To expect my nanny NOT to feed my two year old a McDonalds Happy Meal?

[coolbeans]

I know it's not the end of the world and he is nearly three but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect her to ASK me, at least, before takes him out and stuffs him full of chicken nuggets and chips for lunch.

I'm not against McD's as such, but he's still really little and there's no need to take him there yet - it's not a bloody treat - as she seems to think.

I think that's what has annoyed me most. It's just food, I don't want him associating it with being a "treat" outing.

Not "ridiculous" just "different"... I don't agree with either hitting or MD's, but there you go...

anna you posted on another thread that you think nigella lawson is very fat and now mc donalds is 'purposefully malnourishing a child"
you sound like you have food issues!

I'd kill for a MCDonalds right now.

Parents can do whatever they want with their children, and often do. However, their expectations of the people who they pay to be in loco parentis are often very different to the way they themselves behave with their children, and quite rightly so IMO. You need lots of extra safeguards from childcarers.

Your air of superiority is really annoying me Anna. You have come across as really silly in this discussion.

In the bigger scheme of things, the odd MacDonalds isn't a problem, but it would be different if the child in question was going there regularly because the nanny couldn't be bothered to cook. Is that the case here? I am not sure.

I am quite anti-McDonalds myself, but one of my children is a big fan and he probably manages to get me to take him there 2 or 3 times a year. I have trained him to have the fruit bag and milk with his meal, which is a good compromise. Sometimes I even just spend the 99p and buy him the toy, and feed him elsewhere.

I was listening to a Radio 4 programme this morning (Woman's Hour I think) about the obesity problem in the UK. It was talking about the need for a huge cultural shift in attitudes to nutrition, and how best to bring this about.

Anna, would you say a nanny who gave a child a cheese baguette, juice or milk and some fruit for lunch was 'purposefully malnourishing' them?

Tipping the balance in favour of home cooking and not making a big fuss about minutiae is probably a good head start. Did you hear the feature about dieting in pregnancy, for example?

"Extra safeguards"!! Yes, like along with the CRB check, a nanny would make a lifelong commitment never to enter what could be construed as fast food establishment unless there is written permission from parents and a full disclaimer signed.

I think YARU, and my dd's think its a treat to go to McDonalds as we don't go offten.

This thread is making me hungry [marne bundles toddler into car for McDonalds treat]

laughing at the judgeyness on this thread. It makes me want to go buy a Maccy Meal and blender it and stuff it down dd's feeding tube.
Maybe I will
An outing of any sort os a'treat' to a small child regardless of the food. One Happy Meal does not lead to a malnurished child. Get a grip!

wrapstar - that would be a very odd lunch indeed. I cannot think that any mother here would accept that.

Lunch is meat, vegetables, yoghurt and fruit. Not much bread (in fact probably none).

YABVU
My mum treats my kids 14,6 and 20mths to mcd's a few x a year. I rarely go as I loathe the food.
They love it and I think it's a bit OTT to grumble about someone who was being nice to your child in general

VirginBoffinMum - yes I did but that woman whoever she was had all her facts wrong about other things so I didn't pay it much heed.

Childcarers, for obvious reasons, don't usually come from middle-class backgrounds where a Happy Meal is viewed as akin to force feeding a child arsenic. The nanny obviously comes from a background where a Macdonalds is a treat, that's very normal - maybe not in Pars and thought she was being loving to the child. This may say all sorts of dreadful things about our culture but it certainly doesn't say anything bad about the nanny.

And yes, Anna, you do usually have to micromanage nannies, certainly in the early weeks and then every now and then as issues arise. . As this site shows everyone has very different ideas about what constitutes good childcare and obviously every now and then a clash of cultures/values will arise. You politely sort them out and move on.

I can see the headlines:

'French Nanny charged with Gross Misconduct for feeding children Happy Meals'

Do you relise how ridiculous that sounds?

So they are allowed to 'hit' children but not allowed to feed them chicken and chips

You making that up

To stick up for Anna, childcare facilities and professionals are very regulated in continental Europe (or in France and Italy anyway). All nursery and school menus have to be approved by the local health authority and chips and processed crap are never a feature. Parents, of course, can do what they like but nannies and nurseries have to abide by strict rules.

I must admit that I'm quite shocked by what I see children given in the UK, particularly the children's menus in pubs and restaurants, but then I have become used to "proper" food since I've been away.

I agree with anna888.

And a treat isn't defined as 'something out of the ordinary' surely, otherwise having my tooth out would be considered a treat and I can assure you it was not.

A nanny should be aware that plenty of people have strong views on McDonalds on grounds of nutrition AND business practices and that it's not on to take a small child without asking if it's ok.

If all the people posting in support of McD's want to feed their children chicken nuggets and big Macs, fine, your child, your prerogative. But it was NOT the nanny's place to take a 2yo.

Children's food is regulated here too.

And you only have to look at the thread where mumsnet asked whether it would be acceptable to take adverts from McDonalds to see what many mumsnetters think of them as a company.

Damn fine marketing though if so many of you consider their 'food' a treat. They've done well to persuade you so.

Anna are you trolling??

I dont consider their food a treat, but i dont considered it malnirishment or gross misconduct either

It was one happy meal ffs

Generally if one has such strong objections to such things as MCDonalds, it'd make sense to have mentioned it to the nanny long before now.