To think letting kids eat McDonald’s weekly is borderline neglect?

[BeAlertBeaker]

It’s not “a treat” if it’s regular.

I meant once a week. I know some people will say that’s fine or “everything in moderation” but I still think weekly fast food isn’t ideal, especially for growing kids.

If something high in salt, fat, and sugar is being treated as a normal part of the weekly routine, rather than a very occasional treat, I think that’s setting the bar low for nutrition and habits.

Not calling anyone abusive but I do think we’re too quick to dismiss how much those choices add up over time.

My DCs had a weekly MaccyD after swimming lessons. It was fab and we all looked forward to our ‘late night tea’ chatting in the booth.
They are all healthy adults now who eat a wide range of foods. None are overweight. None were neglected.

What a load of judgemental nonsense.

Yabu.

A big McDonald’s breakfast every single day for an already very overweight child is abuse/neglect, however. (A child I used to know.)

Neglect is when a child isn’t fed at all, doesn’t have clean clothes, has no bed to sleep in, doesn’t have any toys to play with or a warm jacket for winter.

mcdonalds is not neglect.

I did/do.

Why do you doubt that?

Once a week is fine if you're an active family.

(I'm assuming this isn't McDonalds Monday, KFC Tuesday, Dominoes Wednesday, BurgerKing Thuraday etc...)

One processed junk meal a week is fine as part of an active lifestyle.

Honestly, don't be so bloody stupid.

Is McDonald's anything other than junk food. What's that then? All fried food? Anything convenience based as opposed to health based?

I had fish and chips nearly every Friday for several years. Because we took my pony to the beach and we'd eat some while she was settling in the horsebox for the drive home. Dripping in grease it was. And glorious.

I don't think anyone looked at me, sitting on the sea wall, in my jodhpurs, plowing through a portion of chips the size of my head and thought "that poor child, borderline neglect."

Is it different if I ate the chips inside a building with an M on the front?

I assume you don't work in child protection?
Neglect is no where to sleep that's clean and safe. No food in the house. Parents under the influence of substances such as alcohol and drugs. Being left alone. No toys and dirty clothes that don't fit. Inadequate levels of cleanliness and safety. Get grip ffs!

Maybe or maybe I’ve just seen how normalised poor nutrition has become, especially for kids who don’t get much choice in the matter.

I’m not saying the odd treat is evil. I’m sayinf weekly fast food as the norm shouldn’t be brushed off as harmless. It’s worth thinking about, even if it makes people uncomfortable.

You can tell it’s the school hols

I know one family who have McDonald’s once a week. They are all overweight. It’s not the McDonald’s that’s doing it, it’s the fact that they live on crap.

I think a weekly McDonald’s is more a point that these kids aren’t eating healthy, nutritious meals the rest of the time. If they were, they wouldn’t be getting McDonald’s once a week.

also most peoples views of a balanced diet is wrong.

99% of responders think a ‘healthy packed lunch’ consists of at least one item of processed food, don’t recognise that cereal actually isn’t healthy and don’t cook a ‘from scratch’ meal every night. My own mother genuinely believes fish ‘with a light coating’ from the freezer is healthy, sees nothing wrong with oven chips (when it’s only 89% potato) and happily uses a jar of whatever in pasta. Fine on occasion but not daily - I’m not even saying I don’t do those things in just saying because it’s so normal now and people are so busy with work and extra curriculars and all the things the modern world is; means our new normal isn’t healthy but because it’s normal people don’t realise it’s bad for us.

or because joe bloggs never cooks from scratch, they’re so much healthier because they do is 5x a week.

let’s not forget this used to be completely normal, when we could afford to have one person at home who cooked, and when bread was just a few ingredients and collected daily from the bakers etc.

How is it any different to a "freezer dinner" (fish fingers/nuggets/chips) like lots of kids have maybe once a week on nights that are busy or parents are having a night off from cooking?

Thats just something you have made up to judge others.

3 meals a day ( on average ) x 7 - 21 meals a week - less than 5% of their dietary intake, and that is neglectful??

Get off your high horse OP and join us in the real world

We’ve ramped up to a weekly McDonald’s in the quest for Minecraft toys. Don’t tell social services.

Not at all 'borderline neglect'. The children are being fed. I wouldn't judge, you never know what someone's circumstances are. And we don't know what they eat when there.

Also, we are fortunate to live in a country where food is plentiful.

Yup totally agree ⬆️

I really want a Bacon and Egg McMuffin now.

No it's not neglect 🙄

Everything in moderation. I think once per week Is still in the realms of moderation.

It's not great, but neglect?

Same 😂

You really have no idea what neglect is if you’re even thinking this. Sure it may not be the healthiest thing in the world but it really isn’t a huge deal.

(I’m a survivor of childhood abuse and neglect).

I get where you’re coming from and yes, once a week might not sound like much in isolation. But I think we’ve normalised fast food so much that it’s easy to overlook how ultra-processed and nutrient-poor these meals really are.

It’s not just about calories or macros, it’s the long-term impact of regularly feeding kids highly processed, high-salt, high-sugar foods and calling it “not that bad.”

I agree the rest of a child’s diet matters but for many families, McDonalds is the main treat and if that’s happening every week, I think it’s still worth questioning.