Page 8 | Kids eat free discrimination

BigBaoBun · 2025-02-21T13:50:51+00:00

Some restaurants offer a kids eat free/ kids eat for £1 offer during the half term but this is usually (not always) when one adult buys a main meal the restaurant allows one free kids meal. I have noticed a lot of parents with multiple children complaining that certain restaurants are being unfair as they only get one free kids meal. Particularly single parents saying it's discrimination against them. One woman was complaining that she has 3 kids and it isn't fair because only one can eat free and the restaurant should be giving them all a free meal. Aibu to think that this isn't discrimination and you can't expect all kids to eat for free?

BlondiePortz · 22/02/2025 22:47

These are commercial businesses not charities are they not?

User79853257976 · 22/02/2025 22:51

TomatoSandwiches · 21/02/2025 14:01

It's not discrimination but if I was running a business I would probably allow twins to get free meals with one parent paying.

Why though? Why does it matter that they are the same age?

Foostit · 22/02/2025 22:55

The sense of entitlement from some is astonishing. I used to see it as one free meal meaning I’d pay less than if I was paying for one adult and two kids meals. Discrimination would not have entered my head. It’s not compulsory to eat out if you can’t afford it. 🙄

PeloMom · 22/02/2025 22:58

It’s not a discrimination. Eating at restaurants isn’t a must or need. And the terms and conditions of the offer are clear- you take it or leave it.

LiquoriceAllsorts2 · 23/02/2025 02:28

Sometimeswinning · 22/02/2025 22:33

I mean most of these offers are made in the guise of making things easier/nicer in the holidays. The size of a kids meal would probably cover up to about 5/6 years old.

I can’t get too protective or worried about a company which could most probably afford to make a far more generous offer. I think Asda had a deal where kids ate for a pound regardless of whether an adult purchased a meal. That was nice.

I do agree staff should not suffer the headache of someone complaining.

How do you know the restaurant can make a better offer. Restaurants have huge costs to cover.

ZoeDavoMCR · 23/02/2025 07:11

People are just skint that’s all….sad really

Farellyo · 23/02/2025 07:14

Sometimeswinning · 22/02/2025 22:33

I mean most of these offers are made in the guise of making things easier/nicer in the holidays. The size of a kids meal would probably cover up to about 5/6 years old.

I can’t get too protective or worried about a company which could most probably afford to make a far more generous offer. I think Asda had a deal where kids ate for a pound regardless of whether an adult purchased a meal. That was nice.

I do agree staff should not suffer the headache of someone complaining.

They're also businesses competing for customers, it's not an altruistic let's feed the hungry children scheme. Plenty of people do have money to go out for food, makes sense for a business to want to make its offering more appealing and secure the £££s. It isn't just supermarkets now offering this in the school holidays, quite a few chains like prezzo, bills, wagamama do.

SD1978 · 23/02/2025 08:20

Nope, not discrimination, they are not oblidged to give you anything it's their choice. Same way as a single parent with o it one child, I never get a family discount as it's usually for multiple kids/ adults, so it's 'full' prices for me- and that's juts the way their discounts work and I've never tried to shout discrimination

CosyDenimShark · 23/02/2025 09:31

People are rude and entitled beyond belief now.

At my old job (tourist attraction), they offered a very generous summer offer of 2 kids go free with a paying adult. We had every complaint under the sun & loads of negative trip advisers.

Some of the complaints I heard were:
Its discriminatory to single parents
I have 3/4/5 children its not fair
My children want to bring friends and now I have to pay for them
I'm bringing an adult friend can we just pay for 1 of us?
This is discriminatory of season ticket holders
We're blue light card holders so can we get in free as well as the children?
My child is an adult but still my child so can they be free?

Honestly, you couldn't make it up. I have no idea how these people think businesses work.

Sometimeswinning · 23/02/2025 09:31

Farellyo · 23/02/2025 07:14

They're also businesses competing for customers, it's not an altruistic let's feed the hungry children scheme. Plenty of people do have money to go out for food, makes sense for a business to want to make its offering more appealing and secure the £££s. It isn't just supermarkets now offering this in the school holidays, quite a few chains like prezzo, bills, wagamama do.

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You’d be a bit naive if you didn’t realise they were trying to push the altruistic approach with here to help etc to make it appear so. Happy to use it but when someone questions it, it’s the staff who have to deal with it.

It doesn’t help me. Kids meals are portioned for much younger than mine and my lot prefer the choice of a whole menu these days. So I’ve zero skin in the game before anyone tries to call me entitled.

I just think wouldn’t it be nice if they did do it as a nice thing? They’d still be quids in on their overflated, expensive toastie. The idea a single mum of 2/3 children (as mentioned in op) could just that one time in the holidays take her kids out for lunch whilst shopping when a lot of posters on this thread feel if she can’t afford it, she doesn’t get to enjoy it ever!

KilkennyCats · 23/02/2025 09:37

Sometimeswinning · 23/02/2025 09:31

You’d be a bit naive if you didn’t realise they were trying to push the altruistic approach with here to help etc to make it appear so. Happy to use it but when someone questions it, it’s the staff who have to deal with it.

It doesn’t help me. Kids meals are portioned for much younger than mine and my lot prefer the choice of a whole menu these days. So I’ve zero skin in the game before anyone tries to call me entitled.

I just think wouldn’t it be nice if they did do it as a nice thing? They’d still be quids in on their overflated, expensive toastie. The idea a single mum of 2/3 children (as mentioned in op) could just that one time in the holidays take her kids out for lunch whilst shopping when a lot of posters on this thread feel if she can’t afford it, she doesn’t get to enjoy it ever!

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Why would they do it as a nice thing?!
It would be a nice thing for you to cover the cost for the Mum who has two kids and is only getting one free kids meal, but would you??
Business’s exist solely to make profit, not to do nice things for the public at large.

Sometimeswinning · 23/02/2025 09:52

KilkennyCats · 23/02/2025 09:37

Why would they do it as a nice thing?!
It would be a nice thing for you to cover the cost for the Mum who has two kids and is only getting one free kids meal, but would you??
Business’s exist solely to make profit, not to do nice things for the public at large.

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Stop repeating the same point made. I listened and disagreed. Just give a poster above the thumbs up or a clap.

Businesses are there for the public, it’s whether they choose to do the odd nice thing. I just think they should. Sorry that seems to bother you.

KilkennyCats · 23/02/2025 09:56

Sometimeswinning · 23/02/2025 09:52

Stop repeating the same point made. I listened and disagreed. Just give a poster above the thumbs up or a clap.

Businesses are there for the public, it’s whether they choose to do the odd nice thing. I just think they should. Sorry that seems to bother you.

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Stop telling me what I can post 😂
Your opinion is ludicrous. In my opinion…
Shouldn’t have posted yourself if you only wanted a clap 🤷🏻‍♀️
This is a discussion board.

Sometimeswinning · 23/02/2025 10:01

KilkennyCats · 23/02/2025 09:56

Stop telling me what I can post 😂
Your opinion is ludicrous. In my opinion…
Shouldn’t have posted yourself if you only wanted a clap 🤷🏻‍♀️
This is a discussion board.

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I only suggested you could have made a different post from the other few aimed at me. Just seems like a waste of both our times. 🐑

Bunnycat101 · 23/02/2025 10:16

It’s a business offering. My husband took our two children out without me to pizza express this week. He got one kid free and was quite happy about it. If it was unlimited kids people would take the piss and have one adult with a ton of children. It’s an incentive to try and get people into the branch so adults spend on drinks.

ButIToldYouSoooo · 23/02/2025 11:47

HelenHywater · 21/02/2025 16:00

Well it isn't fair on single parents if you have 2 children.

Single parent, 2 kids would (if a full price meal costs £5 ) cost that parent £11 - so £3.66 a person - that single parent would only get one kids meal.

Two parents 2 kids would cost £12. so £3 a person. The couple parents get 2 kids meals.

So it does discriminate against single parents particularly since they generally are coping on one income.

No, it doesn't.

The half term deals are for a parent trying to keep their kids entertained over the half terms. Both parents don't usually take the week off to do so. (If they do, it's likely about taking a holiday, so different scenario entirely.)

So 1 adult gets 1 free kid's meal.

2 adults get 2 free kid's meals

3 adults get 3 free kid's meals.

And so on.

It's not discrimination to say that families with X children only get free meals based on the number of adult meals being purchased at the table. it just isn't. That's the 'deal' on offer.

ButIToldYouSoooo · 23/02/2025 11:49

CosyDenimShark · 23/02/2025 09:31

People are rude and entitled beyond belief now.

At my old job (tourist attraction), they offered a very generous summer offer of 2 kids go free with a paying adult. We had every complaint under the sun & loads of negative trip advisers.

Some of the complaints I heard were:
Its discriminatory to single parents
I have 3/4/5 children its not fair
My children want to bring friends and now I have to pay for them
I'm bringing an adult friend can we just pay for 1 of us?
This is discriminatory of season ticket holders
We're blue light card holders so can we get in free as well as the children?
My child is an adult but still my child so can they be free?

Honestly, you couldn't make it up. I have no idea how these people think businesses work.

Yep! People happy to scream it's 'discrimination' or 'it's not fair' to get what they want ... when they're the ones being ridiculously entitled and unreasonable.

MargaretThursday · 23/02/2025 12:59

ProfessionalPirate · 22/02/2025 21:02

Hang on, what?

It’s come as a shock to you that eating out is more expensive than preparing and eating food at home?!

You do realise that ’Kids eat free’ is just a marketing technique some restaurants use to increase footfall during the school holidays right? It’s not some charity endeavour, these are businesses that exist to make money.

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You have missed the point spectacularly.

My point was that the leaflet I was printing out was being touted as for people who are struggling to feed their children during the holidays. It was being sent round by various organisations, including the local council and various charities not as a "isn't this a nice offer" but as a "for those who can't afford to feed their children during the holidays/struggling with the cost of living".

The title was not "Special offers for half term", which is what it was but something along the lines of "For those of you struggling at half term" which implied it would be helpful to people who were short of food/money. The council sent it to the local foodbank and suggested they put it in their food parcels (for families) to go out the week before. That's how the leaflet was portrayed.

One of them (Asda if I remember rightly) had a children's hot meal for £1 no strings attached, which probably was worth it for saving money (as long as you didn't have to pay getting there).

I don't blame the companies for the special offers. I do blame whoever put the leaflet together and didn't actually think it through.

ProfessionalPirate · 23/02/2025 13:50

All you mentioned in your first post was ‘kids eat free this half term’. Nothing about ‘for those of you struggling’, you’ve just added that now. Have you got a copy of this leaflet that you could post? because I’d love to see how it really comes across.

Massive supermarket chains like Asda will justify £1 children’s meals as a loss leader to increase footfall and therefore sales generally. They will have done their research and know that it makes them more money in the long run. But a restaurant is as unlikely to give away free food as a clothes shop is to give away free clothes.

You sound very naive.

Edit: was supposed to quote @MargaretThursday

KilkennyCats · 23/02/2025 17:02

MargaretThursday · 23/02/2025 12:59

You have missed the point spectacularly.

My point was that the leaflet I was printing out was being touted as for people who are struggling to feed their children during the holidays. It was being sent round by various organisations, including the local council and various charities not as a "isn't this a nice offer" but as a "for those who can't afford to feed their children during the holidays/struggling with the cost of living".

The title was not "Special offers for half term", which is what it was but something along the lines of "For those of you struggling at half term" which implied it would be helpful to people who were short of food/money. The council sent it to the local foodbank and suggested they put it in their food parcels (for families) to go out the week before. That's how the leaflet was portrayed.

One of them (Asda if I remember rightly) had a children's hot meal for £1 no strings attached, which probably was worth it for saving money (as long as you didn't have to pay getting there).

I don't blame the companies for the special offers. I do blame whoever put the leaflet together and didn't actually think it through.

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I’d be interested to know exactly what “organisations” (do you mean official council departments?) were advising those who couldn’t afford to feed their children that the way forward was to eat out at restaurants 🤔

GreyCarpet · 23/02/2025 18:31

My point was that the leaflet I was printing out was being touted as for people who are struggling to feed their children during the holidays. It was being sent round by various organisations, including the local council and various charities not as a "isn't this a nice offer" but as a "for those who can't afford to feed their children during the holidays/struggling with the cost of living".

The thing is, there's varying degrees of struggling to feed your children. And there are varying degrees of 'not able to afford...'

If someone is going stir crazy in the four walls of their house with one child then actually a trip to the park followed by a kids eat free/for £1 might make a difference to them.

Maybe they could stretch to a meal for themselves and a free meal for their child if they were doing something nice and it got them out of the house for a bit. It won't make a difference to those parents who can't afford to leave the house but itight to someone who can afford to do something just not very much

I know that local schools sometimes signpost parents to these things not because they're saying that local.businesses will foot the bill for feeding families in extreme poverty but because they are saying for those of you who are watching the pennies, you might find something here of use or interest to you.

OonaStubbs · 23/02/2025 18:44

Why on earth do so many parents think feeing their children is anyone's responsibility but their own?

ExcessiveNumberOfNinjas · 23/02/2025 19:13

OonaStubbs · 23/02/2025 18:44

Why on earth do so many parents think feeing their children is anyone's responsibility but their own?

Well now, there's a whole discussion to be had about that and not just in relation to meal deals in restaurants!

welshmercury · 23/02/2025 23:59

People always find something to moan about.

chaosmaker · 24/02/2025 01:10

I thought moaning was one of our 'british values'