mcdonald's

so, i read today that a sacramento, ca mom is suing mcdonalds. 

no, the hot coffee did not burn her.

no, there was not a critter or hair (or worse) in her fries.

it is about the toy(s) in their "happy meals".  which, at first i figured that it must've been that her child got injured by/on the toy....SO, since we occasionally hit that drive-thru i decided to read the article to make sure that we do not have that toy.

ummmmmm...not so much what the suit is about.

it is about the toy being part of the "happy meal" and how that it is not okay to entice children with said toys.

what????

this gal is a mom to two children, ages 2 and 6...and here is a quote from this mom, and while you are reading this quote i will quickly go get my soapbox & get ready go "all dr. phil" on her:

this mom said she "wanted mcdonald's to stop marketing the meals using toys from popular movies such as shrek.  my children really want the toys that are in those meals," she said, adding the meals often get cold while her kids -- ages 6 and 2 -- play with the toys instead of eating. "i'm concerned about the health of my children frankly ... i don't think it's OK to entice children."

okay, here's me on my soapbox and addressing this mom:

here are a couple of questions that as a parent perhaps you should've asked yourself - perhaps even before hiring an attorney:

1)  did the 2 & 6 yr olds go to mcdonald's themselves?  (i am going out on a limb to assume the answer is "no", because if those 2 were out-n-about by themselves we have a larger problem going on here...as in "call cps stat!")

2)  who paid for those "happy meals"?  (again, on a limb, guessing answer is "no")

3)  who opened the toys for those kids?  (i ask this one, because most of the time i cannot hardly get the plastic opened on those darned toys, let alone either of my kids, who are 4 & 5)

4)  why did they have the toy before eating their food?  (this one because i use those as "bribery" to get my kids to eat their food...if other parents are shocked that i'm admitting to bribing my offspring, it's probably because they call it something else...)

5)  how do your kids know what toy they are getting/what movie the toy is from?  (yes my kids watch tv and have even been to a theater to see a movie, but they do not see that much advertising for movies, toys, etc. because most of the time we do not watch stations that have commercials...)

6)  is it that hard for you to say "no" to your kids?  (i mean, seriously...if you, the parent, do not want your kid to eat the mcdonald's food because you are "concerned about the health of my children frankly", then you, the parent, need to make better choices for your 2 & 6 yr. old!  it really is okay to say "no".  even if they do, and they will, cry about it...whether the "no" is to fries and you get them the apple slices instead' or, "no" to even going there in the first place.)

now, we go to mcdonald's sometimes.  my 4-yr-old will choose it nearly every time we decide to do a "drive thru meal".  but she does not always get to choose.  she does not always win.  because she is 4 and despite what she thinks:  my kids are not the bosses of this family.

i sorta look at it like this:

a minor gets arrested for having alcohol in their possession and for drinking that alcohol.  they get in trouble...but, most times the police also go after and charge the person who supplies the alcohol to the minor, because as an adult that person should be smart enough and responsible enough to know that it is not in the best interest of that minor to supply them with booze.

this mom's lawsuit is not seeking money (well, at least she has that going for her). 

i might suggest that she move her family san francisco, ca...because that town recently banned toys from being part of kid meals ("meals that have high levels of calories, sugar and fat")...just a thought...because that might be easier than actually being the adult and parenting.  just sayin'...