choice.' Bunch of arse. I know the older he gets the harder I'll find this battle but while he's still young...

We use Mcdonalds about once a month, why ????? well because we like it.

Every other day of the month the kids get nutrionally balanced food at home so i really don't see the prob with it at all.

Yeah, sobernow.....the fact that the whole experience is so obviously not a treat brings out the conspiracy theorist in me - they must put some kind of mind altering drug in their food that leaves people gagging for more

My 3 year old doesn't like it, doesn't even like the chips which is really strange because I have tried McD's when I've been desperate ie. driving to grandparents and its tea time and we've got stuck in traffic or something like that. He isn't fed a pure diet of organic home cooked food although more often than not he gets home cooked. He'll happily eat frozen chips at home though. So my answer would be, I would use them from time to time if I needed to, not as a treat but purely for convenience like the example above, but toddler has more refined tastes!

We were McD regulars (and I was always quite keen as I have visited Hamburger University in Chicago and met the head chef - who is from Belgium). However, my children have weaned themselves off them as friends of theirs have told them there is poo in the burgers - so they go for the nuggets occasionally, but it is now just a last resort venue......

I have been known to go on my own though......

My mum is Canadian and she took me to the first one in the UK in Woolwich when it opened in 1974 so I feel quite a life long thing here.......

I'm up for the once or twice a month route (and the toys are a lot better than BK - now known as TOYS OF SHAME in our house)

It must be really tricky, Psycho.
My brother took his kids to Burger King where they were marketing some burger with a 'secret ingredient'. He asked wht the secret ingredient was, the staff said they didn't know, or couldn't say!
Actually my work organisation runs a cafe and by law (or maybe local authority regs?) we HAVE to be able to list the ingredients of everything we sell. We sent the cafe staff on a course about allergies etc, too. Poorly customers are not hapy customers - and our publlic liability insurers don't think so either!

I am in bournemouth, and admittedly the evil looks were a few years ago now. Didn't get that problem having DS2 (baby no.5) anywhere. Having said that tho, I will admit to now knowing the better places (at least, more child n breastfeeding friendly).

As for the staff surely being able to 'know' what is in their food...apparently not. BUT, I do know that they often 'coat' either the food or frying pan first with flour, which DS2 isn't allowed!!!!

Psycho - fine, if you like burgers and you fancy a burger, you need to know what's in it. But if you eat out at cafes, it's easy for staff to know what a lamb chop or a chicken leg or an omlette that they cook from scratch has in it, isn't it?

I don't pay to eat processed food in cafe's /restaurants - that defeats the point for me.

Oh breastfeeding! I'm all wistful now - that was the last time I could go out with DS and enjoy a meal without him creating havoc! Cafes / cheapish local restaurants / expensive-ish restaurants - I never encountered an evil look. What part of the country are you in, Psycho?

Oh yes, and the 'fixed' seats i many macDonalds are useless for breastfeeding, but you can't take two toddlers into the loos with you to B/F. Useless.

Nutritionally it's OK if you use it as a once a month treat. But we live pretty much opposite one, and despite hardly ever going in we still get a tantrum every time we walk past. I have serious bones to pick with the advertising! Their stuff isn't healthy, it may be healthier than before but that isn't the same. Their toys are rubbish and cause the toybox to overflow with 'precious junk' that I can't get rid of.
Yet they (the kids) think it is the ultimate luxury. Even today we had' Eric's going to Maconalds, Mummy!. Can we?'
The answer had to be no, sorry we can't afford it today as Daddy is on sick leave- cue emotional tantrums.

And if we had gone? They wouldn't actually eat it, they don't like it. They LIKE salad and salmon and healthy things, not greasy odd tasting burgers in abnormally sweet rolls. What they also like, unfortunately, is the idea of MacDonalds.

Who said McDonald's know how to entertain children?! The McDonald's I have been into aren't child friendly really, awkward with prams so can't take older ones and their parties always seem really really really awful. Only used to go once or twice a year as a treat but with all the recent publicity have stopped and no longer see it as a treat, there are so many other temptations anyway. I am not convinced by their healthier options claims and fed up of the toys not being available on the odd occassion that I have taken the children. for a treat I take them to the toy shop instead of McDonald's and would rather pay £10 for a decent toy than a McDonald toy "meal".

psychoflame maybe they should share lol

DD has been to MCD's once cos she wanted the little pony toy the staff were very nice when we went in with our meat eating friends and made dd a salad roll (I think just didn't put burger in) anyway despite my misgivings (vegetarian, ethics,etc.)dd enjoyed herself and I hope now Mcd's won't become something amazing to her cos her friends go but she doesn't . I just wish they would do a vegeburger for kids without red kidney beans in so she could that cos she is bound to go again some day

I don't think it's particularly a question of being too precious about eating 'junk' food or anything - McD's have as much right to sell junk food as much as sweet and cake manufacturers etc. IMO it all comes down to their message....that their food is actually good for you and the fact that they are so ubiquitous and hence become a lifestyle choice.

For me, I take the children to macdonalds because of the truly evil looks I got from diners in restaurants while trying to breastfeed....apparently breastfeeding mums aren't welcome in other places, (altho they do offer bottle warming facilities, so they obviously welcome other babies, just not mine!!).
Macdonalds 'welcomed' me, and didn't sit in judgement over my naked nipples(sorry, couldn't resist adding that word!)
My kiddies enjoy the food, and as crunchie said, the burger patties are 100% meat, and so suitable for my DS2 who is coeliac (without the bun obviously). I cannot guarantee that anywhere else. In fact, one restaurant we attempted TOLD us to go elsewhere as they couldn't give us ANYTHING on their menu that was 'safe'

no it doesn't but I don't believe people don't take their children out at all to any restaurants to save them from eating food that is bad for them.

DS is not restaurant-trained. If anyone wants to save their sanity by seeing how badly other kids behave, I will gladly give you a timetable and you can observe his antics at a place near you!
But I discovered yesterday that cafe rouge do a children's menu of real food for £3-75 with a drink and pudding included. And DS enjoyed it, and since he was not being distracted by other tumultous children, nor had to shout to be heard above the din, he sat down and had most of a conversation with me.
And I enjoyed the v nice coffee. I just can't think why I would ever enter McD again. If we were out and hungry, I'd get him an egg sandwich from M&S.

Foxinsocks but that doesn't make it ok does it?

Dh, a vegetarian hates mcD's with a vengence and as a result we have only ever eaten there once with dd in an emergency in a foreign city when we were absolutely starving and could'nt find anywhere else.( It was predictably vile and dd was sick 2 hours later, I think because of the high fat content.) She now wouldn't eat McD's because of dh opinions even if it was the only thing available.
i think the food is not food at all, is full of emplty calories, dubious additives and cooked in artery clogging animal fat. if that's the way you like your food then good luck to you. i can think of much nicer ways of inducing coronary heart disease.I genuinely hope that our general awareness of what we feed our children, which has been highlighted in recent weeks, will eventually make Mcdonalds a distant bad memory in 10 years time.

in terms of quality of food and calorie content, I'm sure most restaurants are just as bad if not worse than McD (I remember this pizza express story recently).