Really

I don't know why I read news. It always either depresses me or makes me feel frustrated. I just read a story about a beautiful intelligent nine year old girl asking  Macdonalds to stop tricking kids. Her mother is a health food blogger and I totally respect that. I respect that little girl as well. That's not my problem. My problem is the belief that children should dictate what we do as parents. The notion that the toys make the parents buy the meals is silly. Yes they want the toys but there is always the option to say no. It's a tiny little word that for some reason people have a problem saying. Say it with me people, NO. See it wasn't too hard now was it? If you don't like their food and the calories therein, then don't go to MacDonalds. After all it is your choice to go there, your choice to order the meal, your choice to hand over your money to them, and your choice to feed it to your children. It's your choice. I know that obesity is high. I also know that one burger every month or so is not going to kill your cholesterol. They have made great strides to include fruit options and healthier options in their kids meals. They even changed the oil the fries are cooked in. If it is such a concern then why take your child to any fast food resteraunt at all? It is the parents decision. Maybe we should be less concerned with blaming the companies and put the blame where it lies, the parents that go to these places seven days a week. It is like me asking Little Debbie to stop making those delicious zebra cakes so delicious because I can't control my intake of them. That's not Little Debbie's fault, it's mine. I am an adult and I make the decisions for myself as well as my children. Because I am a responsible adult..... Macdonalds is not my favorite place to eat. They actually had an ad campaign in Boston that depicted a woman covering her eyes depressed like a poster for mental illness and it said you are not alone with thier satisfaction number on it. It looked like a hotline. When they got flack for it, they apologized and took it down. I was not happy. I am still not happy about it. What I have realized that maybe others have not, is sometimes companies do stupid things. They are ,after all, run by humans.

What gets me, is that some would like to stop having Macdonalds offering toys and get rid of Ronald Macdonald. First of all, the toys have been a part of Macdonalds for a very long time. I see no issue with this. If you do, then don't go there. Simple.  As for Ronald Macdonald, he always terrified me as a child. He was creepy, but you know who loves Ronald Macdonald? The families and children who depend on the Ronald Macdonald House for housing and care. These children and their parents aren't demonizing  a fast food chain about their greasy food  because their children have cancer. They have bigger issues to worry about like will mommy and daddy be with me while I go through chemo. Because a lot of these children don't actually live near the hospital they are patients in. Ronald Macdonald House supplies these families with hope. Hope they can be by their children and be present in their care. Macdonalds has charities and portions of the proceeds they make on their meals pay for that. In fact  there is one right beside the Children's hospital downtown in the city I live in. I am willing to bet there is one or more in yours as well. In fact there are Ronald MacDonald Houses in 57 countries. They offer not only help for families affected by their children having cancer but also have built sports centers for disabled children and built sensory rooms for children with cognitive and physical disabilities. They also have built playrooms in children's hospitals and clinics to help the children forget for a few minutes how sick they are.

MacDonalds does not trick children. They advertise to them, and so does almost every other fast food place. It is the sole responsibility of the parent to decide whether they want to eat their food. No one tells you to take your children there. It's a choice, and it's high time we stop blaming companies for our failure to be responsible. We are the parents. Macdonalds does not ask that you eat their food everyday, that's your choice and the blame is and should be placed directly on you. I may not like some of their totally unacceptable marketing campaigns, but I treasure them for what they are doing in our communities. I love them for what they are doing to help children and their families that suffer everyday. It is a shame that many refuse to see through thier judgmental glasses and realize that Macdonalds has made many children's lives better. They not only offer apple slices and cheese burgers. They offer hope to those that wouldn't have been possible  if Macdonalds wasn't there.


And my rant ends. Ugh.