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 also don’t think it’s over the top.

Up on a sat morning, go swimming, go fo McDonald for lunch after, pop to the park for some fun in the afternoon, go to the news agents on way back and buy a magazine and a small bag of sweets. Normal.

Sunday, go to soft play, pop to supermarket on way back, buy a book whilst there. Spend rest of time playing at home. Again normal.

Not sure where the walk up the hill comes in, but a dog walk or something is fine.🤷‍♀️

Swimming should be a regular activity if kids don't learn at school.
McDonalds-weekend treat
Jelly sweets-I would consider treat as we usually have chocolate in
Books- a treat if new, kids tend to get them as when
Softplay- a treat, we don't go every week
Magazine- definitely a treat

1 2 3 are treats
New book is lovely

Swimming shouldn’t be a treat for any kid. It’s an important life skill.

Swimming and books are not treats. Although both may be difficult for many due to cost so some children may experience them as treats.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to do all of those things in one weekend, but I wouldn’t do all of them every weekend, largely cos I can’t afford it!

1. McDonald's - a treat
2. Soft play - standard activity for a toddler imo? Costs £4, keeps them entertained for an hour and a half and is nice and active. Idk why people hate it so much!
3. Swimming- Not a treat, hopefully a regular activity
4. A new book - A bit of a treat in this house as we usually go to the library but not one I would ever begrudge.
5. A small bag of jelly sweets- I wouldn’t buy them everyday but one bag of sweets on the weekend is fine?
6. A magazine - a treat

Ruby mine usually choose water and one doesn't like chips the other doesn't like burgers. Although I'm fairly sure that the salt content etc is a lot lower now than it was in our childhood.

Nutritionally McDonald's food can be better than a homemade lasagne for example.

We are conditioned to think otherwise and this thread proves it.

My kids still see it as a treat due to the toy in the happy meal and playing on the iPads there or preferably the magic table. If they can't get on that they colour in the tablecloth or do the other activities. Walk out with a balloon, fed, watered and happy with a new toy for less than £3.00 each.

Nothing at all wrong with it and it is a nice, cheap entertaining treat for them

1, 2 and 4 I would consider a treat, but not huge ones.

Op. Please tell us who you are and who person b is? I’m concerned this is two parents arguing and one of them is trying to stop the other taking rhe kids swimming etc and doing perfectly normal, things, Ie something is wrong here.

Stop judging others. Everyone parents differently.

OP I'm guessing you are person A and your mother or MIL is person B. Are they basically trying to tell you you don't need to be on the go all the time? Because you don't and children don't need that high level of stimulation some parents seem to think they do. But if that is how you want to spend your weekend it's absolutely fine. Including the McDonald's and haribo

1. McDonald's- about once a month treat
2. Soft play - too old now but was not keen when small (neither was I)
3. Swimming - a staple - not a treat
4. A new book- a staple - not a treat
5. A small bag of jelly sweets - a treat now and again
6. A magazine- definitely a treat - so expensive these days - would much rather have spent the money on a book

All bar mcdonalds are regular things for us..doesnt sound that much o do in a weekend tbh. I do acknowledge we are lucky to be able to do all these things with little thought for cost etc though.

We have takeaways maybe once a fortnight though, rather than mcdonalds. But everytime grandad takes them out they go there..

Bluntness op is clearly person A. She wouldn't have emphasised the "small" in the bag of sweets or tried to justify herself (not that you even need to op) with the uphill walk, fresh air and down time otherwise

Seems like just a nice weekend.

In our house, magazines, soft play and MacDonalds are treats.

We visit Waterstones most weekends so books are normal, ds has a weekly swimming lesson anyway, and a small bag of sweets is usually a reward for finishing homework.

Sounds normal to me. My dc would do equivalent, swimming, another club, trip to park (walk dog also), a mini party (popcorn/ sweets) and movie Saturday night and this week she got 3 books as it was world book day. Will occasionally get a McDonald's, probably 1-2 per month on way home from club as she's starving! I don't tend to buy magazines anymore as they're a waste of money but swap this with something crafty and it's a typical weekend for us.

All normal here for a weekend apart from McDonald's, DC won't even go due to Greta effect 🤣. Same with magazines actually, but they'd get another treat of a similar value.

I’d see McDonalds, softplay and a magazine as a treat. Swimming is a regular activity for mine, I don’t consider books to be treats, and while a sweet is technically a treat, it’s not a ‘treat treat’. Basically, I don’t think it’s excessive. I wouldn’t have a weekend like that every weekend but sometimes you do just get weekends like that. Like I wouldn’t say oh no swimming on Sunday just because she might have gone to softplay the day before.

McD - def treat as DD never was full afterwards so I classed it like a piece of cake in a coffee shop but less enjoyable for me.

Softplay was for parties

Swimming - DD has weekly lessons, we may do a watermark on holiday but hardly go swimming as a family activity

Books - never a treat but I bought them mostly at charity shops

Sweets - we have in moderation anyway

Magazines - I hated them as they were far too expensive so they were a treat for a journey or when ill. I often made a deal with DD that she could get two books instead of one magazine and she had more from an activity book from TheWorks.

That would be quite an abnormal weekend for us, but wouldn't think much of it. Magazines my kids choose cost a fiver so they are limited (Choosen based on plastic tat included).

1. McDonald's - treat
2. Soft play - activity, wouldn't class it necessarily as a treat if it was raining and there wasn't much else to do
3. Swimming important skill, exercise, good activity. Not a treat
4. A new book my kids could have as many books as they wanted. Reading is something that should be encouraged imo so not a treat
5. A small bag of jelly sweets treat but probably a regular one in our house as in most weekends
6. A magazine - treat

Sounds like good quality family time...are you jealous?

Obviously 1 and 5 should be limited for health reasons but I see nothing wrong with having unlimited treats. Why shouldn’t life be nice?

Nutritionally McDonald's food can be better than a homemade lasagne for example

I guess that depends how you make your lasagne.

We are conditioned to think otherwise and this thread proves it

Eh? I think it might prove some people think McDonald's tastes like shit (my view). And disposable plastic toys are a bloody nightmare from an environmental POV. Not sure it 'proves' much else.

You know bob all about what people know about nutrition and what they 'think'. Stop judging people from a throwaway remark.