Thursday, April 1, 2010

WARNING!

I'm on my soapbox again. I heard today that some people are petitioning that Ronald McDonald be retired/fired. Their explanation is that this character "lures" children into a life of fat by making McDonald's food and Happy Meals so appealing to the children.

My question is this. Where is the parents' responsibility? Can't they use that old-fashioned word, "NO". An occasional, and I mean occasional, Happy Meal won't make a child fat. It can if it becomes an everyday meal and not a treat.

This reminds me of a situation we had at the pool last summer. It seems that the lifeguards had the nerve to take a lunch hour. The grandparents were miffed that they had to tell the children that they had to leave the pool for just an hour. How could you disappoint a child that way. Again, obviously the children never heard that special word "NO". Of course, it never occurred to them that they could give the children their lunch at that time. Management gave in and now the lifeguards can eat at their post. And no one has to tell a child, "NO".

Maybe I don't understand because I'm not a grandparent, but I am a parent. I did not give in to my children all the time. They certainly heard the word "NO" and I think were better for it.

1 comment:

BetteJo said...

It's called moderation, not practiced nearly enough!

Boy the pool sure has changed! When I was a kid we were not allowed to even bring towels out of the locker room. There were no chairs and nothing was allowed other than a human in a bathing suit. And - something like 15 minutes out of every hour - we ALLLLL had to get out of the pool - I think just to make sure there was nobody floating at the bottom! We used to lay down on the hot concrete and just as the water was drying from our skin - it was time to get back in. No frills! Kids are spoiled these days and everybody gets a trophy!