Re my kids and food?

[rogersmellyonthetelly]

Bought mc d's on the way home from a day out, dished up, left kids (5 and 7) in the kitchen eating, I went to sort some stuff out in laundry. Kids come in 10 minutes later big smiles saying they had eaten all their tea. Immediately suspicious as the dog was hanging around and it normally takes them forever to eat, I asked if they had given it to the dog. Dd (5 and has form for lying) says no, ds who is generally more honest said yes. Turns out they ate about half a burger and a bag of chips between them.
I am fuming, not only at the wasted food (i could so have eaten the burger) but at the lie from dd. to make things worse while giving kids a good bollocking about wasting food I said the happy meals cost £2.99 each, to which ds said £2.99, that's nothing. I have therefore made him take £2.99 out of his money box, likewise for dd. I have also sent dd to bed half an hour early for lying.
I have also not allowed them to have anything else to eat, if they are hungry perhaps they will start to value the food that's dished up to them!

That's so ridiculous its actually funny. sensual

Oh to have a perfect diet like you.

Poor poor kids getting force fed burgers.

Oh and after a day out I needed to get some washing done before I flake out and start feeling like death which is what normally happens in the evening

Aye McDonalds isn't great, neither are crisps, chocolate, sweets and other stuff, but in moderation no one gets as criticised as if the admit they use McDonalds for some reason.

Where did I say "force fed" - I meant maybe they get it more than once in a blue moon so therefore it's not a novelty .

The amount of threads I have seen go off on a tangent and posters make remarks about factors unrelated to the point in AIBU prob run into the thousands.

Nope if they piss about with their food they get fruit and water. If they make a good attempt and get on with it they are allowed a yoghurt or other snacks.

It was totally besides the point and no use whatsoever.

I can't see the great big bloody deal in letting children have an occasional maccy d.

What I was suggesting was that maybe it isn't that occasional?

YANBU.

The only constructive thing I can suggest is giving them a tiny bit of food at a time, and making sure that they are hungry at dinnertime, so there is less of a challenge to eat what they have, and less liklihood of it going in the dog.

I am sorry you missed out on that gherkin OP. :(

It is actually very occasional, probably once or twice a month. It's a useful thing when we are all tired and hungry after a day out, it's getting late and the kids are complaining about being hungry before we even get home let alone I get food out and start cooking!
Anyhow, as others have already said its not about what the food was its about wasting, deliberately doing what i have told them not to re feeding the dog at the table, lying to me about what they have done and then finally trying to justify it by saying its not a lot of money!

What I am saying is that the op wasn't really asking for dietary advice.

We might not get to agreeing here but I get a bit irked by posters piling in getting snooty about what people feed their kids when they don't actually know.

Anyway, seriously, I am going to get one. This has given me an urge, I have one about once a quarter in case anyone is interested.

Thanks to you op I'm on my way there. I'll have a chomp for you.

YABU for feeding McD's to your children, whether they ask for it or not. I feel for you on the morning sickness thing but, really, toast would be better.

YANBU for the way you dealt with what happened - you taught them about money, about waste and about the consequences of lying. Well done

In two minds.

Firstly, I don't see the point in buying them McDs if they don't like it.
I also think you should have been with the kids while they were eating - or at least able to observe them.

But, the comment that £2.99 is nothing is one heck of a learning opportunity.

So, in conclusion, while you should never have left kids, food and dog alone together, allowing the situation to arise, YANBU in challenging your DSs backchat and maing him think about how much £2.99 really is.

Pickle, can you get me a bacon double cheeseburger while you are there? No pickle tho, they play havoc with my digestion.
For the record I couldn't give a shiny shite about posters berating me for feeding my kids mcds, it's so low on my list of things i worry about its only slightly above doing the ironing

Loads of kids tell those sort of lies and don't grow up to be serious liars. My mum often asked us things and we said yes/no to suit ourselves rather than to be truthful

Once or twice a month isn't occasional - and what kids eat affects the way they behave.

No wonder they didn't eat it and place no value on it as it isn't a treat - can you maybe plan a bit more in advance op?

I will now shut up :)

Well, when my children say to me "But mum all the other kids do it and they don't get told off, I tell him that just because they don't get in trouble for their bad behaviour doesn't mean it's okay to copy them". Two wrongs don't make a right, and I guess I saw the OP and my first thought was "bet she gets ripped for giving her child a McDonalds" and the first post was yours, so I commented.

The issue here is the behaviour, not the place the food comes from.

YANBU to send DD to bed early. That is a fair consequence for
a) Being deceitful by hiding the fact she and DS hadn't eaten by giving it to the dog, and
b) Lying about the above.
YANBU to take the money from DS, as it is a fair consequence for being cheaky and disrespectful about money.

DD might be justified in having the cash taken out of her piggy bank as well as technically, she wasn't rude about money. However, the two misdemeanors above are each getting a consequence, so you could say the money is the consequence for a0, and the early bed is the consequence for b0.

I believe that it is very important that children know what they have done wrong, and what the consequence is, so I would be saying: 'You have been rude and disrespectful about the money I spent. I want you to learn to respect money and see that it shouldn't be wasted. Therefore, your consequence is that you will pay for the meal, since it is 'only £2.99'.

I won't be drawn on the subject of McD's since DS2's first 'real' food was McD fries on the way to France

roger the level of smugness is too much for me I give in!!

Although, tbh I don't really understand what your query is. You seem satisfied with your actions, what else matters?

No I was actually wondering if i had been a bit harsh. Sorry pregnant brain and all I forgot to actually put that in the op.

Erm -without being unkind your DC need supervision at mealtimes .
YOU need to show them how to behave,manners etc

YANBU, but they seem to have found a weak point in you with the food, as you say they take long to eat, they leave the table, and then feel hungry soon afterwards, and so on and on. I think you should try to make meal times easier ones. I can not really advice you, mine is okdish with that. I never made a fuss with the food, just put in her plate a variety of things, from which I knew she liked some, if she did not want it, she would go, and eat later, I did not insist on her finishing, or eating something, i just let her get on with it since she was around 12 months old, but we always sit all of us together in the table to eat (she usually joined us after a few minutes). Now she is nearly 4, she helps herself to fruit when she is hungry, drinks too, she generally eats well, and does not play with the food, or play up at meal times. I do not know if I am just lucky, or the relax around food helped to that.

You didn't "dish" anything up...you lobbed some cheapo McDs on the table...it's crap...you can't tell kids off for not eating salt laden shite! I like McDs so don't get me wrong...I eat it when I get the craving now and then...but really...it was hardly s though you'd slaved over a fresh meal for them!