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For those who take their kids to McDonalds... - Page 7

post #121 of 142
9/17/09 at 11:42am
Food first, then toy. It's much easier to have the same rule every time than to try to take the toy away from a distracted child when they are used to having it....then the fit would happen. Usually fast food is something we only have on trips....so we save the toy to keep them occupied in the car afterward. I hate fast food restraunts and would rather not sit there a second longer than needed because my child is too busy playing with the cheapo toy instead of eatting. I think it's party a table manners thing for us as well. We don't allow toys at the diningroom table and home either.
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post #122 of 142
9/17/09 at 2:57pm
I only two rules when we go there. Eat before playing on the play area and everyone must wash hands before leaving the building (my kids always seem to get sick after playing there). I had to create the eat before playing rule because my middle child won't eat but run around playing and then is suddenly going to die of hunger as soon as we leave the parking lot.
post #123 of 142
9/17/09 at 7:03pm
I usually ask him to eat before I give him the toy because he's a skinny little thing who gets easily distracted and forgets to eat/insists that he's done even when he's still hungry. I don't push it, though.
post #124 of 142
9/17/09 at 7:26pm
We don't buy the kids' meals (why, when my kids aren't allowed the drinks and we're just going to throw the toy and packaging away?) and my kids have never played on a McDonalds' playplace. If we go to McDonald's, my 3.5 yo gets nuggets and fries and my 6.5yo gets nuggets and a side salad. Dollar menu all the way.
post #125 of 142
9/17/09 at 8:26pm
At that age.........the only time we went to MCD is when there was no other option and my kids needed food fast. They ussually were well past food and/or nap time and not functioning at the best level. Low blood sugar and tired kids makes a mom desprite. Eat the food - then the toy prevented a bigger melt down.

We had the rule every time.
post #126 of 142
9/17/09 at 9:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HappilyEvrAfter View Post
Yeah, this. I buy the mighty kids meal with the 6 piece nuggets and we share it.
It's enough for both of us and cheaper than we got anything individually or I got something separate from his Happy Meal....and he gets the toy....ok, sometimes I like the toy too. Pfffft.

I buy the happy meal frequently because it is the amount of food I want to eat.. I am pretty sure it costs $3, which is pretty cheap. But even when I like the toy, dp makes me give it to him!

When they had the Star Wars Bobble Heads, we were there every other day, it seemed. Dd is not even one yet, so she doesn't eat the food or get the toy.
post #127 of 142
9/17/09 at 9:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HappilyEvrAfter View Post
Yeah, this. I buy the mighty kids meal with the 6 piece nuggets and we share it.
It's enough for both of us and cheaper than we got anything individually or I got something separate from his Happy Meal....and he gets the toy....ok, sometimes I like the toy too. Pfffft.
I stalked some of the beani babies they had a couple months ago, for myself... :
post #128 of 142
9/17/09 at 9:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by limabean View Post
I bought two Happy Meals today and it was just under $10. Since they offer a cheeseburger, small fries, and small drinks on their dollar menu (I think...not sure), you could buy two of each of those items for $6 plus tax. Which is something I hadn't thought of before -- I might start doing it that way now that I realize how much it saves!
A lot of McD's have gravitated away from the "Dollar Menu," at least in this area. It's called a Value Menu, *IF* they have one at all (I believe it's at the discretion of the franchise owner) and most of the stuff is between 99 cents and $1.49. The small fries, for instance, I think are $1.19. It may still be a savings, depending on what you're there for.. but I am not one of the No-Happy-Meal crowd, so it's okay. We don't go there often anyway (I think I mentioned that - !!!).
post #129 of 142
9/17/09 at 9:40pm
On the occasion, normally someone else buying, when we have McDs my DS doesn't really care about the toy yet, he is 2 1/2. I usually just give it to him in the middle of us all eating, after everyone has their drinks, ketchup all out. He does have a small tantrum if we don't stop in at the one inside wal-mart next to my nanns house lately, tho....
I have babysat for a just turned 3 and 2 yr olds and the mom bought for everyone, her kids asked for the toys right away so I gave it to them. They just sit the toys there till they were done eating, played, ate some more.

I don't really see the need in /making/ a kid eat McDs, lol.
post #130 of 142
9/17/09 at 9:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeekingSerenity View Post
A lot of McD's have gravitated away from the "Dollar Menu," at least in this area. It's called a Value Menu, *IF* they have one at all (I believe it's at the discretion of the franchise owner) and most of the stuff is between 99 cents and $1.49. The small fries, for instance, I think are $1.19. It may still be a savings, depending on what you're there for.. but I am not one of the No-Happy-Meal crowd, so it's okay. We don't go there often anyway (I think I mentioned that - !!!).
Huh -- I'll have to check next time we go! I usually just buy the Happy Meal, so that could well have changed since the last time I bought a Dollar Menu item. Sneaky!
post #131 of 142
9/17/09 at 9:57pm
I do it too, although I don't raelly care that much and if ds was going to have a fit over it I'd probably let him hold it. But he likes to use 1 chicken nugget as a spoon with which to eat 2 or 3 containers of dipping sauce, and then he proclaims that he's "all done" and wants to play, lol. So I try to get him to eat all his food before I release him/distract him with the toy because it's hard enough to get himt o eat anything other than honey mustard and fries.
post #132 of 142
9/17/09 at 11:38pm
My husband would rather get H1N1, then take the kids to McDonalds.

Getting him to feed me Taco Bell on my birthday is like pulling teeth!

But yes, I would absolutely let them have the toy right away. I mean, I would just hand them the bag/box. It's their thing, right? They can eat it, drink it, and play with it in any order they like IMO. Honestly, I'd rather they play with the toy, and ignore the food, I think. :
post #133 of 142
9/18/09 at 1:10am
i have type one diabetes so if i get mcdonalds i get the cheeseburger happy meal Because i only eat kids size meals and im 30 but i admit i love the toys LOL
post #134 of 142
9/18/09 at 1:37am
there was a mcdonalds across the street from my high school that had breakfast happy meals- sausage biscuit, hash brown and OJ for like $2 i think.... id get those when there was a toy i wanted, lol
post #135 of 142
9/18/09 at 2:11am
the only reason we would be at any restaurant is cause we need to eat... and for us, toy/playarea first means eating suffers- and not eating doesn't do kiddo so well. so we TRY to convince him to eat before play, but it's hard. it prob. doesn't help that he doesn't love the food now that i think about it...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marsupialmom View Post
At that age.........the only time we went to MCD is when there was no other option and my kids needed food fast. They ussually were well past food and/or nap time and not functioning at the best level. Low blood sugar and tired kids makes a mom desprite. Eat the food - then the toy prevented a bigger melt down.

We had the rule every time.
post #136 of 142
9/18/09 at 12:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by The4OfUs View Post
I stalked some of the beani babies they had a couple months ago, for myself... :
Lol.
Sadly, I have all the Kids Bob CDs they were giving out....BUT at least a couple were given to me from other parents that didn't want them/already had them.

post #137 of 142
9/24/09 at 6:57pm
I have no shame in stepping up to say that the only reason my kids get McD's a few times a year is because when *I* am drooling for a Big N Tasty and McD's french fries, nothing will stop the craving but to feed the demon.

We maintain very healthy lifestyles at home and life is just too darn short not to enjoy myself a good, greasy cheeseburger on occasion.

As for the toy? It's part of the fun. I figure if I want them to see fast food as an "occasional treat" instead of "a meal", then I am going to fully separate the experience. So you want the toy first? You want to stomp off and slide down the slide in the Playplace before finishing your McNuggets? Do it up, baby. Because you aren't getting this kind of freedom at my dinner table.
post #138 of 142
9/24/09 at 7:11pm
i sometimes take my lo's to the mcdonalds at the train station when we go to my aunty lindas and i tell them to wait till we get there to play with there toys so they don't loose them.
post #139 of 142
9/24/09 at 9:15pm
When we go I usually set the toy aside until they're at least half done, simply because I really don't want to be there for 3 hours while they play instead of eat. I look at is as they're allowed to play with the toy in the car, they're NOT allowed to eat messy foods in the car, so food first (at least, half) then toy
post #140 of 142
9/25/09 at 1:56am
for my kid (3) it depends on the day. She doesn't know the meals come with toys because we normally order off the 1$ menu and share fries and a drink. So normally she doesn't get a toy. If she gets a meal i normally do not give it to her in the beginning....then will bribe with it to get her to eat some of her meat
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