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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU- 8 year old has never been to McDonald's?

238 replies

early30smum · 03/08/2017 20:12

This is not a stealth boast. She has been to plenty of other places like Byron, GBK, pizza express, Nando's, Wagamama etc and I'm under no illusion that they're any better and actually some are probably worse for her. She's happened never to go to a party where the food bit has been at McDonald's. DH likes it and if he's grabbing food after work he might get a burger on the way home. I'm not fussed on it. DD (and DS but he's only 4) have never really been bothered about it, like if we stop at services they've never asked and like going into M&S instead and picking up picnic type stuff on car journeys. So the 'need' to take her has never arisen. But a few of my friends are a bit Hmm that she's never gone. AIBU to think it's not a huge deal?!

OP posts:
WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 04/08/2017 08:45

They're teens now and McD's would be the last place they'd choose out of fast food places.

I think they're typical of their generation

It's not "typical of their generation". Teenagers in general love McDonalds. McDonalds does not love said teenagers though because they buy one thing and spend hours in there Grin

It costs the same nearly to get a happy meal toy and a fruit shoot as it does to get a happy meal with chips and a burger.

A happy meal is £2.69. Buying a toy and fruit shoot seperately comes to £1.98 (99p each). So yes, happy meals are very good value Grin

UntilTheCowsComeHome · 04/08/2017 08:51

I haven't even heard of Byron or Wagawotsit but my DC have a maccies or KFC every week with their grandparents the only thing they'll ever do with the kids

What's this Byron like and where will I, a country bumpkin, find one?

The80sweregreat · 04/08/2017 09:08
  • my dad is 95 and has never , ever , been inside any fast food place. They didnt used to take the grandkids anywhere and , if they did, they would go to a cafe type place or have fish and chips out the chippy.
i took my mum to Mcdonalds when she was 60 ( one had opened in town 3 years before) she had been in a Wimpy, but that was acceptable as it had china, knives and forks and she could have fish and chips. fine. mcdonalds she was appalled at - the tea wasnt in a cup and you threw everything away? no dear, not for me. never went in there again!
maddiemookins16mum · 04/08/2017 09:12

My 13 year old has been perhaps 4 times - the only reason being is she perfers Burger King. Actually she's happier in our local noodle bar with the long shared tables (that or a Greggs sausage roll). 🤣

limitedperiodonly · 04/08/2017 09:13

I've been past Byron and Wagamama but never been tempted, Until.

George Osborne likes Byron burgers. It's up to you whether you see him as a role model.

The80sweregreat · 04/08/2017 09:16

Byron was okay - not cheap , but i had a salad and it was nice.
if Gideon goes in there, i might go elsewhere now.
my two like Wagamama , i had a look at the menu and thought, no. they reakon i am missing out!

Pigeonpost · 04/08/2017 09:17

My DH is massively against McDonalds. I'm not entirely clear why, our kids often order burger and chips if out and I don't see the difference but DH is very passionate about it. Eldest DS is nearly 9 and ended up at McDonalds after a Cubs trip last week. Poor boy felt really conflicted as he told the leaders he wasn't allowed but they said to have it anyway. Tbh, I don't understand DH's reasoning and think he's being a bit of a dick about it but I can't see him changing!

GinIsIn · 04/08/2017 09:18

I'm in my 30s, and I've never been. I'm not scarred for life or anything! 😆

The80sweregreat · 04/08/2017 09:24

There was a mcdonald's backlash 25 years ago - it was put about that they funded the IRA ( dont know if its true or not or anything, but it was a rumour and all before the internet was invented)
probably not true, but a lot of people stopped going in there, then there was the mad cow disease scandal etc etc. but they survived all this and still make millions. the food waste is terrible in all these places.
i tend to avoid as much as i can these days and i do prefer places with cutlery and plates!!

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 04/08/2017 09:26

the food waste is terrible in all these places.

No, it isnt. All waste is recorded and it's very low.

(PS. The IRA thing? Not true.)

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 04/08/2017 09:27

i do prefer places with cutlery

Oh, and we have cutlery. You need only ask.

Floggingmolly · 04/08/2017 09:31

We went to one in Italy a few years ago, and the coffee came in china cups with saucers Grin. Fabulous building too, all marble and brass.

limitedperiodonly · 04/08/2017 09:46

You don't need cutlery to eat a burger. It's a sandwich. Each to their own, but you'd look a bit eccentric cutting up you Pret crayfish and rocket with a plastic knife and fork.

BertrandRussell · 04/08/2017 12:32

" I have let him try a burger once but he didn't like it and I absolutely will not let him eat French fries."

Why a burger but not fries?

RudeDog · 04/08/2017 12:46

Wimpy used to give you cutlery - that's where we went as kids when we went to London.

BertrandRussell · 04/08/2017 12:51

I used to love going to Wimpeys. We used to giggle very childishly about eating a "bender".......

ShatnersWig · 04/08/2017 12:56

Wimpy was my place of choice as a teen. Because they did fish and chips in a box. The fish was breaded and really lovely. Sigh.

Cantseethewoods · 04/08/2017 13:11

THe IRA thing was an urban myth. It was based on something like the country manager of N Ireland was a member of Sinn Fein.

Food waste is much lower than average ( supermarkets and cafes selling fresh bakery lose a lot more and buffet style restaurants are insane) and their packaging is a lot better than most fast food.

Sittinginthesun · 04/08/2017 13:28

We still have a Wimpey. It doesn't do the fish, though.

LittleLionMansMummy · 04/08/2017 13:55

My dad hates McDonald's with an absolute passion (think foodie, everything in his eyes requires cutlery and a plain white tablecloth at the very least) and as a consequence I never ate McDonald's as a child. My dad's hatred of them is the butt of family jokes (Oh, popped in for a McDonald's on the way over here etc). Wimpy was just about acceptable when I was growing up.

I eat McDonald's now but not often (mostly because I'm trying to lose weight) but 6yo ds has one every week after swimming. What pisses me off the most is the new ipads in there. I take ds to McDonald's for a weekly 'dinner date' with me so I can find out how his day has been, what's going on in his world etc. Now all he wants to do is bolt his food down so he can get on the iPad. I know I could say no, but it's not worth the argument so I'm now making a stand and will be taking him somewhere else. I'm not against technology and ds has his own tablet but our rules are no technology at the dinner table. Fuck McDonald's if they insist on sounding the death knell of a little dinnertime conversation.

lettuceWrap · 04/08/2017 13:58

Our almost 7yo had a happy meal for the first time earlier this year!
During this summer break he's been far more often than I'd ever admit in RL Blush. It's such an easy/lazy school holiday treat when I'm not feeling so great myself.

I'm hopping that some regular exposure to fast-food might inoculate him against eating it in later life Blush

Floggingmolly · 04/08/2017 14:06

That sounds like a bit of an affectation of your Dad's, LittleLion Confused. Maybe he needs a hobby to take his mind off it.

lettuceWrap · 04/08/2017 14:08

Both of the McDonald's we have been going to over summer break (we are in Scotland so the schools have been off for a month), are REALLY clean, clean toilets, nice "dinner "'style decor with good lighting etc. Possibly they have had very recent make-overs.

LittleLionMansMummy · 04/08/2017 14:25

He does need a hobby Flogging - one that doesn't involve eating or cooking. He loves good food a bit too much you could say. He does have a sense of humour about it though. Dh and I drove him to a football match a couple of years ago and drove into a McDonald's on the way to wind him up. I'd actually made him some sandwiches unbeknown to him, but his face was a picture when dh asked him what he wanted. Anyway, dh and I enjoyed our Big Mac meals! We still laugh about it now, my dad coming out in a cold sweat and stuttering "Well, I don't know what they have..." Burgers dad, mostly. And fries. Grin

The80sweregreat · 04/08/2017 15:58

It maybe a generation thing - although dh and I do go in them ( not as much now and i'm not that keen on any of it really) but my brothers are in their 60s and they never go in them, even with the grandkids.
i agree that buffet and carveries do waste a lot more food - i'm not anti, they serve a purpose - but i do sometimes wish they had never been invented, which is very bah humbag ( and a bit hypocritical i know) i suppose the very first ones were much more upmarket in America. They have added to the obesity problem and i say that someone who is two stone over myself.

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