A woman is suing McDonald's because she claims her children are nagging her constantly for Happy Meals in order to get the toys inside. Monet Parham, a 41- year-old mother who works for the state of California is suing the fast food giant, saying that McDonald's has infiltrated her childrens' minds. “"We have to say no to our kids so many times and McDonald's makes that so much harder to do. I object to the fact that McDonald's is getting into my kids' heads without my permission and actually changing what my kids want to eat,” she said, when explaining the reason for the suit.
She and the Center for Science in the Public Interest are looking to making this a class action suit. They believe that McDonald’s deliberately “dangles” toys in front of children that causes them to beg and plead for a Happy Meal and this leaves parents feeling helpless and with a tendency to give in. Believing that McDonald's is intruding into a family’s personal life and business, the people filing the lawsuit believe these actions to be illegal. They believe these marketing techniques are done to encourage kids to pester their parents to take them to McDonald's. As one person involved in the lawsuit said, McDonald's is essentially out “to persuade the kids to persuade the parents to go to McDonald's.”
In reply, McDonald's has said they are not doing anything wrong and have enjoyed a long tradition of placing toys in children’s meals in order to provide a “fun experience” for kids and plan on fighting this suit. McDonald's spends several hundred million dollars a year on marketing Happy Meals and children’s toys.
Now, as a mother of children ages 4, 5 and 6 myself, I understand the Art of Nagging like no other. Children are born with a natural talent to nag and I have three experts on my hands. But the one thing we have that our kids do not is maturity and the wisdom that comes with it. We also have a responsibility to use certain words and these words should come from love and concern for our kids. One important word we parents need to use is the word “no”. It’s okay to explain why we say it – in fact, explaining it makes it easier for kids to comprehend why.
Kids don’t like that word - "no". They will battle it and negotiate it and generally do everything they can to get that word to morph into “yes”. But so what? They don’t like to brush their teeth either but does that mean we stand by and let them rot? When it comes to inane topics like Happy Meals being indoctrinated into our kids, we parents really need to take stock of our homes. Who’s really running the show here? Are we, or are our 3-year-olds? Have we really allowed our children to hold us hostage to the marketing department of a fast food company?
Has McDonald’s failed as a company? No, of course not – they are at the top of their game. Their strategies work and they have a proven track record, no matter what we may think of the company as a whole. Have we failed as parents? Apparently, that’s up to a judge to decide. Most of us don't need a court of law to tell us about the parental decisions we make for our children, unlike Parham - who clearly feels it’s time for the judicial system to raise her kids and perhaps make a buck or two from doing so.
Tell Us
What do you think of this lawsuit? Would you sue a company that make your kids nag you for its products?