The Best and Worst of the Kid’s Menu

Men’s Health magazine just released a List of Best and Worst Kids’ Meals 2009 available in restaurants today. My jaw dropped as I read the report highlighting items that my kids ate regularly when they were still ordering from the Kids’ Menu. Looking at this from the viewpoint of a parent, I was shocked and I felt somewhat misled by some of my favorite restaurants. Some of these numbers are so staggering it’s a wonder how any company could offer these foods to children and still sleep at night!

Thinking back, I wonder if I knew then, what I know now, would I really change my mind about what I allowed my kid’s to eat while dining out, or would I reluctantly give in to whatever choice made them happy so my wife and I could try to enjoy a pleasant dinner? Would I have to trade my quasi-sanity for nutrition…yikes…that is a tough choice. But that’s the good news—the content of this report doesn’t leave you feeling hopeless, but rather I feel hopeful as a parent. Healthy alternatives are available, and at least for every negative listed in the report, there is a positive menu choice item as well. I am sure restaurant execs are thanking their lucky stars for this…

While I was somewhat taken back at first, I think this report sheds some light on the fact that while something may not seem so bad, we really have to look a little deeper into what we are about to put into our mouths and into the mouths of our children to really know. Maybe we need to ask a few more questions regarding nutritionals before we assume a Baskin-Robbins Small Snickers Shake isn’t probably that much worse than the candy bar itself. Think again, it has nearly 4 times the amount of fat and sugar as one regular Snickers candy bar.

Making healthier menu choices for our young children now will save us all time, money and heartache down the road. I think there’s a reason they call it lifelong health problems—these problems begin when we are children, they don’t just happen when we hit age 40 & over. Maybe if we all pay just a little more attention, we can wipe that term out all together.