Where did personal responsibility go?

[DuckiesDarling]

I often read news stories online and even some threads here that have me asking where is the personal responsibility? This news story just leaves me flabbergasted.

McDonald's Happy Meals to blame because my kids are obsese (http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/rest-of-world/4906580/McDonalds-in-fight-to-sell-Happy-Meals)

The woman in this lawsuit seems to have a problem telling her kids "No". Her solution, sue McDonald's and try to force them to stop selling Happy Meals because the toys are making her kids want unhealthy food.

McDonald's seems to be a target for a lot of things, take the movie "Supersize Me" but please take it with a bit of salt. Even if you ate nothing but rabbit food and cut off exercising and anything else that keeps a normal person healthy you would experience a change in your body. Some skeptics actually ate nothing but McDonalds and kept a careful log and found they LOST weight.

The bottom line is that we as humans are responsible for what we put in our mouths. It's not McDonald's fault for making food that is quick to get and easy to eat and more affordable than an actual healthy meal someplace else. It's not McDonald's fault that people are exercising less as mass transit and sendentary jobs become a way of life. It's not McDonald's fault that a parent has difficulty saying no to a child. That's part of being a parent, if the woman in that article doesn't learn that soon then what other life lessons will she fail to pass on to her kids?

[Ushanki]

DD,
Sue me. You are overly indulged in the sexual matters of two all beef patties (nice ass) special sauce (that'd be from me, or other males) lettuce, cheese (been "down there" too) pickles (no need to articulate that) onions (a turn-off for me) on a (nice looking set of) sesame, (I) seed (UR) buns!
I take FULL responsibility for the forgoing inane antics.
Yours,
R.U.
p.s. no hot dog pic attached, with due respect, to (assumed) 2 nice beef patties
p.p.s. "Nanny State" sucks - sorry, just one "political" snide remark is my limit :) More upon request, however. q:-p

[Ushanki]

And condolences to the loss of UR fellow ANZACs, in the earthquake (& ruddy floods). Hope you were spared any such.

[_Joe_]

Personal responsibility was outsourced years ago, where the hell have you been ?

Public Schools are treated as public daycare. If a student doesn't learn the material, it's not because parents weren't involved in his homework, or the kid ignoring the teacher or skipping class - it's all the teachers fault.

If a person gets laid off from work, its not because they were lazy or not doing a job but the boss is a dick.

If someone's upset their friends got something new and shiny, it's not their fault they didn't save their money or worked to get the money to get the new and shiny, but the manufacture's fault it cost too much.

If someone is too engrossed on the telephone to look over their shoulder before changing lanes and getting in a wreck, then its clearly not their fault and they lie out the ass to their insurers screwing the person they hit.

If an employee is bitter because they didn't get much of a bonus at Christmas, surely it can't be their lousy work ethic and countless hours fixing little mistakes that never reached a level that justified letting go (oh that ones personal mind you), it's because their boss was a stingy asshole.

The list goes on and on.

It's very few times someone will man up and realize the problem - may very well be themselves.

[tenni]

"It's not McDonald's fault for making food that is quick to get and easy to eat and more affordable than an actual healthy meal someplace else. "

Although I believe that it is a person's responsibility as to what they put in their mouth to eat, I do expect my government to insure that what food is being offered to me is safe and to some extent healthy. I'm not sure that "restaurants" that serve food that is unhealthy should be permitted to be in business. The question for me is at what level of unhealthy should the line be drawn. When we reflect upon the statement that a certain cola was offered with actual cocaine as part of its ingredients and is no longer, I think that there is a point to regulations as far as food.

Offering food that is affordable is important and will increasingly become more difficult as the decade continues according to some reports. Offering food that is quick to get and easy to eat is not the same as food that is safe and healthy. Quick and easy to eat are marketing strategies but safe and healthy food is not. It should be essential. Has society been co opted not to demand that the food that it is offered in restaurants is affordable, safe and healthy?

[Ushanki]

Guess I'm a pure country boy 'cause for me, fast food IS safe and healthy, quite naturally: rabbits are fast; food and healthy.
Fox and coyotes love'm - they're healthy too.

[Falke]

Great, another lazy parent whom wants the world to change for her.

One word will solve the problem and that word is no. Take charge of your kid and be a parent rather than limiting the choices for the rest of us!

[darkeyes]

I agree with u all I really do. But McDonalds and others rely on the fact that many parents are not able to resist their child's cries of want and their tantrums. It is all very well being holier than thou saying how it should be, but commercial companies like Macdonalds and a myriad of others, producers of good food, indifferent and bad, and a million and one other products know very well that parents are untrained in the main and learn on the job (or dont as the case may be), and that children do not come with a handook, are all different and are determined, clever, scheming little sods. They rely on these facts and so they offer little toys of Mickey scratching his arse or whatever, or Goofy picking his nose, advertise them on telly and set off millions of kids demanding from their parents this and that. They may not be responsible for parental weakness and inability to maintain discipline, but they are responsible for the creation of the strife parents get whether or not they are able to resist their child's demands. It is one thing to create a demand for adults.. quite another to create a demand from children knowing fine well that many parents will do things for an easy life and a bit of peace and quiet. It is deliberate policy of such companies knowing very well the strengths and weaknesses of parents, and those of their children.

McDonalds and other companies do not then bear all the responsibility for children's behaviour.. but they do bear a goodly amount because of their irresponsible playing on the love, weaknesses and our desire as parents to please our children... they know their audience, and so they do as they do..

Kate and I are sadly blue meanies in Shiv and Lou's eyes.. demand and/or show us up and all treats are off. One warning is all they get. Occasionally not even that. I was a little beast when a child and used every trick in the book to get my own way.. but being a successful spoilt little brat, I know just about every trick in the book and so it is rare for our kids to pull a fast one and succeed.

[elian]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ12Ry-hD6I

[SlightlySalty]

McDonalds and other companies do not then bear all the responsibility for children's behaviour.. but they do bear a goodly amount because of their irresponsible playing on the love, weaknesses and our desire as parents to please our children... they know their audience, and so they do as they do..


The problem with that perspective is, when does a parent begin to draw the line? What starts with giving in to fast food can rapidly escalate. Before you know it you've got a totally spoiled child that has never learned that they don't always get their way. I understand wanting to please your child and have certainly been guilty myself, but a good part of being a parent is knowing that sometimes saying no and teaching limits is what's needed most. Sometimes we have to be the bad guy and not try to pass it off on others.

[Bicuriousity]

Hey somebody has to protect us from us! We are our own worst enemies....

[buck-rogers]

My GOD! McDonald's has a successful business model that not only ensures they stay in business but it has also turned them into a multi-million dollar corporation...

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/think_of_the_children_186.jpg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh2sWSVRrmo)

[DuckiesDarling]

LOL Buck, nice cartoon.

The point is that McDonald's does offer healthy things even in the evil Happy Meal. You can substitute apple slices for fries, milk for coke stuff like that. Something that is easy to do, I know for me when my boys wanted Happy Meals for the toys, they had the toys taken away until the meal was eaten. Often they went for chicken nuggets rather than hamburger and they always wanted apples instead of fries and milk instead of coke, I'd only let them have Sprite anyway since there is no caffiene. But McDonald's was a once a week on Friday night after I got paid thing, not an everyday thing.

But for this one person it was easier to sue than to just say no. It's lawsuits like this that make me ashamed that Americans can sue anyone for anything if they are willing to pay the filing fee.

[Hephaestion]

The problem with nonsense like this is that when a real case comes up it is ridiculed. We are getting this in Europe with the Human Rights Act.

Who's to blame. The dim wit judges who lose sight of reality.

For goodness sake why does anyone need to put "Warning. Contains nuts" on a packet of peanuts.

As for Mucky D's, they should be put out of business for poor English ("I'm loving it") and using the clown figure.

When they first opened an outlet in my local, we found that it was impossible to sit down and eat in the 'Resturant' because they had screwed the seats and tables to the floor in non human positions. Next they would drive in a small convoy with the clown (Double entendre intended) in the lead car and prevent anyone from getting past. They have since learnt their lesson (mostly) but the shabby thinking in the company has been shown. Hamburger UNiversity indeed. The French have the better idea. Flambe'd burgers taste better anyway (at which point I confess a weakness for Burger King at times of severe need)

[darkeyes]

The problem with that perspective is, when does a parent begin to draw the line? What starts with giving in to fast food can rapidly escalate. Before you know it you've got a totally spoiled child that has never learned that they don't always get their way. I understand wanting to please your child and have certainly been guilty myself, but a good part of being a parent is knowing that sometimes saying no and teaching limits is what's needed most. Sometimes we have to be the bad guy and not try to pass it off on others.

The perspective to which u refer is not intended to be divorced from the rest of my post.. standing on its own it says something which is factual yet is only a small part of the whole. Our kids are taught the value of things and that when we say no we mean it. This does not mean that we are harridans and draw a line, put up a finger and say thats it, end of discussion. They are encouraged to discuss with us why we have made the decision, and they are encouraged to articulate and justify, but not badger, why it should be changed. Once a decision is made finally however it is final and they are raised knowing that, and it works remarkably well. Tantrums are not tolerated under any circumstances (what I hypocrite I am as tantrums were my stock in trade as a child) and in such circumstances all bets are off.

Unfortunately, the girls have learned that they can twist round their little fingers the very same man I used to twist round mine... he adores the lil so an so's and spoils them rotten. Grandparents will be grandparents however, but thank God for mum, my own personal blue meanie when I was a child who ensures it never gets out of hand...:)

[Long Duck Dong]

Mc'd's is so wrong.... I swear......

based around many years of pseudo scientific research by vegetarians that change their diet from a no meat diet to a full mcdonalds diet, I would say that we can definitely say that the food at mcdonalds is fattening and unhealthy,..... and that the soggy mashed potatos, over cooked peas and meatloaf that can double as building blocks in 3rd world countries, is far more healthy for us.......

they also infringe on our rights to not have to say no to our kids and our continued desires to force the kids to eat the over cooked vegetables at our tables with threads of various forms of child abuse if they do not risk food poisoning at our own hands

sure, we should have the government step in and dictate what forms of food we can and can not eat, while we decry the same governments for stepping in and saying that we can not be wed to people of the same gender, and we tell the government to butt out of our love lives, while asking them to infringe on our rights to decide what we eat.....

ok, sarcasm aside

Mc'Ds is guilty of providing a service by way of forms of food that is consistently eatable and many times, is more healthy than the same food we eat at home.....

Mc'Ds is not guilty of our own kitchenophobia and OMGcookingophobia, that is clearly demonstrated by people that avoid their kitchens like vampires avoid sunlight ( and vampires do not fuckin sparkle... they burn up like some peoples meatloaf ), the same people that have the unusual ability to find the energy and motivation to go buy fast food / junk food and develop weight issues, yet fear the kitchen, cooking and eating a simple, basic and easy diet

we are too quick to play the blame game, and say " its other peoples fault "
and we need to face the fact that it is not Mc'Ds fault that we try to squeeze a size 42 ass into a size 40 pair of jeans and then take up 2 seats at the local picture theatre

like, smoking and drinking, I am responsible for what goes into my mouth.... and if Mc'Ds is guilty for advertising fast food that is deemed unhealthy... then supermarkets are guilty of advertising food products that I can use myself to make a calorie loaded, artery choking, constipation inducting burger in the safety of my own home......

mcdonalds burgers are made out of the same food stuffs that we can buy every day from a supermarket.... they are not some alien food product that is grown on the moon and transported to earth to the secret roswell mcdonalds processing plant, the only difference is the way the food is made and now much of it I shove in to my gob......

but no, we have a parent that can not handle being a parent and saying no to her kids.... so wants to sue Mc'Ds cos she is exercising her right to say no to her kids as a responsible parent....

IF we want the government and the courts to ban peoples rights to eat food of their choice.... then the same people need to stop telling the government to stop denying people the rights to same sex marriage and equal rights.....
cos a responsible and mature parent will control their kids food intake and keep it as healthy as possible without denying the kids, the occasional treats.... and people that are not parents, would not realise that something that starts at home... not in the courts or in the hands of the governments

simply and bluntly, if you do not want your kids eating happy meals, don't buy them.. but don't blame a food product producer for your choice