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

[BeAlertBeaker]

It’s not “a treat” if it’s regular.

I think it’s fine and it might be not so bad depending on what you eat.

And I’m the person who eats in McDonald once or twice a year (and I’ve never been at Burger King or KFS)

You may not be calling them abusive but you did indeed call them negligent, which is a form of abuse.

In response to you original question, no, I don’t think feeding your child McDonald’s food weekly is boarder line neglect. It is real food, yes processed, yes higher in salt and sugar but it’s still food, not poison. (I’m assuming you are in the UK rather than America)

It's not neglect and nowhere near the line. It's just not acceptable in your opinion.

Sausage for me !

I wouldn't do this myself but I also wouldn't call it neglect. Personally I have less of a problem with McDonald's (obviously crap food) than other rubbish food that is masquerading as being a healthy alternative. Cereal, ham sandwiches, fruit juices... All seen as totally acceptable to eat daily and all terrible for you.

Feeding them only a McDonald's once a week and nothing else the rest of the time is neglect. They'd probably starve.
McDonald's as one meal in a week isn't anywhere near neglect and suggesting it is, is borderline ridiculous.

''The kind of people' who sneer nastily at others who possibly can't afford middle-class culinary experiences for their children are hugely up themselves and have a massive sense of over-entitlement.'

'Middle class culinary experiences'? Jacket spud and salad cheaper and healthier than a MacD's.

Occasional treats fine but this crap shouldn't be a weekly thing for dc. We all know it.

When my son was about 5 or 6, our weekly treat was to cycle to the video shop on a Friday night (yes I am old) and get KFC from next door. The rest of his meals were mainly home cooked from scratch. He is 29 now, slim very fit and still eats healthy food.

There's a bloody great ocean of difference between harmless and borderline neglect. That's what's making people uncomfortable - if you want a sensible discussion perhaps dial down the dramatic hyperbole?

Nope. Neglect is the little girl I used to go to primary school with who would come in on a Monday morning with bruises from where her dad had used her as a punch bag after his drinking sessions. Usually smelling dreadful because her parents didn’t bath her, occasionally with no underwear because she had nothing clean. She was a tiny waif of a child who I still remember clearly almost 50 years later.

I don’t think a McDonald’s once a week can really compare.

I'm a vegan whose kids have never been to McDonalds and I still think you're being unreasonable.

You're very judgemental.

Me and my work colleagues, all "middle class professionals" couldn't wait to stop for a Maccy D's on the way back to a business trip from London. We all knew exactly what to order - hence we've all been 'regulars' 😂

The "Artemis dahling, come get your cous cous vegan wholegrain wrap now please when you've stopped assault that hideous working class child because we've failed to discipline you " brigade are not normally proper "middle class" , they're uptight wannabes desperate to prove their status via Artemis's ginger and kale vegan tartlet. It's telling.

Yeah it's one of those words that people just casually throw into a conversation without any real understanding of what it means.

Your use of the word neglect is an insult to the children who have actually been neglected.

Your pony-and-chips nostalgia made me smile, honestly, but I think it actually proves my point more than it disproves it.

The occasional indulgence isn’t what I’m taking about. I’m talking about normalised, weekly fast food becoming a default for kids - not as a one-off beach memory but as a standing meal routine.

McDonald’s is designed for speed, salt, sugar, and brand loyalty, not nutrition. We can enjoy it and still be honest about the fact that giving it to kids regularly might not be “neglect,” but it’s not great parenting either.

A Happy Meal can be fish fingers, carrot and cucumber sticks, and a bag of apples and grapes.

As a child I was neglected - I had to steal food and clothes because I didn't have any, and I tried to wash my clothes in the sink because there was no way to wash them, and our house was close to being condemned. So I would say neglect is probably the wrong word to use for the situation you describe.

My ds ate there loads when l was a single parent.

Hes a successful journalist now.

You are unreasonable and quite frankly offensive to equate a weekly meal at McDonald’s with neglect.

Talk about luxury beliefs…

I know loads of families that go to Mc Donald’s as a weekly treat after their swimming lessons and it’s what I used to do with my dc. If there was no swimming, there was no McDonald’s and it did no harm at all.

A problem now is that many parents can order McDonald’s, KFC etc to be delivered to home when they’re feeling lazy whereas the lazy option used to be freezer food in the oven.

My kids have a weekly McDonald's every Friday after swimming/karate. Sometimes we have a dominos pizza on Saturday night too 😱

Are you going to call social services or shall I?

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

It’s your wording that’s off. In the U.K. neglect is classed as a form of child abuse. If you’re not suggesting it’s abusive, your definition of neglect is more akin to lazy parenting.

Personally, I try not to be judgemental and just do the best I can for my own kids. Unless of course it’s actually neglectful, and then I’d report it.

A jacket potatoe and salad is also rather dull and not a treat
And before you tell me you dont clsss Mcdonalds as a treat many kids do

Our weekly family treat after church is to share some nuggets and fries to keep us going until Sunday lunch.

Nothing neglectful about that, it's all about moderation and being sensible. Our eldest doesn't even ask for treats the rest of the week. Although I did just let her eat one of the rice crispy cakes she made for playgroup so... I'm probably a terrible mother.

I agree that the examples you’ve listed absolutely do fall under serious, formal definitions of neglect. But I wasn’t talking about social services level cases - I was talking about everyday parental choices that, over time, can have an impact on children’s health and wellbeing.

Feeding kids ultra-processed, low-nutrition food every single week may not meet a legal threshold for neglect but that doesn’t mean it should be waved away as harmless either.

Sometimes the way we normalise things as “fine” especially when it comes to food habits is worth questioning. That doesn’t mean I think the state should intervene, just that we should be honest about the cumulative impact of these choices.

I'm nearly 60. I've seen three generations from childhood, to adulthood, the most important concerns should be, protecting a child's teeth, if no SN etc exposing your children to different foods, showing budgeting/shopping/cooking at home, adding in daily activity/walking. The rest doesn't make that much of a difference. You can tell yourself all you want that your diet means a healthy, long life, but I'm seeing a lot of bad luck, health wise, in my peer group. Stress is one of the worst causes for heart health, so stop stressing and try to be more positive about the people around you.