to think that she is doing the wrong thing as a parent?

[HootOnTheBeach]

Really didn't want to use the word 'bad'

DP's darling sister uploaded photos of her 9~ month old in McDonald's eating fries and chicken nuggets.

We KNOW junk food is bad, why give it to such a young baby? Why give it to your child at all?!

Yesterday 21:12 HaroldLloyd

DS is upstairs cuddling nuggets

My DS once spent an entire day cuddling a marrow.

At 9 months they would have no notion of the concept so I was strict, it's easy to not give them this when they are babies and not set them up for problems in later life.

But one set of chicken nuggets and fries, whether their own happy meal or part of an adults meal, isn't setting him up for problems in later life. Which is precisely why the whole thing doesn't actually matter and is definitely not a sign of bad parenting. You might not do it, I might not do it, but it doesn't mean that the child in the OP is necessarily any more likely to end up with poor eating habits or health problems than yours or mine.

The OP might have had a point if she was talking about regular trips to MacDonalds but she hasn't said that this is the case.

DS occasionally had nuggets as a baby, he now hates them so I can't figure how I set him up for problems!

MN food threads are amazing. I think I'm somewhere in the middle (organic and free range but sceptical at the number of children who just adore wholemeal pitta bread, home-made houmous and carrot sticks).

I couldn't have ever imagined giving my son a MacDonalds meal at that age.

NRTFT but I'm with the OP on this one. McDonald's is beyond revolting and has no nutrition (anyone seen the chip comparison thingy?). If they get to the stage of asking for it then that's different, i wouldn't want to create food ishoooos. But 9 months old? Sorry, no, that's not OK IMO. They do fruit bags, why not get her one of them?

My DD is 15 months old and the crappiest food she's ever had is a digestive biscuit. I figure that I wanna get away with giving her healthy food for as long as I can. When she can ask for chocolate etc I won't make an issue of it, but when she's young enough to not know better I'm gonna fill her with the good stuff.

Sorry rafa, maybe my post was unclear. I wasn't saying occasional McDonald's would set children up for problems in later life, I was responding to posts saying that being strict and not allowing them things at that age would set them up for problems. I don't think that is the case.

I was trying to say its easy to avoid this stuff at that age without being too extreme and making it forbidden fruit and giving them issues etc. I.e they won't know you're being strict so they're not missing out.

I am not demonising MacDonalds, I take my own young dc there as I've said in my posts, it just seemed to me that the thread had swung too far the other way as though it was perfectly normal for such a young baby to have it and this was ok. This seemed opposite to what I've seen in real life, and was surprised so many on here apparently thought differently that's all I was arguing really.

I would say also that if you're starting them on MacDonalds at 9 months, first baby, you're more likely to take them regularly than someone who holds off a year or two.

It might be me misreading it.

And I agree with you on the being too strict setting them up for problems argument. It's trotted out quite a lot on AIBU and I'm not sure it has any basis other than anecdote.

I don't think I worded it well! I agree a lot more goes into setting up problems with overeating or under eating, a lot of it emotional and down to the individual.

For me it's more that when they are so young and you have so much control, then processed salty food is not a good choice for their developing system. When they are older, yes, everything in moderation comes into play.

yanbu, don't people kmow mcnuggets are a gayeway food?! He'll be shooting up a crushum soon and in years to come yoh know it will be rolling naked in the deep fat fryer ok maybe that's too far

If all you have to worry about is the fact that your dn has tasted the evil Macdonalds, then you need to get over yourself.

Yes because we all know that when someone starts a MN thread about a topic it's ALWAYS all they have to worry about it's not just because it might make an interesting debate.

Ohhhh I haven't seen a biscuit or is it a chocolate medal thrown out ina long time. I don't think the Op deserves one.

A baby having a few bites of a happy meal is an interesting debate?
Hardly.
The very mention of Macdonalds on here always attracts the extreme pc and professionally offended.
Every time.
Ffs the baby had a couple of chips, not a fag, not crack cocaine. It doesn't mean he/she will become addicted and that her parents will not make healthy choices for her in the future.

I went on the basis I wasn't going to be evangelical about never going to Macdonalds and my son was definitely not going to be the poor soul at parties who isn't allowed burgers and sweets.

However given I don't eat at Macdonalds and at 9 months peer pressure hadn't kicked in and he couldn't express a preference it would not have occurred to me to take him there.