If it's in a McDonald's wrapper, it must be good -- even if it's carrots.
At least that's what preschoolers said in a study released this week. The kids were given identical foods wrapped in McDonalds wrappers or plain paper. The unmarked foods -- from McDonald's chicken nuggets to raw carrots -- always lost the taste test.
The study, funded by Stamford and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, involved 63 low-income children. A third
of the kids ate at McDonalds at least once a week. The study's authors say they believe the results would be the same for middle- to high-income families.
I find it incredibly sad that marketing and advertising have reached 3- to 5-year-olds so strongly.
It makes me even more committed to stay away from fast food whenever possible. And when we do go, I refuse to buy a happy meal. The kids don't need cheap toys as a reward for eating this stuff. French fries should be enough of a treat. Besides, I can feed everyone off the dollar menu for less than it would cost us to buy happy meals for everyone.
I'll never forget one time a couple of years ago when I had a bunch of errands that I had to run and it was lunch time. I zoomed through the drive through and got hamburgers and fries. After one bite both Niko and Lena took the gray rubbery burgers out of the bun, waved them in the air and asked "What's this mommy?" When I said it was a hamburger, they called it "yucky" and threw it on the floor and ate the bun instead. And I couldn't disagree with them.
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