If you could afford £10 for each meal so that your child can eat for a pound.

[Nanatokidsdogshampsters]

On my FB feed it's just listed places that a child can eat for a pound.
A couple of them no adult spend is needed. Well done to these.
Asda don't expect. One of our local chippies don't expect.
Yet most of the places are asking for an adult to also purchase a full meal as well.
Some of the cheapest adult meal start at £10.
In this time of crisis with the cost of living a parent isn't or can't afford to pay £10
for one meal so there children can eat for a pound.

YABU. You should be grateful that a company is helping.
YANBU. I think some of these companies are all about making money of the poorest in society.

Sit-in restaurants have huge overheads. Even with the offer, it is probably still cheaper to go out for a kebab or a KFC. The quality of the kids meal is often not much better anyway (as my DCs eventually realized and let me know!)

Don't criticise the restaurants because you can't afford the adult meal.

Criticise the government (and those who blindly voted for them) for getting us all in this bloody mess!

It's just marketing for half term holidays, these deals were around 15 years ago when my kids were small. Well done to the companies offering flat rate meals to children/older people but you cannot expect restaurants to allow adults to take up a table watching their child eat, they are businesses with overheads to pay

I think some of these companies are all about making money of the poorest in society.

Nobody is forcing the parent to take their child anywhere. The businesses intent is to make what they are offering desirable, they can do this be uniqueness, quality or price. I have never been wealthy (now middle income) but 20 years ago when my DC were young a local family pub offered free kids meals for every adult. I think the adult meals were between £6-7. With drinks the meal came to around £20 (non alcoholic drinks). We did it every payday and it was a treat that was made more affordable. I still think of it fondly. It is nice having stuff like this subsidised for families so that not everything is doom and gloom. I was brought up on the breadline and we never went out to eat.

It’s just a marketing thing. They have no obligation to feed children. It’s not aimed at families unable to feed their children. Lots are in bracket of having less money to spend frivolously and looking for half term ideas on a budget. If you normally take kids out for a meal in holidays you can opt for one with a deal on and save and children enjoy it the same.

I think most of them are cynical marketing ploys. They are not helping the children whose parents struggle to feed them in the holidays. They are encouraging people who are more comfortably off to use their chains. If I see somewhere advertising a free child's meal with a £ 10 spend I make a point not to go there.

They're not doing it to "help", it's just another advert. People weren't planning to eat out, they see that kids eat for £1 so they go and spend £10 on a meal for themselves and probably a drink reach. The business might lose a few pence on the kids meal but make £15 they otherwise wouldn't have had.

YANBU and it is a ploy to show that they are trying to help ‘poor people’ when they’re not actually doing much.

But as a single parent if we were going out to eat for a special occasion I would always find a place like this.
I would spend about £10 on each person anyway if I had to pay full price, so spending £11 was much more affordable.

It is definitely cheaper to use that £11 and eat at home though.

Low quality yes. Staff wages will be minimum wage, like the majority of hospitality workers including fancy restaurants.

They aren’t a new thing though. Just someone lumping offers together and putting on Facebook as a deal to help struggling families. Morrisons used to do kids eat free 10 years ago I’d take dd as we didn’t have time to go home between school and activity and it was cheaper than McDonald’s. Happy memories.

If you’re struggling, eating out is the last thing you need to be doing.

£10 could provide at least 2 and probably 3 meals for 4 people - that’s 12 meals.

Restaurants aren’t charities and have no obligation to provide a deal that means people can eat for next-to-nothing and they as a business lose money.

Of course these things are marketing ploys. And that’s fine. If it’s half term and you intended to eat out, or affording it was marginal, the £1 kids meal might tip the balance and the restaurant will get your custom. If you were never going to spend £10-£15 on one meal for your kid and yourself, nothings changed. You couldn’t afford it before and you can’t now.

These are not charitable offerings. Even the Asda one where there is no adult purchase necessary isn’t a charitable offering….they hope and expect that the customers will do a shop whilst there. It’s just another offer, like BOGOF or 50% off biscuits. Your choice to take it or leave it if you can afford it.

Completely agree with you!

Remember companies can be offering a special discount offer for middling income people who are fee

Most people would also need to be able to afford to drive to get to these places. I don’t drive and none of the places with offers would be easy/ cheap to get to (I live nowhere near an Asda).

Its the list-makers fault to suggest it

ASDA are doing this because they know their main customers are struggling and this helps to keep them shopping with them; and tbh they are relatively community-minded as a business and usually active in low income communities

Those with free kids lunch with an adult meal have often always done that - its not poverty action its basic marketing

It can be both. I'm poor so we simply don't 'eat out' (maybe 2 x yr, cheapo chain)
But... I had to travel for family committments a few times at the begining of the year. I had to take my teens along. Premier Inn breakfasts (3 of us for £9.50) were enormously helpful to me as we all had at least 1 large hot meal each day. I specifically chose PI over Travelodge as (although PI is usually more £ it was made up for by the offset of the meal deal). So, PI got my business due to the excellent breakfast deal (for us in our circs). They made money, we were happy.

I'm sure they wouldn't want you to as you hardly sound nice.

Well, a lot of places that do kids meals serve very small portions (e.g. suitable for a 4 year old, not a 9 year old) and they're often on the cheaper end for ingredients (bearing in mind they'll have wholesale prices), so, even including a proportion of staff costs, electricity etc., they could easily still be making a profit on a £1 meal.

I don't think these companies are saying "come here and eat cheap", more like "well of you're looking to treat your family to a meal out then come here because it'll be cheaper than the next restaurant..".

@witchesbubblebath

They are businesses and not charities and have to make money but shouldn't be taking the piss when people are excruciatingly hard up.

What are they doing that’s taking the piss?

It’s just an offer, no one is obliged to engage with it.

I hate this new trend! IKEA were doing kids eat free over the summer. We went once to pick up a few bits, then went for a coffee and a sandwich in the cafe,
It was a bloody nightmare! I’m another one who doesn’t want to subsidise other people’s kids!

Or they just pay what they can afford. Might be grandparents treating they’re child to a meal out. If they’re that skint they are more likely to buy food to have at home. But where I live there’s free holiday clubs children get free lunch. There’s a community centre you can drop in between 11.30-2. Monday to Friday is cake and a brew. Tuesday is a bowl of soup and brew/juice for children. There’s food share and community kitchen, a community fridge and freezer open to everyone. You don’t need a voucher like the food bank. Food bank also do coffee mornings. Also reducing food waste it’s just past sell by date but still perfectly ok to eat.

I think most of them are cynical marketing ploys. They are not helping the children whose parents struggle to feed them in the holidays. They are encouraging people who are more comfortably off to use their chains. If I see somewhere advertising a free child's meal with a £ 10 spend I make a point not to go there.

Agree with regards first part, but why are you making a point of not going to these places? How is this different from any other offer or discount? Happy hours, 2-for1, set lunch menus, etc. I regularly purchase vouchers for restaurants where you pay £12.50 for a £25 credit.

The restaurants run offers because it brings in business, customers take them up because it means they either get something cheaper than they expected or can justify a treat they otherwise wouldn’t have had. Both parties are happy.

Some are my son usually wanted what I had. So would end up having his kids meal. There’s a local pub though that do portions for younger and older children and the prices are reasonable.

Exactly this. OP has entirely misunderstood.