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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To give my 18 month old Macdonalds?

543 replies

Benji4ever · 20/08/2022 11:42

Twice a month I take my two DS swimming all afternoon. On way home we get a drive through Macdonalds

The 3 year old has a happy meal. The 18 month old has a few of the chips. That's it.

I saw a mum give me one of those looks as I took some chips from the happy meal and gave them to the little one.

Is this awful? Its only twice a month and only a few chips. Also the 18 month old drink diluted squash regularly.

Aibu to think in the grand scheme of things its not that bad?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
70billionthnamechange · 20/08/2022 15:51

LOL! Squash is also fine. Ffs the dramatic people on here 😂😂😂

Original poster
Benji4ever · 20/08/2022 15:53

@5YearsLeft Thanks for being so kind in your post directed towards me. I have really listened to the squash stuff and just told my DC he can have some water or nothing. He went with nothing.

And I'm sorry about what happened to you when you were little. It sounds absolutely horrific.

OP posts:
LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 20/08/2022 15:56

OP I weaned mine of squash by gradually making it weaker before being sugarless flavoured water home. Had no problems at all and it’s better than them not drinking!

UndertheCedartree · 20/08/2022 15:56

Johnnysgirl · 20/08/2022 15:25

Op has mentioned that she can't register with a dentist for her whole family. She clearly doesn't bother on her own behalf either or she'd be registered already.

Show quote history

She said she'd moved area and that was why she doesn't have a dentist.

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 20/08/2022 16:00

Honestly some of you are right judgmental cunts, and ironically don’t sound like Stirling parents yourselves.

OP had to leave her OH and move elsewhere with 2 under 3. No matter what happened that cannot have been easy or pleasant. I imagine that those us who have easy lives, and can easily factor in day-to-day tasks - such a remembering to book a dentist appointment - are no issue at all. But to people like the OP, those things are not a priority, or even a realisation, when you’re going through the hell of a marriage split.

Cheeseandlobster · 20/08/2022 16:00

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 20/08/2022 15:20

YY. There is a Smug Mum is my DD’s class who doesn’t let her kids have treats of any kind, and is very vocal about this. Especially when other people are giving their kids treats. The whole PA ‘wow they’re so good to eat so much, mine wouldn’t have chocolate if you paid them’ 🙄

The smug tables were turned at my DD’s 6th birthday party. We went to a farm park where they had a slushy machine. As part of the package the kids could have an ice cream or slushy. Smug Mum said “Oh don’t bother with my 2, they hate anything sweet and wouldn’t touch ice cream or a slushy with a barge pole”.

2 minutes later and I find both her kids in the corner, having swiped a slushy each from their friends, drinking them down like there’s no tomorrow and saying “oh my gosh this is so tasty”. I have to say I took more than a little pleasure going to their mum to say ‘they’re having slushiest just so you know’. she literally ran, and actually used the words “stop drinking them, you don’t like sweet things!”. Two massive tantrums followed, and I did think it would just have been easier to bloody let them have one in the first place.

Show quote history

Haha we had a similar situation years ago at a 7th birthday party. The non junk loving child was like pacman hoovering up everything in sight 😅

awwbiscuits · 20/08/2022 16:02

This thread is peak Mumsnet

homarr · 20/08/2022 16:02

Totally fine!

I do it too!
People just like to be dicks on here

Fivemoreminutesinbed · 20/08/2022 16:02

Crack on. All in moderation is fine.

UndertheCedartree · 20/08/2022 16:02

5YearsLeft · 20/08/2022 15:49

@UndertheCedartree And honestly, I really do hope your children inherited your strong teeth if that’s the case. I do think it makes things a lot easier, dental-wise. I know it seems insane that there’s more of a push than ever about teeth brushing yet rates are falling, but that’s exactly the case.
In 2012, 45% of children in one study crushed twice a day and 35% once a day.
By 2018, it was only 30% of children brushing twice a day with 60% brushing once a day.
(Denote studies may be different populations.).
2012: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5573461/
2018: www.stemprotect.co.uk/less-than-a-third-of-children-are-brushing-their-teeth-twice-a-day/

I know this is showing my age, but I don’t know anyone who caused a malarkey about brushing their teeth after age 2 when I was a child. You just did it. Whereas now I have friends who tell me they’re STILL having these colossal struggles to get their seven year old to brush, and they’ve been fighting him since the age of 13 months about it, and obviously, they haven’t “won” the fight twice a day every day in all that time, so he’s not getting his teeth brushed enough. And this friend isn’t the only one; I’m hearing it from multiple friends about 6, 7, 8 year olds.

BUT I realize those are anecdotes. What does matter is that this study bears me out. The fight needs to stop and it needs to stop at age 2 or 3. You need to have established good teeth brushing habits by then, and have your child brushing (with your help) twice a day, because “major/minor difficulties to perform tooth brushing” at age 2 and 3 is what determines caries developing at age 5.
STUDY: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40368-019-00463-3

Wow, yeah, I'm really shocked by those statistics. I can see why dentists would be trying to push statistics based on that. The only problem we have with tooth brushing is my autistic DS brushes too hard. But luckily so far, it's not caused a problem.

5YearsLeft · 20/08/2022 16:03

@Sunnyqueen You cannot be real. This is my last message engaging with you. The last line of my previous message stated, “But if you can keep your child from needing any dental work at all, that would just be a hell of a lot better for everyone.” I stand by that. I have also had to quietly read a magazine in a dental reception area while a roughly 9-10 year old boy was screaming incredibly loudly in a treatment room. WHICH IS WHY I SAID IT. According to the hygienist afterward, they hadn’t even touched him. He just saw the needle coming toward his mouth and I guess that was it? They apparently gave up, and recommended they try the procedure under sedation. It’s not dramatic if I’ve actually had to sit there, listening to a child screaming for no reason other than a fear response, just because they had to have a carie, or caries, fixed, which is totally unnecessary. Have a nice weekend.

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 20/08/2022 16:07

@5YearsLeft that child had a fear of needles, which is no indication he had painful scream-worthy dental work.

UndertheCedartree · 20/08/2022 16:08

I meant dentists pushing brushing not statistics!

daisychain01 · 20/08/2022 16:09

McDonalds is shite - heavily processed crap. Squash is heavily processed crap too. You're setting your children on a path to a lifetime of bad eating habits.

well you did ask Grin

Bordesleyhills · 20/08/2022 16:11

Occasionally it’s fine- my 3 year old has had it a handful of times and why not. It’s hot, cheap, instant and easy . No worst then tons of sweets. If it was regular than no but for us it’s not.

Johnnysgirl · 20/08/2022 16:16

Of course it's not worse than "a ton of sweets". I don't think that's what it's being compared to? 🤣

5YearsLeft · 20/08/2022 16:19

@Benji4ever I’m sorry for sharing in your thread like that; I shouldn’t have let that commenter goad me, and I hope it hasn’t made you or any parent worry about dentists. I really, really, REALLY want to specify it was the 80s, it was a different time, he was a dentist who had already been practicing since the 1950s even then, so VERY “old school.” I truly believe nothing like that would ever happen to anyone’s DCs today. Dentists now are very careful with children and have taken special courses in their degree on how to treat children. It’s just made me a bit permanently sensitive about things like squash drinking and teeth brushing so as to ensure that children can avoid dental work, if possible. I mean, it’s not as if it’s a very fun thing even for adults, even with a nice dentist. So… yes.

And I still don’t think twice-a-month McDonald’s probably matters at all, lol.

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 20/08/2022 16:19

daisychain01 · 20/08/2022 16:09

McDonalds is shite - heavily processed crap. Squash is heavily processed crap too. You're setting your children on a path to a lifetime of bad eating habits.

well you did ask Grin

Crikey with that melodramatic attitude I’d say it’s YOU who is more likely instilling food issues to your kids Grin

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 20/08/2022 16:20

Johnnysgirl · 20/08/2022 16:16

Of course it's not worse than "a ton of sweets". I don't think that's what it's being compared to? 🤣

Yes I’d say a ton of sweets is DEFINITELY worse than a McDonald’s!

daisychain01 · 20/08/2022 16:31

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 20/08/2022 16:19

Crikey with that melodramatic attitude I’d say it’s YOU who is more likely instilling food issues to your kids Grin

Show quote history

My body is a temple, not a MakkyD dustbin Grin I'm only half joking.

WeSent500Ravens · 20/08/2022 16:32

daisychain01 · 20/08/2022 16:09

McDonalds is shite - heavily processed crap. Squash is heavily processed crap too. You're setting your children on a path to a lifetime of bad eating habits.

well you did ask Grin

Literally nobody will answer. Please explain how sliced potatoes fried in vegetable oil is heavily processed? How a 100% beef patty with a bit of salad and cheese is heavily processed? Do you understand what heavily processed even means?

Johnnysgirl · 20/08/2022 16:35

WeSent500Ravens · 20/08/2022 16:32

Literally nobody will answer. Please explain how sliced potatoes fried in vegetable oil is heavily processed? How a 100% beef patty with a bit of salad and cheese is heavily processed? Do you understand what heavily processed even means?

Show quote history

They can't because it clearly isn't.
The squash is still shite, though...

bloodyunicorns · 20/08/2022 16:38

So long as your kid is being fed what does it matter.

That's a pretty low bar 🙄 Of course it matters.

Your dc is 18 months. They have no outside influences or mates, they can't watch adverts and want unhealthy food - it's up to you to instil healthy habits in them, including water at all times.

WeSent500Ravens · 20/08/2022 16:39

I don't know any kids that don't drink squash.

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 20/08/2022 16:40

it's up to you to instil healthy habits in them, including water at all times.

God some of you sound like bossy headmistresses. There is such a thing as too much water BTW, drinking ‘at all times’ is well OTT.

Can just imagine some of you lot bearing over your poor children having a rant about sugar and trans fats and how they must drink water.

I refuse to drink water and wouldn’t drink it as a child either. Sometimes you go with the next best option.

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