Image by Miskan

About two months ago, as we were driving along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, my almost-six-year-old daughter, Lucie, while looking out the window, declared, “I want to eat at that restaurant with the big ‘M’.” To which I replied, “Why?” She then said, “Because it looks really good.”

Cut to two days ago. As we are crossing a street in Manhattan, about to go into a doctor appointment, that same almost-six-year old-daughter says, “Oooh, there’s a McDonald’s. Can we go after the doctor appointment?” It took me a few minutes, but I finally told her that yes, we could go.

I’ve never taken either of my kids (ages six and three) to a McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Popeye’s, Subway…you get the picture. Although I am not a food Nazi, I’ve built a whole business around the idea that it’s pretty important to feed children as healthily as possible, whenever possible. I do believe, however, in the concept of “all things in moderation” and so we do definitely eat our fair share of junk food around my house (I try to stick with organic junk food, but hey, it’s still junk food).

But I consider myself lucky in the sense that I live in a place where I hardly ever have to be in my car (and there are few fast food joints within walking distance); I enjoy cooking and so make my kids dinner almost every night; and when I do need take-out or something pre-prepared, I have tons of small ‘mom-and-pop’ markets and restaurants nearby to choose from.

But again, I am a believer in moderation and I know that one trip to McDonald’s isn’t going to kill anybody. And of course I knew it would be good material for my blog!

So after the doctor appointment, Lucie and I walked into McDonald’s. I was surprised to see so much diversity in the place, even though it is Manhattan. I haven’t been in a McDonald’s in about 15 years so I sort of just assumed that most people had been paying attention to recent news about health, diet, obesity epidemics, sustainability, factory farms, etc. I guess not! There were lots of teenagers at this particular McDonald’s, which was to be expected, but there were also old people, middle-aged people, single people, families, people in suits, people in jeans, African Americans, Indians, Asians, Caucasians…you name it.

Going up to the counter, I knew that I would order a Happy Meal. It just made sense to me considering that I was there with a six year old child. Lucie had already told me before we went in that she wanted “chicken nuggets,” so I searched the menu for the Happy Meal option that included the McNuggets. A Happy Meal comes with either Chicken McNuggets, a hamburger or one other main meal option I can’t recall; a choice of small french fries or apple dippers (apple slices with caramel sauce); and one of many beverage options, including: low-fat milk, low-fat chocolate milk, 100% apple juice or a kid-sized “soft drink,” all for a total of $4.12 with tax. Lucie chose the “soft drink” option, which was any of the drinks from the drink dispenser. After pondering over things like raspberry iced tea, various carbonated drinks, and overly-sweetened lemonade, she ultimately went with an “orange drink” (I believe it was Hi-C brand). Lucie normally doesn’t drink things that aren’t either water, milk or 100% juice, but I figured since we were at McDonald’s anyway, I might as well do it up!

When we got our Happy Meal, it came in a cardboard box shaped like a house that had pictures of Barbie and Hot Wheels all over it. Inside of course was a toy – a clear plastic bag containing a few rubber bracelets with the word “Barbie” on them. My first thought was, ‘how can any other restaurant compete with this?’ What other place gives a toy with their food, packaged in a cute container, with just the right marketing messages on the outside to get kids hooked? Lucie of course was very pleased with her Happy Meal. Immediately.

When we started eating, I took a bite of a McNugget just to see what I would think of it after all these years and I must say, it was not as bad as I expected it to be (taste-wise anyway). The french fries were of course as deliciously salty and greasy as always and the orange drink was way too sweet for my taste. Lucie really liked the McNuggets. She had a few bites of fries, but said she was too full to finish them (I was happy to oblige) and she finished most of the orange drink. We left after she proudly threw out her garbage on her own like a big girl.

As we were walking to the subway I asked Lucie what she thought of McDonald’s. Her response? A happy: “Good. Really good.”

I started a semi-boycott (I say “semi” because I wasn’t incredibly strict about it) of McDonald’s years back when I decided that I wanted to spend my money supporting small, local businesses rather than big chain stores and restaurants. I continued the boycott when I became increasingly more interested in organic, local and sustainable foods and the Slow Food movement. Then when I had my daughter, it was a no-brainer to me that I would I try to avoid things that were bad for her. But as I said earlier, I really am a believer in experiencing most things in moderation, so I think it was inevitable that we would end up at a fast food restaurant someday.

I haven’t been going out of my way to avoid McDonald’s in recent years, I just don’t come across it very often in my daily life. It’s been easy for me. But alas, the power of marketing has won out and the knowledge that McDonald’s even exists has somehow seeped into my daughter’s brain, and it’s exciting to her. And I don’t blame her. Who can resist something called a “Happy Meal?”

I don’t plan on going back to McDonald’s, but I’m sure there’ll be a request for it again. Maybe when we’re on a road trip somewhere and we pull over for gas. This time I feel like I’m more knowledgeable about what McDonald’s has to offer my kids. And hopefully, because they’ve tried it now, it won’t be such a mystery anymore and therefore some of it’s allure will have been taken away. I have to admit, I’m a little afraid that the McNuggets, fries, toy and orange drink were so good I’ll be fighting a constant battle from now on. But I like to think that my influence over my children is greater than any Marketing Director’s.

I’ll keep you posted.

Tags: fast food, Happy Meals, junk food, McDonald's, moderation