to think that giving a 5.5 month old McDonalds is verging on abuse?

[Partyfops]

So a friend of mine has just posted on FB about their not yet 6 month old baby eating her first McDonalds!! FFS!!!!

This is utterly vile right???

Toast is a perfect finger food not sure why a HV would say it wasn't?
I gave both mine toast fingers around the age of 7 - 8 months. Perfect to gum on lol.

Same here Verbeena

Totally gross and idiotic I'm with op

Snapshot in this life or not that's just not normal

i get what your saying op

as of interest i was late night tv watchig this week and watched a American programme about 50+ stone people being kept in hospital to lose weight

it showed the mans family saying that the family also has to change its ways regarding food,the daughter brang the grandchild (5months old) and showed her dad a video of her holding a Macdonalds to the babys lips trying to get her to eat it or sick on it,it was disgusting

they thought it was hilarious,if thats their attitude then that poor baby will probably be overweight like the whole family,and their food is very salty

Yikes. Not my choice but not abusive... tbh a lovely a croissant from an expensive deli probably has more fat and salt in it than a MacD’s chicken nugget.
God almighty, the abuse I’ve heard about first hand from children is worlds apart from this particular situation!

FFS, just because someone makes a different parenting choice to the one you'd make does not mean they are gross, idiotic, or not normal.

It's a fucking nugget. Give it a month or so to get crawling, it'll be eating floor fluff and crumbs from under the sofa, a nugget will pale in comparison.

It was one photo on FB tho! How are we now opining that it's the same as some 50 stone weight problem families on some reality show who obviously have food issues ?!
It could just as easily be a daft picture on social media.
Out in town with the family, stop for a quick McHamburger or whatever, and baby wants a chip. Stick a pic on FB.
Tell you what is just as problematic - demonising entire foods and painting them as can't haves.
How about everything in McModeration. Otherwise the minute they start walking themselves to school and being let off the leash a bit when they get to high school they'll be legging it into the nearest corner shop for the biggest bag of Cheesy Wotsits and can of Monster Bull they can find just because they can.

If its not your child its Best not to get involved. I had people interfering when my DS was 18m or something for giving him chocolate. My child, my choice

McModeration
^
This.

@EwItsAHooman

"How do you know she was 5 months old? One of my DDs is tidgy, at a year old she was still in 3-6m clothing and was very petite and virtually bald still. I had lots of people marvel at how "advanced" she was until they found out her actual age as opposed to the age she looked."

Okay on the off chance this was an underdeveloped 1 year old...I dont see how that changes anything. A large sugar cookie still isn't a healthy breakfast and is still a choking hazard when Mum cba to watch her baby eating.

I guess we should just give the Mum partial credit for not giving the 5 month-1 year old baby a bag of whole unpeeled grapes.

@FlowThroughIt, it's not your baby so why put so much energy into judging? Says more about you than it does about the mother.

This is going to be quite amusing if OP never returns to the thread because she has flounced due to being offended that not many are agreeing with her outrage.

Who's professionally offended, now huh...?

Yawn some people are so naive. It may not hit the threshold for abuse but it’s still pretty shocking. A baby has no need for a Mcdonlds - that craving of junk food isn’t there, nor is the need for ‘a treat’. I work in a contact centre that assesses parenting capacity of parents whose children have been removed. I can absolutely say that this would be strongly discouraged for older children, let alone a baby and would merit a negative comment underneath the category of ‘basic care’. Sounds like she’s boasting about it too, giving your child junk to eat before they can even crawl is nothing to be proud of.

Also, those saying things like comparing it to FGM. That’s obviously extreme abuse, but what about all of the little things that are considered abuse at a much lower threshold yet still at a threshold of concern in relation to parenting capacity? Things like a poor diet, not enough emotional warmth, lack of discipline and boundaries - they all seem inferior to something like FGM but that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.

That’s rubbish willow. A couple of (actual) social workers have previously said it wouldn’t raise an eyebrow. Anyway what business is it if someone who works in a contact centre what visiting parents feed their childreb?

Surely the entire nugget ended up on the floor after 2 mins anyway, what with the baby being 5.5 months?

I don’t agree with the coke in bottles thing either

My children have juice but don’t have soft drinks

However, I never looked at children needing it to stop seizures so I will stop judging just in case

Anyone else really fancy a mcnugget now?..... I've not had one in years 😋

This is not abuse. Lazy parenting perhaps, but certainly not abusive.

I work in a contact centre

So you are not professionally trained to make such judgement calls then?

I'm a CASA for my local Children's Services agency. A CASA is a Court Appointed Special Advocate. Basically, I'm assigned a case of a child or children in care, and I spend time with them and their families, and tell the court what I've observed.

As part of my training, they said one of the most important things to remember is just because someone does things differently from what I would do them, it doesn't make them wrong or abusive. Not feeding your child is abuse. Feeding your child spoiled food is abuse. Feeding them McDonald's, while not what I would do at that age, is neither abuse nor bordering on abuse.

Most sensible and qualified answer on here...

I wish that was how my Mum had abused me. Rather than how she actually did abuse me.
I was hungry for most of my childhood, and had years of MH issues and therapy to come to terms with the abuse.
You OP are a complete and utter twat.

There was a case about 10 years ago where a baby under a year died as a result of eating McDs too frequently. The salt intake was toxic to a child of its age. The parents were teenagers who had very little education and no real concept of nutrition. I think though generally you have to remember that when you see something like this, no matter how jarring it is, it's not a full picture of a family life you're getting. The idea of a 5 month old eating a happy meal is unsettling to me but not abuse unless you're talking about it happening every day, and even then, is the intent there?

@MrsTommyBanks

Because the children in the contact centre are those who have been removed due to some level of abuse whether that be neglect, physical, sexual, emotional. And when they visit, every element of their parenting is assessed and those evaluation documents are passed onto a judge when they go to court.

It takes into account things like the presentation of the parent, ability to provide stimulation, basic care, emotional warmth, safety, boundaries to name a few. From the moment they step inside, everything is recorded - from a factual point of view. So I wouldn’t write Mum is terrible for feeding child McDonald’s, it would say Mum brought an unhealthy meal to contact (Mcdonalds). Then if this was a regular occurrence, the parent would be reminded that a healthy eating plan is advised. We can’t stop them from bringing that kind of food in but we do have to record it and week on week of crap food will not look good to a judge.

A kid wouldn’t be removed by a social worker for eating a chicken nugget no (I’m a qualified social worker) but it would be recorded at a contact centre and if you want your children returned to your care, then you’d be doing everything by the book surely so absolutely no fault could be recorded against your capacity to parent adequately.

@WillowPeach you work in a contact centre, so zero actual hands on experience or knowledge....

Your opinion is ridiculous and scaremongering!