What age to switch from a Happy Meal?

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My DS is 6 (7 in March) and went with a school friend swimming, and went for McDonald's after and the other boy (was 7 in October) was bought an adults medium meal.

Is 7ish the age? I was thinking maybe 11/12??

The poster said “ it doesn’t fill him up” not sometimes he is still hungry. The implication being that he is never full with the normal amount of required calories.

So? Lots of reasons it might not fill him up. Firstly it's very calorie dense food. Perhaps they usually go to McDs after football when he's starving? Or maybe like one of mine he doesn't eat much breakfast?
It's quite normal not to divide the days caloric needs perfectly in 3. Exercise a little imagination and common sense.

DS was about 7 when a cheese burger Happy Meal was no longer enough. He opted for a medium Big Mac meal. A few months later, DS's best friends DM happened to mention that her DS (aged 7) was now ordering medium meals.
Both the boys were and still are tall and very slim. DD is almost 8 and still very happy with a kids meal

Everyone knows it's unhealthy. Eating it occasionally really isn't the end of the world though, even for children.

It's an appetite thing more than an age thing?

DS was still having a Happy Meal at 11/12, as he didn't really eat much at that age.
He's 17 now, and can wind his way through the box of 20 chicken nuggets, with a large fries.

DD is 15, and still has a small appetite. She wouldn't order a Happy Meal, as she'd think it age inappropriate. But, she'd have a Chicken Mayo, or a box of 6 nuggets.

The thing is, the ingredients in a happy meal really are no worse than pretty much most restaurants out there or to be honest most packaged food from the supermarket. Should people stop taking their kids out for food at all? Stop buying anything in a packet? Yes, a small minority might be feeding their kids this stuff everyday but it’s pretty clear most on here are doing it occasionally.

I’ve also watched documentaries and read the books. It’s clear that a 80:20 approach at least is perfectly fine.

My daughter is 7 almost 8 and she has needed extra since the summer. So she gets a happy meal usually with nuggets and then an extra burger.

I was surprised too but her appetite has got so big these last 6-8 months.

She also gets a whopper meal at Burger King now and she can almost finish the burger. I'm always stunned she eats about the same as me now. Although I don't eat big portions I'm still always shocked!

It is not funny people, my niece is a pediatric doctor and treats obese children hooked on junk food. It has never been so bad she says. Her colleagues in the adult obesity treatment area say it is the same there. People with coronary heat disease and other organ problems or diabetes at a way younger age. The fast food chains know that sugar and fried fat is addictive that is why they use it.

The children your niece treats will not just be having junk food occasionally.

Having it occasionally is absolutely fine.

You’re talking to (mostly) the wrong people here. It is possible to have the occasional McDonald’s and not be obese or addicted to junk food. (Such as me when I was growing up!)

It does sound gross though, giving McDonald’s to young children. Mine do of course have treats, but I can’t help but feel this sort of fast junk food with no nutritional content dressed up as food is the worst of the worst. I’d rather them have a meal out elsewhere any day and not see McDonald’s as a treat at all - I certainly don’t. At least a slice of cake looks like pudding, those burgers and fries look like they’re a main meal but are full of sugar just the same. It’s so dangerous.

Dd age 8 still has a happy meal (but eats like a sparrow). DS had stopped having them by age 10/11.

I get what you’re saying and it depends what you get but realistically, there’s no sugar in the fries or the burger meat. There is some in the burger bun but no different to any brioche buns you’d buy in the supermarket or make at home which also contain sugar.

Are you based in the USA? The McDonald's chips in the UK contain potato, vegetable oil and salt. Absolutely no sugar. I know that sugar and some other ingredients are added to US ones so that could be what you're referencing. Personally I usually order the veggie dipper Happy Meal with either a water or Diet Coke, so not exactly sugar laden by any means. The nutritional information is fairly easy to find on their app and website. I realise some people will have a large milkshake and a McFlurry every time but the main meals aren't really full of sugar at all here in the UK.

Sorry but that’s bollocks. Here is the nutritional information for a burger and fries happy meal v a slice of m&s chocolate cake.

7.3G of sugar in the happy meal. 34.5 g in a slice of cake. All the carbohydrate in the cake come from sugar.

so no, a happy meal is not “full of sugar just the same”

what’s dangerous is people like you who don’t understand which foods are “full of sugar” and which aren’t.

Sorry forgot to add the images

Compared to the happy meal:

McDonald’s has a calculator where you can add your items and it will give you the total nutritional information.

That is not true, I checked the UK ingredients and they state that dextrose (sugar) is added to the fries.

Fries Medium
Ingredients: Potatoes, Non-Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed), Dextrose (predominantly added at beginning of the potato season).

Here’s the explanation re. Dextrose. It’s not always added.

when early potatoes are harvested, they are naturally lower in sugar so they’re “topped” up with dextrose. As the potatoes mature (so get more “ripe”). The natural sugars increase so adding dextrose isn’t needed.

the amount of sugar in the fries never changes, whether they add dextrose or not.

Some people need to get a grip

It’s an ‘Occasional Treat’ for most children

Apart from the question of whether it's really food, what do you mean by "it's too much food for them"?

I can’t remember exactly as it was a long time ago but it was probably around 9 or 10 for dd1. Dd2 was about 8 as we often us d to go with a friend and her mum and she was having an adult meal so dd2 wanted one too.

My 9 year old eats an adult meal and has done since around 7/8.

Dangerous 😂

We only get it twice a year so for mine (7 and 8) it is very much the excitement of the colourful box and the surprise. However, it isn't enough food for them now so we had a box of nuggets to share too.