It is an attempt to save children from what is truly an unhealthy meal. I agree with you, in moderation why not have some fun with your lunch..but the people who know best about raising children will tell you McDonald's is never a healthy choice and a child's body should only be filled with the most healthy food. They know kids today have the power in most households about where money is spent. They are attempting to get children to make better choices. Plus, we are filling up landfills with all these cheap plastic made in China "toys". We as a world really need to curb our intake. "Live Simply so other can SIMPLY live"!!!

They need to be suing to get more nutritional items in the happy meal - the toys don't cause kids to gain wait - the items in the happy meal do! The kids don't care WHAT'S in the meal itself - they just want the toy!!!!

They should stay out of our business!!IMHO

stupid....... Don't buy them then! Simple as that.

"It is an attempt to save children from what is truly an unhealthy meal."
I always thought it was the "parents" job to make sure their children eat nutritious food.I'm sorry but getting rid of toys in a kids meal is not going to solve the problem.Parents need to be the adult and take control.I see nothing wrong with a Happy Meal occasionally but not several times a week or even every day as some parents do.Either because they are "rushed" or just too lazy to fix their kid a nutritious meal.Happy Meals aren't making kids fat.The people who buy those meals for their kids are! As far as I'm concerned nobody needs to sue McDonalds.Parents just need to take responsibility for what their kids are putting into their mouths!I don't know any little kids that drive themselves to McDonalds to pick up a Happy Meal.Do you?
I don't know,maybe whoever suggested suing McDonalds was thinking if the toys aren't in there the kids won't want the meal.That won't solve anything because the lazy parents will still buy the meal and make the kid eat it! LOL

"People are suing McDonald's to make them stop giving toys out with their Happy Meals!! "

They SHOULD be suing McDonalds to make them stop giving Happy Meals with their toys... LOL!
The food is garbage...

Look, my grandson eats a cheeseburger with nothing on it and skips the fries. Meat, cheese and bread. He also drinks either lemonade or chocolate milk, sugary drinks admitedly, with the meal. For the once or twice a month that he eats there, that is not bad. The hamburger is good food, though I'd like the bun to be smaller. If the lemonade or chocolate milk weren't available, he'd drink water. I really don't see this as an unhealthy meal. It is certainly devoid of vegetables, but he can only eat so much at one sitting anyhow. Often his mid afternoon snack is raw crudites.

We all have to pay for the minorities complaints. I don't have children but when I did we had home cooked meals and ate at places like that as a treat once a week. There is no harm in a hamburger and fries once a week. I wish the government would stay out of our diets.

Did I miss something? I didn't read anything about government control or meddling in our diets. All I saw was individual people suing McDonalds. Where does the government come into it?

I thought apple slices were offered instead of fries. Chicken nuggets are not as fatty as a burger. Milk is an option too.
Sueing McD's over a toy. Stupid.

Patti,

Some local government have outlawed Happy Meals - at least one in CA I believe.

It's ridiculous. Children can't buy Happy Meals without an adult along for the ride no matter how much marketing McD's does. A Happy Meal with apples and lowfat milk is about equal to most school lunches but I think they could offer tofu and celery sticks with water and people would still complain about McDs.

I always felt if you took the meat out of the bun and placed it on a plate and put the potatoes next to it it was a pretty good meal now I think they also offer a fruit cup

San Francisco has outlawed them. it is the government
so invasive.

When my kids were little...they'd eat the burger but not the bun.

I think it is ridiculous...If they don't want their kids to eat a Happy Meal don't let them....Who is in control anyway...

Somebody is just trying to get some big money.

patti

They're trying to "save children"... sounds like another nutcase religious fanatic group. That's what kids (and adults) need to be saved from. Probably nothing more than another attention-grabber and trying to get some cash. I'm no big supporter of McD's by any means but I hope they hit that group with a SLAPP suit and take them down.

C'mon, get real. The little gizmo toys filling up landfills? How exaggerated do we get? With the obnoxious amount of other waste generated by people I hardly think a little toy is going to take the last space in a landfill.

People talk "healthy" so often but I'm not sure they know about what they speak. They buy "fresh" veggies that have been sitting on the shelf for days or a week, then sit on a shelf at home for a week and call that "healthy" when the nutrients are depleting by every moment after they've been picked. But people fool themselves sometimes.

I don't think it's a good place to eat nutritionally or tastewise but for a place to put something into your gut on occasion, it'll work. I prefer other places, although I sometimes enjoy a Sausage McMuffin with or without egg.

And if you want to talk about school lunches...

Puh...lease! Some people have more time than sense. If you don't want your kid to have a happy meal, or the toy, DON'T FRIGGIN' TAKE THEM TO MCDONALDS!!!

This is more stupidity. Parents need to be responsible for what their kids eat and make the decision on whether their children get a toy.

Evidently some people don't read the news papers. They are into everything including our food, how much salt, how much fat, etc.. Especially regarding restaurants. I am a big supporter of this country and it's government, but I don't want them into what I eat, I don't like them controlling my light bulbs. I got a letter from our electric company saying they will give you a free programmable thermostat and install it. Gee a $300. gift. But if you read it all, it will control your setting on that thermostat. And that is not what this thread is about either. LOL

My understanding is that the claim is that the toy is what the children want and get the Happy Meal because of it.

My opinion is the same as several already posted. If you don't want your kid to have that food, then don't buy it! Simple enough. I also agree that McDonald's food on occasion is fine - but every day is not a great habit to be in. So don't go there! If you've lost control of your kids, parents, and do everything they cry for, you and they are going to have way more problems than eating less-than-healthy food.

Oh brother. What if I want the toy in the happy meal? They are not just for kids you know. I like to play with the toy while I'm enjoy the happy meal.

I'm an adult now, if I want a meal with a toy I don't have to ask my parents anymore! I'm all growd up so I can eat dessert first too.

Anyone want to sue me for being a bad example?

"Good grief Charlie Brown."

Hey, were there crayons in here somewhere???

(:-)) @ mcpeg

You made me smile.

I hate to admit it, but going to McD's for a Happy Meal once in a while was a teat for my kids. we always went after a visit to the pediatrician, it was right next door. My girls actually "collected" the toys. At one time, McD gave out mini Beanie Babies. Another was a set of Inspector Gadget (a cartoon) spy tools. In those days, they didn't even offer the healthier "choices" of milk and carrot sticks. Both my girls grew up and became vegetarians, disdaining their McDonald days!

OOps, Typo fingers, again. The word is "tReat". By the way, I heard that McDonalds will sell you the toys alone. Not sure of the price. I used to occasionally buy myself a Happy Meal for lunch while at work.I liked the smaller portions. I'd take the toy and hand it to a kid in line.So where's the beef?

Personally, I agree with the idea of getting kids to eat healthy meals at home. I think if my kids got to eat McDonalds 5 times before they left home, they were lucky. It's garbage and nothing is better than teaching a child to eat a home made meal that is healthy. And bribing them to eat anything by having a toy attached to it is so against everything I believe in, when teaching a child to eat properly.

Just my opinion. I'm also against Kraft Dinner. Gaross!!

Check out the FAT content in a happy meal! OMG! It's unreal. And people feed this to their kids over a lean piece of meat with vegetables? 26 grams of fat in a cheeseburger. 25 grams of fat in the meal with chicken nuggets. Someone above said the chicken nuggets had less fat. Yes, one whole gram. And it's deep fried. Deep fried foods are unhealthy for anyone. Mind you, deep fried food tastes good............. I'm guilty about that, I love my fries.

Then there's the preservatives McD's puts in their food. Does there food ever go moldy? Have you all seen those studies with a meal that looks the same today as it will a year from now? Eww!

Here is a link that might be useful: How Many Calories in a Happy Meal

Not my Kraft dinner too! Stay away I say...(scooping up all her expensive boxes and holding them tight)...gotta have some comfort food around!

Sheesh! First the toys and now my Kraft dinner!!!!

Oh,BTW there weren't any crayons in my Happy Meal. Darn it!

I grew up learning to cook at home with Mom at a very young age. We ate very healthy meals and junk food was not high on our list until we went through our phases as teens. McD's was too expensive even when you could feed a family of 4 for less than $10.00. I still value a home cooked meal first.

I don't have brain damage nor any tics happening in my face...well I dunno about the brain damage though...I still claim I was dropped at birth but anyway I digress....

There is also the valuable lesson of having the not so good things once in awhile and later the right sized portions of treats. My Mom would roll up bologna slices with cheese slices (when they were still made of milk) to give us as snacks when we are out. If ya really wanna get nit picky on food let's not discuss the contents of that either.

Growing up surrounded by soft drinks I'm still not nuts on them - they make me burp loudly, especially in public and I don't like washing my teeth in the sugar. Maybe if soft drinks came with toys.....or better yet crayons....I might have a different opinion.

To each his own I say. And that includes my Happy Meal with the toy.

Aren't they great? Just love those toys - which the old ones are now collectible to others reliving their younger years. So Ha!

Don't sweat the small stuff!

Cheers,
Peggy

Peggy, you're so funny! I haven't had a box of KD in my house in five years. And the only reason we had it then, was because our foster kids grew up on it and they loved it. My husband wasn't working so he would make it for them for lunch when I was at work. I gag at the smell of it.

We grew up on 3 healthy square meals a day. Mom always made sure we had at least one piece of fruit a day, 2 glasses of milk, a glass of juice, veggies and little meat. She baked all the time, but we were only allowed one slice of cake or two cookies a day. Pop was a treat for Christmas or a birthday. Other than that, if we were thirsty, the sink had a lot of water in it, and there was more milk. We got desert almost every day, whether a small dish of jello, pudding or ice cream there was a small serving size dish.

When I joined Weight Watchers, I realized my mother taught us to eat very healthy. I was 17 years old when I went to McDonalds for the first time. And I was 18 when I tasted Kraft Dinner for the first time. I was 17 when I ate bottled salad dressing. I grew up on home made oil and vinegar dressing. Spaghetti sauce was never from jar or can either. I only started buying store bought sauce a few years ago, myself.

OK, now I'm curious. Growing up eating healthy, eating 3 squares a day, fruit and veggies, never eat junk food, no soft drinks, milk/water only, etc. And then you needed Weight Watchers? Kind of suggests heading for a drive-thru!

Yup, just goes to prove that even though you are raised to eat properly, you don't necessarily continue to do so when you get married and leave home. I loves my chocolate. And fried food. And pepsi............ sigh..........

Going back to eating healthy after Christmas. I would right now, but I know my willpower isn't where it needs to be yet. LOL

Okay, so I guess I just disproved my theory about making kids eat healthy foods........

My Mom grew up on fried food and in lard. Her folks live to be in their 90's or close to that, the same with my Dad's family. Baking was kind of difficult in a wood stove and a real no no in the summer. She fried most of the food we were raised on because that is how she was raised. she did make salad for us, something called a wilted salad, the dressing was bacon grease. Most of what we ate is a no no today. I admit it will probably kill us all, it already has Mom. She died last year on Dec 1 at the age of 97. She was living alone and raking leaves the week before she died. My oldest sister is 80, next to the oldest is 77, I will be 74 next month, younger sis is 65. We are all still as active as we always were. None of us has had a serious illness.

The TV feature I saw about the suit against toys in fast food meals featured a mother complaining that the meals 'cause arguments' between her and her DD (possibly five or six years old). That's it! I'm done! It's not McDonald's fault that 'Mom' can't parent her child.

I fail to see the attraction of fast food -- with or without the crayons, Peg! LOL (You don't EAT those, do you?)

The only times DH or I resort to fast food is if we are stuck far from home on errands and it's the only choice available. I bet I've eaten at one of those places a total of twenty times in all my years, and NEVER by choice.

Junk food or healthy, if you consume more calories than you burn you accumulate excess fat that your poor joints have to cart around.

Amen Lilliepad. Why on earth are these lazy,
self-absorbed parents blaming McDonald's or
any other restaurant?

Of course, if you wanted to sue McDonald's for just
tasting nasty -- that would be ok with me. :)