"because kids eat that type of food most days...
plus going out for meal is is a bit of a treat - so why not have chips?" I know plenty who don't and not all kids like chips! I know quite a few who don't.
It's the inflexibility that bugged me! Dd is nearly 18 now but I well remember the complete rigidity of restaurants refusing - even if available on adult menu - to replace chips with mash or even pasta! Also dd was never very keen on deep fried stuff and hates fish! (Which a lot of DC do)
It's just not good enough really.
I voted with my feet/purse and we basically stopped going to places with such limited menus but I appreciate its not that easy for others for a variety of reasons.
It's boring and lazy! It's self defeating too because it puts kids off eating out which puts parents off plus as myself & pp have said many of us simply won't give places that do this our custom.
"I really expect at least some sort of vegetable with a kid's meal. I can cope with beige but at least stick some carrot sticks on the side!" Yes & not just beans/peas, whatever veg is on the adult menu should be available on kids menu too.
Op there is a campaign (the name of which escapes me - it might be this one
www.soilassociation.org/our-campaigns/outtolunch/ )
that rates chains on how healthy their kids options are, iirc just before Xmas they were in news for either adding or removing a company to their "ok" list for the drinks offered to kids.
"Things definitely need to change. We are all veggie and the children options are rubbish." Totally agree. Dd isn't veggie but doesn't like fish and pork upsets her stomach plus as a veggie myself I notice the dearth of veggie kids meals.
SOME kids are just fussy eaters and their likes and dislikes fluctuate - but so what? I don't want to eat the same thing all the time, sometimes I'll fancy pizza, others a stew, others a sandwich. However I do think that barring medical issues (and I include Sen and mh conditions in this) it's good for them to at least try a taste. My parents were quite adventurous for their background, so even in the 80's when for many even Italian was still "exotic" we were going to Thai, Korean, Venezuelan restaurants and even in less "exotic" restaurants if there was something that we didn't really have at home (eg mum was quite wary about cooking certain shellfish) then if a parent ordered it we'd be encouraged to try a little, money was quite tight so they wouldn't risk ordering us something we'd never tried before in case it ended up wasted, but once they knew we liked a thing they'd happily order for us.
My ex WAS unbelievably and ridiculously fussy for no reason than his mum had pandered to him (she admits this, he was youngest of 4 and she was probably knackered mind) when he was a tantrumming toddler and it became entrenched. When I first met him he would only eat a total of 6 things (I kid you not!) when we first lived together it ended up making it very restrictive for me as otherwise it meant cooking 2 completely separate meals (which was a faff and meant more dishes whoever cooked!) I got frustrated and sat down with him one weekend and went through a whole list of foods and asked if he'd even TRIED them! The majority he had never even tasted just didn't like the look of or assumed he'd hate. Those he had tried & hated I was happy (temporarily) to set aside. He agreed (with a cash incentive - I bet him £20 I could get him to at least double his repertoire) to try 1 new food every other day for a month. By the end of the month he was like a new person! Not only enjoying more foods but WANTING to try more even spices (which he'd been very wary of), I even started giving him stuff which I suspected he'd like based on which items had been a hit (not all had) without even checking with him and at the end of the month I took him for his first chinese - he was nervous but LOVED it. Sometimes you need to try different approaches.
Mostly fussiness is instinct kicking in my experience/opinion. My dd has a disability that wasn't dx until she started high school, she's never liked chips, chocolate, potatoes generally she's not keen on, ice cream only in small doses. I thought it odd but never made a big deal of it but a few years ago when we made the link between pork & bouts of gas/diarrhoea I wondered and found that her condition can mean some foods irritate, she didn't know this but was instinctively avoiding them.
I went veggie 30 years ago for ethical reasons, but I'd never been keen on red meat anyway preferring chicken and fish. Within a few months of going veggie many of my ongoing gastro issues disappeared - but I had a flare up when I was served a vegetable soup made with beef stock! A few more incidences like this and my family, dr and I made the connection - we weren't at all surprised when the news about red meat & bowel issues came out. At this point my dad (who'd also had "a bit of a dicky tummy") also gave up red meat - but still eats fish & poultry - and again they largely disappeared within a few months.
I know a wee girl who never liked bread, pizza & similar - dx with coeliac eventually.
Your body knows what's right for it if you listen to it properly.
"When we go out for a meal, it's a treat. We eat healthily at home" you know what? THIS is quite possibly part of the problem re obesity (and I say that as a fatty myself!)
The 2 are not mutually exclusive, there are PLENTY of delicious, luxurious & filling dishes that are ALSO healthy.
One of my favourite things to have is a veggie stir fry - which when I was doing ww another member commented I had them quite a lot (for me they were quick & easy I was working at the time and single mum to a primary aged child. I'd add stuff to dds portion as otherwise would have been lacking in fats & other nutrients kids need more than adults, also her condition means high metabolism) and aren't they fattening? When I told her that I could have a pretty substantial portion for around 4 points (pro points no idea what that is in new points) she was like 😱 really?!
Also stews (including more "exotic" ones like stroganoff, ghoulash, bourgignon) even things like stovies and scouse depending how you make them.
Curries, chilli, sushi...
"I've seen some horrible, snobby posts on here about Wetherspoon but they actually have a good kids menu I think" they're also pretty good for veggies!