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San Francisco bans toys in kids meals
No more Happy Meals in Frisco. Call them Healthy Meals. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors this week voted in favor of an ordinance to limit toy giveaways in children's meals that have excessive calories, sodium and fat, making San Francisco the first city in the nation to take such action. The restaurants can still offer a toy, but the meal has to be lower in calories and sodium and have at least one fruit or vegetable serving. It will take effect Dec. 1.
What was interesting about this battle was the strange befellows. More than a dozen local restaurants supported the measure, as did an eclectic mix of public health professionals, educators, parents, organizations, small businesses, community advocates, and faith leaders. McDonald's and other big chains spared no expense in opposing the measure, which made some of the skeptics point out that the aggressive lobbying shows how critical toy giveaways are in peddling fast food to kids.
The Happy Meal, which came along in 1979, revolutionized the fast food industry. "Happy Meals proved that you could actually 'brand' a meal and make kids harass their parents for it," said Adam Hanft, president of Hanft Raboy & Partners, a New York advertising and marketing firm.
So what do you think about such a ban? Do your kids beg you for a meal at a fast food joint based on what toy or hot movie chotsky they are offering with kids meals?
--Sharon Kennedy Wynne
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THE AUTHORS
Sharon Kennedy Wynne has sunscreen in her blood. She may have been born in Buffalo but she got here as fast as she could, in time for kindergarten. She grew up in St. Petersburg, graduated from the University of Florida journalism school, and even got married at Sunken Gardens. She's one of the few adults we know who actually loves taking her kids to the beach. She has two sons and with 10 years of parenting under her belt, she's starting to feel a little less out of her league. She comes from a large family and loves to debate, so brace yourself when the hot topics come up.
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Freelance writer Courtney Cairns Pastor wasn’t so sure about having kids and how she would balance child-rearing with her journalism career. It turned out that her journalism training went to good use. As the mom to a funny, active toddler, she learned to handle him like she did her sources. Never ask yes or no questions (the answer will always be no), get him to be specific (are you crying because you’re wet or your tooth hurts?) and be prepared for anything because no two days are the same. When she’s not playing trucks, Courtney crams for her book club, trains for races and occasionally bursts into showtunes. E-mail her at 
Suzannah DiMarzio has it bad for the Mouse. Although she grew up outside of Boston, she took her degree in tourism management down to Orlando just to work at Disney and the travel industry. Of course, when she married her high school sweetheart, the reception was at Disney. She’s now a seasoned stay-at-home mom to two tweens and a toddler – and yes, that is as crazy as it sounds. Suzannah has her own blog, Comment Policy
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