mickey d’s
Although I claimed it would never happen, I knew that in my heart of hearts it would. Eventually. And it did.
Yesterday, Maya ate lunch at McDonald’s.
Yes, I realize that until yesterday Maya was the only 6-year-old in America who hadn’t had the pleasure of eating processed and sub-par fast food in a less than savory environment. But after pondering two approaches to the situation at hand I knew that my options were minimal.
Scenario 1: I question Maya’s Winter Camp coordinator’s decision to take the kids on a field trip to an ice skating rink and then to McDonald’s afterwards. I unsuccessfully hide my annoyance that she won’t reconsider a less offensive lunch alternative. I consequently earn her annoyance and become known as “that uptight mom” among all the other teachers. Maya gets to be known as “that uptight mom’s deprived kid” and teachers alternatively feel sorry for her and dread getting her in their class, knowing that they’ll have to deal with me. Maya inevitably experiences backlash from my actions and then hates me. She drains her therapy fund, can’t function as a normal human being, and consequently lives with us forever.
Dinner was not at McDonald's but at the Grove in West Hollywood. Instead of a side of fries we had a lovely view of the fountain show, complete with fake snow, Santa, his sled, and an eerily authentic Rudolph with a red light for a nose.
Scenario 2: I give Maya an apple for breakfast to counteract the big bowl of grease she’ll be eating in a few hours, I hand her a $5 bill with a warning that she should not, under any circumstances, go near a soda fountain, and I feel secure in the knowledge that one meal at McDonald’s is worth not having Maya living with me when she’s 45.
Choices are really just the lesser of two evils in disguise. I realized that today.
While I'm not going to win Mother/Wife of the Year Award anytime soon, I haven't killed anyone yet or shot myself in the head. And that, my friends, is how I calculate success these days. 
FANCY THAT FANCY THIS 
I think you did the right thing. There is no reason to fear McDonald’s-there IS reason to fear TOO MUCH McDonalds…I was raised with the occasional McDonalds’s meal but we had rules around it-getting a cheeseburger or milkshake was a special occasion, and we did not get the soda and I think I turned out pretty decently.
You know what I fear? That Maya is going to be asking me every five seconds if she can go to Mickey D’s now! But I’m glad you concur that I made the right decision. 🙂
omg ameena you are hilarious! you made the right choice.
Thank you Piya! So glad you think so too!
Aww, Micky D’s isn’t so terrible. My mom would have a big mac while I got a happy meal at Micky Ds once a month. It was like a ritual. Did I turn out so bad?
ok, point taken.
Mickey D’s is terrible! Every which way. Except maybe the apple slices…
I think you did the right thin g Ameena. Even i don’t let my kid eat chips, fries and chocolates. It is only once in a week ritual. At times we have no choice to but to be “upright”
I am uptight all the time though…trying to work on that so Maya doesn’t rebel!
By some divine intervention, my daughter hates outside food. Wouldn’t even give anything a look. But she likes ice cream and that is the only thing she agrees to eat outside home. I carry her lunch/breakfast/snack/dinner/milk with me if I have to go out. I hope she remains like that..
This is really amazing! Of course you are a fantastic cook!
Does it bother you to have to carry her food with you at all times?
All things in moderation, right? The only place for McD’s is when travelling home late at night when nothing else is open. I think their strategy is to attract people when they are at their most vulnerable – stressed school teachers with a class full of children, irritated parents with crying kids, tired commuters …..
Very true. They have the most effective marketing department I have ever seen. Except maybe for Apple!
I suddenly feel lucky …that I am not MAYA 😛 haha…..or her teacher for that matter :D….
both of you look nice in the picture 😀 … Good times…
I am SO glad I’m not Maya’s teacher either. 🙂
Come to NYC, all moms are uptight. I’ve had to adopt the “one meal will not kill them rule” multiple times. Happy and a healthy holiday to you, Ali and your little “happy meal”.
I’m trying to come to NYC but my uptight husband is preventing this!!
i’m curious to know what she thought of it! let me know. i’m hoping she thought it was gross (that’s what i’m hoping for my future children anyway… bec i’m going to deprive them of fast food just the same, knowing that one day they’ll experience it somehow). you made a good decision ameena 🙂
I was hoping otherwise, but she loved it! Although she didn’t care for the lemonade??
Good for you! I think that this is the only thing you can do, although I do loathe what others feed our children when we’re not around. School food, heck even hospital food, is atrocious and fattening. Then they want to take the kids to fast food restaurants on top of that! Hopefully she was able to tolerate it since she’s not accustomed to that “food”.
I told Ali last night that Maya definitely felt the effects of the “food.” I could tell her stomach was hurting, even though she wouldn’t admit it.
Your daughter is adorable! I have a feeling I am going to be the same kind of mother you are…my poor children! Thanks for putting everything into perspective…option 2 wins! I am going to go ahead and say I will love my kids, but I’m not sure whether that love extends to housing their asses for 45 years!
My hat is off to anyone who can house their kid for 30 years, never mind 45! 🙂
haha okay I had to comment on this one. While I am all for eating unprocessed foods, I am also a teacher and know what “those parents” are like. You made the right choice my dear.
I’m glad you think so Chelsey. I had a feeling that I’d get a teacher’s input on this post!!
thank you…it’s a rainy Friday here in NC..I’ll be stuck inside with two toddlers. …laughing was needed.
You poor, poor thing. I hope the rain clears up!!
It is by this logic that I let my kids have as much cake, candy, and juice at birthday parties. They also do get more fries than I’m happy with generally, but such is life.
If this is the worst they get then they are pretty healthy indeed!
Good way of working through the whole issue. I’m not as afraid of McD’s as I used to be. I love their yogurt parfait. They also have a southwestern salad that I can order without the chicken that is pretty tasty. I discovered that on our cross country trip last year. Sadly, they don’t reduce the price for removing the chicken…unfair to Vegetarians everywhere!! 😉 The picture of you and Maya is Beautiful!!
Thank you Fran! And yes, I never understood why removing meat didn’t allow restaurants to give a price reduction?
i thought I would never see the day!
Me neither!
It had to happen at some point right? A meal or two at McDonalds isn’t a big deal, but I love that you don’t feed it to Maya on a regular basis. When I was little McDonalds was a treat and we knew we could only eat it every now and then. I think that was the right way to go about it. Too much fast food is bad news all around.
At least I got through 6 years! That’s making me feel better about the situation right now.
My god-Maya living with you when you are 45???? Aren’t we a little too far-fetched?
Haaaaaw you make me feel guilty about taking my two years old to Mcdonalds almost once in every two weeks:(
Thank god I am in India-warna kya ho jaata when she would have been 45?
hehe…hilarious you are!:-)
I am totally far-fetched. Being dramatic is what I do best! Just ask Ali.
Maybe you would just be known as the mom with good taste. What did Maya think? With all the yummy restaurants she’s been to I bet she wasn’t impressed. I don’t like the food there but we all love the ice cream cones.
She was impressed. Unfortunately. Loved the chicken nuggets she said! 😦
As much as I vow not to take my future children to Mickey D’s, I also know it’s an inevitability. Maya will survive this one 🙂
Oh she’ll survive…the question is will I??
I am curious to know what she thought of it!!!
She loved it! She had nuggets, fries, lemonade and ice cream. The meal of champions.
The question is… did she like it? 🙂
Have a great holiday weekend, Ameena! I hope you and the fam enjoy it!
She loved it Amy! She had every single thing she wanted. Including dessert. 😦
Landfills are dedicated to McDonalds’ toys. It’s a sad, sad thing. Dudette’s just now been weaned off that place. She now prefers Hardees (oh what a great leap up). At least the toys are less obnoxious. Happy holidays, Ameena!
Hmmm….we don’t have Hardees here but I bet Maya would be on board with that as well!
Hardees is same as Carls Jr with the star.
This had me laughing. My kids have fast food occasionally but we also eat nicer places and then I am a pretty good cook so we eat well at home. Now my youngest is a total food diva. When my parents took him to sea world and legoland all we heard about was how terrible the food was. My guess is McDonalds will not suddenly become Maya’s first choice.
I have to say that I was SO impressed with the food at Legoland! It was really tasty, even my father-in-law liked it!
Yeah I never ate fast food till I entered college and even still I eat it in my car or at school. I never take it home. Ever.
My dad would flip if we brought home non-halal meat. He probably still would!
Haha.. they say that we have to choose our ‘battle’ right? I think you did the right thing & won! Even I like McDonald’s 🙂
I like McDonald’s but I don’t like the feeling after I eat at McDonald’s. 🙂 That stops my fry craving every time.
I’m truly impressed with your parenting skills!
Wow Aleta. Thank you!
Yup – some things are not worth fighting, and that includes the occasional class trip to McDonald’s.
I’m learning to choose my battles!
I grew up eating a lot of McDonalds. And now I have a slew of health issues. I think Maya is lucky to have only been once. Hopefully she wasn’t too impressed anyway.
I know I’ll be that uptight mom one day. No worries about that.
Once so far. I fear she’ll be asking to go more often now that she knows what it is!
I grew up eating McDonald’s, but it’s not something I would choose to feed my daughter either. However, I must admit to a craving for chicken mcnuggets every so often…with Hot Mustard sauce!
Perhaps Maya went with the grilled chicken sandwich and water? 🙂
I wish. Maya had nuggets, fries, lemonade and ice cream. Lovely, yes?
IF, and that’s a big if, I have to bring my nieces to a fast food place, I only allow them to eat the semi-healthy apple slices. I try to keep blinders on them so they can’t see all the cartoon madness.
I would have pushed the apples on her too…if I’d been there!
Don’t you worry Ameena, my son is 6 too and in his entire life so far he may have had 2 times MacDonald and that too, my choices were similar to yours, he survived it and did not get hooked to it, rather did not like it much and if I ask him now whether he wants a Mac meal or a slice of pizza from Whole foods, he picks the second option :-)…Good thing for me is that he does not like french fries and junk and such…so in a way it is a blessing in disguise…he too is far off from soda and such and I actually feel proud when his friends have soda in front of him and he politely says “no thank you”…Maya will be okay ! And that is an incredibly cute picture of you two…Merry Christmas and happy holidays to your cute family…
Maya likes Whole Foods too, luckily! I think it’s fantastic your son refuses soda. I wonder what Maya would do if she was asked that question when I wasn’t around…
Good question, I haven’t seen it offered to her, but I know what happens with ice cream 🙂
I asked Maya to rate her food… Bad, good, or ” medium”.
The chicken nuggets were good. The fries and ice cream were medium.
Fries were medium??? I guess real potatoes’ taste over the years has made her less likely to go for salty fries.
She doesn’t like potatoes in general…I think that’s why she said “medium.”
That’s great to hear! I was mostly worried about her trying the fries, they are like crack to some people 🙂
Will it totally kill my foodie street cred if I admit I kinda like McD’s? Must be the nostalgic value of the fillet o “fish” 🙂
I kind of like it too…if I’m being honest. I just don’t want Maya eating there! I’m a hypocrite, what can I say.
What you described right here is exactly what I wake up in the dead of the night worrying over. I have no doubt that my kid will the ‘that deprived kid’. For now he is just 18 months and home and I control everything (insert evil uptight mom laughter here). But what will I do when he will be in school with 30 other kids with 30 birthdays and 30 store-bought cupcakes during each birthday. I’ve done the math and 180 average school days per year means cupcakes almost every 6 days (I’m sure there is some statistical flaw in this calculation, but still…) Perhaps I will have the only kid in the history of ever who doesn’t like Micky D’s.
Oh yes…once the years of being able to control are over things get – hairy. I’m only losing more and more control as Maya gets older! It’s hard. It’s very hard.
As a fan of math I love the calculations in this comment. Love it!
You made the right decision 🙂 and everything is about balance 🙂
Thanks Ayala!
I think they start to have some not-so-totally-terrible things at least, but I don’t go there if I don’t have to. The only thing I used to like were the hot apple turnovers.
Happy holidays, Ameena!
Yeah, turn overs are good. So are the cookies at subway- insanely good.
I used to love those apple turnovers! So greasy but so good!
I think you could do A LOT worse then McDonalds! And don’t worry, my mom has you beat in the uptight mom category. One year, she called the principal of my school because my gym teacher gave me a B. I was a little embarrassed at first but was ok after the B turned into an A-!! And just for the record, I got a B because I couldn’t do a cartwheel!!
I can’t do a cartwheel…can’t believe that’s a PE requirement??
what other places can you take kids to eat that is fast and cheap though? Maybe they should do a picnic lunch next time.
I would have gladly sent Maya’s lunch with her – as I usually do on field trips!!
–Mac D’s has salads & milk!! Better than French Fries anyhow….
Great photo of you girls :)))
Thank you my friend! And happy holidays to you!
I think I will be having this same conversation with myself when I have kids. The husband and I don’t eat McDonalds, and therefore we will never take our children there.
I think that’s fair, right? I don’t eat it either so I’m not being unreasonable here…
Well I’m not a mother but i know for sure I’m never letting my kid around Mcdonalds. But I wonder if its really possible. How did you manage so far?
I just never took her! And I never let other people take her either. It was surprisingly easy but as she gets older it won’t be!
It’s kind of suspicious to me that you know the correct name to use for the M corporation. Do you go there by yourself in disguise?!
also,when we were in Paris w my oldest when he was almost 3, i was so desperate to get him to eat something that we went to mcd 7 times. i think i must have broken some law or something …
The truth is that I used to LOVE McDonald’s – I’d eat there all the time! But then I grew a brain…
PS: I ate at the one in Paris as well. It wasn’t my shining moment I assure you. But I did what I had to do. 🙂
Well, she ate it and lived to tell the tale. McD’s is moving up in the world though….I hear they have apples instead of fries in happy meals as an option. I personally love their cheeseburgers but it’s very few and far between that I will get one. It smells funny in McDonalds; that fast food smell I guess?
I totally agree that it smells odd. It’s the smell of grease! Lots and lots of grease.
I’m impressed you were able to keep her away from McDonalds all this time, but I guess it had to happen at some point. I understand where you are coming from since I eat at very few fast foods myself, I can understand you not wanting your child exposed to these fast foods. As long as it doesn’t become a habit, it is okay. And by the way… hope you have a Merry Christmas!!!
Hope you have a Merry Christmas too my friend! Enjoy NYC for me please. 🙂
Oddly enough this is something I grapple with often as a not-so-soon-to-be mother (seriously, how many 21 year olds do you know worry about how they’re going to parent their future kids? I blame the Arab thing). But I think you did the right thing – my parents exercised similar restraint but we were still allowed the occasional fast food treat. Although that said, after watching movies like Fast Food Nation and Super Size Me, I’m not sure I could ever find it in my heart to take my kid to a McDonalds.
You are a strong woman, Ameena!
I think you made the right choice. You definitely don’t want her living with you at 45. Plus by then she’d might be on her second husband, and have a few dysfunctional children who would also be living with you, all because you didn’t let her eat fill her arteries with grease. I’m almost 100% certain that the apple will counteract the damage done by the deep fried nuggets.
Ameena, I’m dying, really. I didn’t know that Maya had never been to a McDonald’s before, but when I started reading I was like, Duh! Of course! Because even though I am absolutely childless, I am 100% on board with this parenting decision.
It sounds from the comments like she survived. I would say as a blog feature, you might have to take her for her first Shamrock Shake in March. Between the green ice cream and the not-real flavors, I would love to hear Maya Tell It Like It Is.
I admit my kids have had their fair share of mcnasty, but since we started really paying attention to the crap we were eating, we haven’t had it in quite awhile and I can’t believe we used to eat it as much as we did…
Ohhh this is a tough one. We didn’t have Mc Donalds in India when we were growing up. But we had plenty of junk food which was sold in carts on the road. I think it was a great decision to not let her eat (until now!!). According to my professor, “Only the Lord knows what goes into those burgers!!!”
I had a professor who denied her kids all processed and junk foods…and as soon as they became teenagers and had more control over what they ate outside the home, they ate all the junk food they could get their hands on. I think a few tiny samples of processed food allows kids to feel like they have some say and control over their diet, and probably can prevent that. You seem like an excellent and very loving mother 🙂
I kinda find it sad that is where the responsible adult wanted to take children for lunch. This is why obesity is and will continue to be a problem with our children. If grown ups say it’s ok to eat there, then it must be, um NOT! While one meal will not hurt Maya, I am concerned with the others that may eat there often and this reinforces that it is a “good” choice for a meal.
Happy Holidays! I hope you had a wonderful time and a happy new year to you and yours!
Way to keep things in perspective! Maya will be just fine. My dad bought me fries from Mickey D’s a couple of times when I was a kid and I’m still standing!
OH! And Happy Holidays Ameena!
Haha, McDonald is actually only really enjoyable when you are a kid, so let her savour that moment while she can. I remember all those McCrispy, french fries and BigMacs…they all tasted so good in my memories, but now that I’m a big gal, not so much. It’s like with Froot Loops and Lucky Charms. They all tasted so much better as a child! But I still find that the McNuggets with BBQ sauce are good if they just came out of the fryer.
And Happy Holidays 🙂
Anything with BBQ sauce is fantastic!! I am addicted to the stuff.
It it’s any comfort I am confident that I have a future of being ‘that uptight mom.’ I haven’t eaten McDonalds in years but I will say as a child, I reveled in the delight of those quarter pounders and fries…and somehow I turned out alright for the most part 😉
From one uptight mom to a future uptight mom. I get you. 🙂
When I was younger, my parents did set rules about no soda/one scoop of ice cream, but they did give me liberties as far as eating “junk” food. Now that I’m older, I choose not to eat those foods or pass on the chance at eating at fast food places just cause I know there are better and tastier foods out there.
Funny how we don’t develop taste buds until much later in life, isn’t it?
Everything in moderation, right? Your took a right decision, after all 🙂
Thank you Kiran!
Research has shown that McDonalds is addictive, and not for good reasons.AS an adult, I can choose to moderate fast food to once a year or so. but kids? They cook fries in a mixture of about 7% cottonseed oil and 93% beef tallow. Better to make fries at home, or even go to In and out, you know???
But if she lives with you until she’s 45, I am sure that you’d delight in her company…and by that time, she’ll cook and do laundry!
Didn’t the beef tallow get outlawed? I recall a really big deal about that not too long ago?
I don’t blame you for not wanting her to eat there – it’s terrible ‘food’. But, I will say this – and hopefully it’s a comfort of some sort . . . I grew up eating fast food, take-out, pop and candy, and homecooked meals (meat and potatoes, a little low on fruits and vegetables). I was raised in the country with busy working parents and a lot of siblings with a little money, so this is the best my parents could do for us. I turned out fine. I was vegetarian for 14 years, and now I love vegetables, always cook for myself, only eat at a restaurant once a week, and hate fast food. I wish I would have eaten healthier growing up, but it definitely didn’t scar me for life. The scars were from body image issues (not related to food or weight, but to perception of myself and desire to be ‘skinny’), not from the food itself!
This is so interesting…I too grew up eating (a bit) of fast food, lots of candy, soda, and chips, and now I’m a vegetarian too. (Although I eat fish here and there though). I’m not too worried.
It’s hard having a girl because I am so worried about body image! Thank you for your comment – it definitely put me at ease!
It is a bit frightening that this country is so associated with fast food, but maybe a wee bit of Micky D’s is OK 🙂 Oh, and I love the Grove!
We should meet up at the Grove! Anytime. 🙂
my mother is a HUGE packrat. she never throws out clothes, ever! sometimes she gives them to goodwill, but usually they just sit in her basement to gather dust. it’s sad, really.
yikes, sorry about my comment, i was commenting on another feed about throwing away clothes…sorry about this! i don’t know how to delete the comment. but, now that i’m commenting, i’m glad you brought your daughter to mcdonald’s! aside from being a packrat, my mom never used to let me eat “junk” when i was little and it really frustrated me! you sound like you’re doing a good job, though.
happy new year, and again, sorry about the messed up comment!
Compared to how often my parents used to take me to Mc D’s, my kids are very Mc D’s deprived. Although I do admit, I like Mc D’s….everything except their burgers.