to let DS have a McDonald's each week?

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DS is a swimmer and swims with a squad that's 45 mins away. He starts training at 6:30 and comes out at 8 (pm btw) and it's very convenient for this day. He is healthy and slim and on all the other days has a good, balanced diet.

Is this seriously so bad?

I let my 2 and half year old have a happy meal each week, she goes with her dad on a sat morning I don't think it does her any harm . I do care if any one else does

People are so obsessed with food, clean eating, low carb etc. Parrnts want to give their children the best start in life, but the occasional MaccieD or a bag of crisps won't do any harm. If these things are forbidden in childhood, they will make up for this when they leave home and their mum isn't watching what they eat all the time. Rebell and eat what you want.

I don't think it's been posted but McDonalds do some great work with their Ronald McDonald Houses. I volunteered at the Yorkhill one for a while and what they provided to families whilst their child was in hospital was amazing. So yes you think it's a shit burger but they provide a great service.

Nope not unreasonable at all

We did this as a child. Swimming in this morning, Maccy D for lunch and then shopping. Convenient treat. I'd say it's fine, depending on his age.

Not a problem, and it prevents fast food becoming "forbidden fruit" for your DS. Fast food isn't healthy, it's relatively cheap and very, very easy, your son may be less likely to go nuts on it, say when he goes to uni, if he keeps up his sports and has the odd burger, than if his first tastes are with mates later in life.

Its absolutley fine! If the rest of his meals through the week are balanced, and he's fit and healthy then there is nothinh wrong with a treat every week. Don't worry

You just managed to go to exclusively shite restaurants

I met have a gift.

We had one decent meal in the 10 days we were there.

And the "chocolate" is beyond revolting!

*must, not met

There are many, many respected studies that point to fast food being a poor choice. It has been shown to be a driver of obesity and also causes less obvious fat distribution issues TOFI (Thin on the outside fat on the inside) Prof Jimmy Bell for those who are interested.
Just one example is copied here.
"Curr Obes Rep. 2016 Dec;5(4):449-455. Global Changes in Food Supply and the Obesity Epidemic.
Zobel EH, Hansen TW, Rossing P, von Scholten B.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW:We explore how a global shift in the food system caused by global economic growth, increase in available food per capita and in food processing is a driver of the obesity epidemic.
RECENT FINDINGS:.....Ultra-processed food rich in sugars and saturated fat is now the major source of energy in most countries. The shift in food supply is considered a major driver of the obesity epidemic and the increasing prevalence of accompanying complications, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, the global shift might also have direct effects on the increase in type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, independently of overweight and obesity. The shift in the food supply is a major driver of the obesity epidemic

Whilst we have normalised this kind of eating, it is doing no one any good. Fast food, heated up at home, is just as bad. Those avoiding this type of eating will have longer, healthier lives ON A POPULATION AVERAGE: the truth is out there!

Sounds fine to me! I used to do Kickboxing every Friday evening growing up which meant mum had no time to cook so we always got take-out, usually pizza :P I was always fit and was actually a little underweight pretty much until I left home.

Hmmmm.

Option A
Spend your life worrying about what you eat, and avoiding things that might shorten your life by a millisecond so you can spend longer in an old people's home.

Option B
Eat a bit of what you fancy when you fancy in moderation, a bit of regular exercise, a bit of common sense and maybe die a bit earlier.

B everytime. Life is too short to eat shit all the time and sit on your fat arse, but also way too short to be avoiding certain foods

Option B, Eat a bit of what you fancy when you fancy in moderation, a bit of regular exercise, a bit of common sense and maybe die a bit earlier

Excellent advice, but its not what's happening. We are having an obesity and diabetes crisis in the UK. Kids may live longer in old people's homes than us because of it.
BBC:
"It's often said that today's children will have shorter average life spans than their parents, because so many suffer from obesity. But there is another view that says they will live longer - at the risk of spending their twilight years in poor health.www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28191865"

No one got obese from eating honey on toast.

No one got obese from eating honey on toast.

Cough....... Winnie the Pooh, the little chubber......cough

Omg I got the honey on toast and McDonald's thread mixed up sorry

All this Winnie triggering is beginning to feel personal

nakedscientist you're obviously very proud of your profession since it's in your mumsnet handle. You should therefore understand that even the review you've quoted refers to the impact of fast food as "a major source of energy". The OP's son has a Macdonald's once a week. Assuming he eats 3 meals a day, 7 days a week, and that as the OP says, otherwise he has a home cooked, nutritionally balanced diet. So 1 meal in 21 is fast food - or less than 5% of his total diet. Therefore your triumphantly quoted review doesn't really apply here.

Someone asked if there was a difference between UK and US McD's and yes, there is. But in terms of Happy Meals for example the US meals are lower cal and lower fat, which is probably to with the fact that in the UK you get small fries with the meal and in the US you get kids fries (unless you ask for a Mighty Kids meal, which has small fries).

Cheeseburger happy meal UK (with melon bag and juice)
kcal 663
fat 24g (sat fat 7g)
carbs 86g (sugar 33g)
salt 2.1g

Cheeseburger happy meal US (with kids fries, apple slices and apple juice box)

kcal 510
fat 17g (sat fat 6g)
carbs 73g (sugar 29g)
salt ~2g (had to convert from mg sodium so my math may be off)

Our kids get happy meals once a week after swimming too or we'll bung a pizza in the oven, which may be nutritionally just as "bad" as the happy meal, but as others have said "everything in moderation".

And for saying 5 Guys is better than McD - yes, the burgers may taste better (and cost more) but having eaten 5 Guys in the US, their burgers are greasy as fuck. I can't finish one because of that.

And the "chocolate" is beyond revolting!

Now that I agree with. Unfortunately even buying UK/Irish chocolate doesn't help these days - it has changed too.

I've never wanted a McDonald's more in my life!

We used to have takeaway Tuesday growing for precisely this reason. Me and both DBs had swimming lessons every Tuesday followed by takeaway, normally macdonalds.

No harm done and a really fond memory between us.

Gast you are right, it does say that in that study they looked at populations where the major source of energy comes from fat and sugar. In the OPs case this is probably not be true. But we are, in the UK, facing a health crisis which thousands of research projects attribute to our change in diet since the war. Studies look at large groups and within these groups there are exceptions. But, like with smoking, fast food is not good for you in small or large amounts, so why risk it with our kids?

nakedscientist you're obviously very proud of your profession since it's in your mumsnet handle
This is an anonymous web forum and you have no idea what my "profession" is! I looked the paper up, didn't write it! I will tell you that I am fully dressed though, for now

It's absolutely fine in my opinion. One of my DD swims in a squad too once a week and has private training once as week as well with both having late finishes. She has half a pizza and salad on one of the days and McDonald's the other day. The remaining 5 days we are generally very healthy eaters. Having said that, I have been told off numerous times by other mothers about it, and my response is always, "this is what works for us," because frankly it is and we are not about to change it.