So, I’m back from vacation and quite happy to report that my
fast-food-free mission continues to be a success! There were certainly some
challenges while I was off work and out of my normal routine. I’m starting to
learn that getting into positive habits is key to saying no to garbage food,
and a more relaxed vacation schedule can present some serious challenges. But,
I hung in there and stayed true to my commitment.
I was around a lot of kids these past couple of weeks while
volunteering at a summer camp. The usual fun camp songs and skits abounded, and
what completely shocked me was how many references I heard to McDonald’s or
other fast food in the singing, skits, and other activities. I’m not joking… it
was pretty much a daily thing to hear something about fast food from these teenagers.
We were literally no less than a half hour from any given fast food place, but
it was still foremost on the kids’ minds. But then again, why should that
surprise me?
The “Happy Meal”. Or, I suppose for a period it was
patriotically called the “All American Meal” to capitalize on Americans’
loyalty to our country following 9-11. Either way, it is a unique and innovated
product that has certainly cemented its place in the annals of the fast food
world. I cannot think of a single kid out there who doesn’t know its name by
the age of 3.
The product,
consisting of a “main dish” of a hamburger, box of “chicken” nuggets, a drink,
cookies, and a toy has been around my entire life. I can remember when I was a
child that a Happy Meal was the ultimate treat. Just feeling the small cardboard
M in my hands as my parents handed the Happy Meal box to me in the backseat of
our Chrysler station wagon was certainly the highlight of my day, if not week.
And, wow… to know that there was a toy in that box of goodness! Of course,
usually it was the cheapest item that would break within a couple of hours, but
that didn’t matter. Getting that Happy Meal with that wonderful surprise inside
made going to McDonald’s the best thing that anyone could have done for me.
Thinking about it from marketing point of view, the kid’s
meal phenomenon in the fast food industry is pure brilliance. There are so many
business advantages to doing this as a restaurant, such as marketing to the
broader audience, using screaming kids in a car to influence the parents to
choose your business, building brand loyalty by regularly offering new toys or
other gimmicks, and most importantly socializing each new generation to think
of your food establishment as the first and primary source of sustenance when
they are hungry.
The last point is the most serious one in my opinion. And, I
think that marketing gimmicks like the Happy Meal are designed to do just that:
to indoctrinate each new generation into becoming dependent on the product. The
problem with this situation is that we are training our kids to become
dependent on something that is not only unhealthy, but is also expensive and
more and more addictive as they shovel the Happy Meals down. I believe the
first role of a parent and the rest of the village is to train and educate our
children to do good things and live well, but unfortunately it seems that
convenience has been put in the driver’s seat with the way we feed our kids. And,
the exploding rate of childhood obesity is definitely proof of this.
It’s not just “on the go” eating for our kids, either. Many
parents will pack all of the kids up in the car, drive to the fast food place,
go through the drive-thru and get the food, then drive back home and sit down
at the table to eat all of it. Sure, it’s nice to have a break from cooking
from time to time, but for many families this is a daily routine for even more
than one meal. The real cooked meal that kids get at school in many cases is
the only wholesome food they receive all day.
Sure, McDonald’s has included options for apples and milk to
go with the Happy Meal, but let’s face it, very, very few kids actually take
those options. The soda and fries are much more inviting, and in fact, they are
the options featured on the commercials and advertising. They are what McDonald’s
would much rather you choose, particularly because these are the options they
will want you to choose as you grow up and become lifelong customers.
It’s really on the adults, not the kids. We’ve done this to
our kids, plain and simple. If we are going to break this addiction as a
society, we’re going to have to start at the beginning by educating and
training our kids about better eating.
