How much of these things do you consider a treat?

[LajesticVantrashell]

Person A has done/given/bought her DC the following this weekend. Person B thinks this is excessive and that they're all treats which should be given rarely and sporadically.

1. McDonald's
2. Soft play
3. Swimming
4. A new book
5. A small bag of jelly sweets
6. A magazine

This is in between an afternoon in the park, a walk up a hill and some down time playing at home.

How often do your DCs do/have the above?

I mean...maybe it was a treat weekend? If it’s every weekend then maybe yeah excessive but if it’s just this weekend then that’s fine.
For us I would say

1. McDonald's - maybe once or twice a year at a service station when travelling
2. Soft play - I think they’ve only been about 5 times ever.
3. Swimming - maybe a handful of times in the summer
4. A new book - once every couple of weeks
5. A small bag of jelly sweets - any type of sweets or chocolate is a once a week thing on a Friday after school
6. A magazine - hardly ever

McDonald's isn't a treat for dc, it's a treat for me when I can't be bothered to cook.
Everything else isn't a treat.

Four of the six are good beneficial things.

McDonalds and sweets not do much, but not too harmful in moderation.

McDonalds, soft play a magazine.

Do you mean that doing all the things on the list are excessive? I don't view Macdonalds as a treat, just somewhere to get the kids something to eat when we are out, and I don't know any parents who limit there children to one sweet a week. Swimming is fun and they get exersize, soft play dito, why are you judging person A. What is the back story.

Throws chicken nuggets and Big Macs at everyone

-Runs-

A lot of posters have answered, OP. Do you want to share a little more about why you are asking?

1. McDonald's - 4-6 weekly or less often.
2. Soft play - every 3 months or so.
3. Swimming - very rarely.
4. A new book - quite often. 2-4 weekly?
5. A small bag of jelly sweets - weekly.
6. A magazine - every 2-3 months. They drive me mad! £5 for something that get glanced at and a pile of plastic tat.

It does seem a lot to do over one weekend, I couldn’t afford all that. But I don’t necessarily think there’s anything wrong with it.

I was thinking about this thread.
Jelly sweets - kids like other things such as chocolate don't they? Someone could say their kid never or rarely has jelly sweets but doesn't mean they don't have something else.

Same goes for McDonalds - what about Burger King, Wimpy Bar, Pizzahut or places in shopping centres where you see families sometimes filling their faces?

Mc Donalds is NOT an introduction to unhealthy eating habits!!

So you dont ever have treat / junk food now and then?

Try and resist the Mc Donalds all you like, makes no difference once they get older !

None are 'treats' we don't do them all regularly though.

Jelly sweets - kids like other things such as chocolate don't they? Someone could say their kid never or rarely has jelly sweets but doesn't mean they don't have something else

Yes. Mine don’t like any form of jelly sweets, but they do get chocolate bars etc instead. They also love a McDonalds

Only macdonalds and magazine are rare events for my two - 6 and 8 years. Magazine defintely treat. Macdonalds we rarely go to but often go to other cafes etc at weekends....so I guess not treat ad it's quite cheap. 6 year old would think big treat as me and 8year old dont like the food.

Other events are regular weekend stuff for us.

McDonald'sdepended, we can go months without it then have e.g. two trips somewhere within two weeks and end up there

1. Soft play-same as above
2. Swimming- they go weekly, I'd see it as a treat but it's not really!
3. A new book- with the older ones due to cost not very regularly but library every two weeks
4. A small bag of jelly sweets-probably most weekends (with crisps!) and sometimes more (something we're trying to get a handle on since the kids have gotten older)
5. A magazine(since magazines cost the same as books it drives me mad to get them but that's so unfair as I got them weekly as a child. Saying that I get them as a surprise at Easter, summer, Christmas, birthday weekends etc.

All in all I think together all of those things you quoted would be for us mega fun, crazy holiday/ birthday weekend stuff. It's a lot for one weekend, but then if it wasn't regular, why not!!!

Sweets and McDonald’s a rare treat. (McDonald’s limited to a pound saver burger - take our one water) Magazines (those £4 ones with a plastic toy and gaining only 5 minutes attention?) - never. Softplay depends on age, once a month for little children (chance to sit down). Swimming - swimming lessons.

Person A is the children’s mother so, unless there is another issue (eg impending bankruptcy), anyone else should just leave her to it.

Actually thinking again, even though I do these things often my kids would still see them as a treat. So they would be delighted by buying a new book etc even if I'm happy to buy them to encourage reading.

So I've changed my mind to me meh no a mega treat but to my children aged 8 and 6 all nice treats.

1. McDonald's - not a treat
2. Soft play - not a treat, usually go every week but not at the minute due to Coronavirus
3. Swimming - not a treat but again not going as Coronavirus
4. A new book - not at treat, little guy loves his books
5. A small bag of jelly sweets - treat
6. A magazine - treat

My DCs spend a lot of time at their dads on a weekend. So the weekends they are home we often squeeze in a few treats. This weekend just gone we went out for chinese, had a friend for a sleepover, made pancakes for breakfast, went swimming and had cookies and hot chocolate after swimming.
A couple of weeks ago we did mcdonalds and the new imax cinema on the Saturday and in the sunday we went to diggerland and then went out for chinese...
But there have been weekends inbetween where weve done very little.
My kids lost two grandparents since the start of this year, one was my dad and the other was their dads mum. It's been a horrible time but it's made me determined to make memories and enjoy life while we can

1. McDonald's - never going to be a treat in my eyes (as in, not nice enough for a treat). But we do go sometimes, usually if really strapped for time, or if were going to the fair.
2. Soft play - not a treat. We go as and when. We have a few small ones locally that are great for pre school/receptions age.
3. Swimming - not a treat. We go weekly.
4. A new book - not a treat as in, not rare. We have a LOT of books, and dc2 for 4 new ones this week. Always a treat in my eyes though. Never wasted money on children that love books.
5. A small bag of jelly sweets - treat
6. A magazine - treat. I never buy them, for myself or DC. I'd rather buy books.

Really depends on the context, if every weekend was like this I would say it excessive. If it's the EOW Disney parent doing this I probably would take a bit if an exception to it especially if the RP is left with all the mundane tasks.

apart from soft play, all normal stuff for us
Will get maccas today actually as we due to go on shopping trip

McDonalds isn't something I'd be doing every weekend, but then you don't say what they had. If they went for a happy meal with water as the drink and a fruit bag instead of fries then it's not really that bad. Personally I wouldn't go to MacDonalds unless I was having burger and fries though.

Everything else just sounds like a fun weekend for the kids. Exercise and reading are not treats.

Really though they could all be seen as treats or not.
McDonalds - Generally a treat but that’s because I hate it so we’ll go to the drive through once in a blue moon when I’m feeling lazy.
Softplay- Again hell for me, so it’s a rare occurrence therefore a treat for them
Swimming - It’s a life skill so lessons are a given, however it’s more of a treat when we just go together, again because it’s not a common occurrence.
New book, sweets and magazines - I don’t tend to buy them randomly so again a treat as it not all the time

Ok so what I’ve realised from reading that is that they become a treat if it’s not something you do/get all the time. So basically it’ll totally depend on each persons norm. I could easily dress up any of those as a treat to my kids, but then they’re not something that happens all the time.

No considered a treat imo.