- Kids -

Counteracting the Happy Meal Syndrome

This may not work for everyone but for very young children (3 and 5) I have used the tactic of going to a 'grown up restaurant' when its time for a special treat. At that age they like the idea of doing something adult. The drawbacks of course are obvious...it costs more than McD's, it takes longer, it involves more preparation (you have to wear something other than your sweatshirt with the dirt and grass stains ground into the fabric). The plus side is that you actually get to order decent food, the atmosphere is more pleasant and relaxed by a factor of 10 and you actually get to carry on an interesting conversation (well as best as a 3 year old can manage).

Follow Ups:

None.