Posted on 12/17/2010 6:11:53 AM PST by FredJake
If Monet Parham gets her way, McDonalds will be forced to remove the toys from its popular Happy Meals.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group based in Washington, filed a complaint in San Francisco Wednesday accused the fast food giant of "deceptive marketing and business practices", according to an article at Business Week.
Parham, a California State employee, told Business Week, “I don’t think it’s right to entice children into wanting Happy Meals with the promise of a great toy.”
Apparently, Parham's 6 year old daughter, Maya, is a big fan of the toys included in the meals, especially those "based on Barbie, i-Carly, Shrek, or Strawberry Shortcake", according to the UK Daily Mail. Parham said:
"What kids see as a fun toy, I now realise is a sophisticated, hi-tech marketing scheme that's designed to put McDonald's between me and my daughters.
"For the sake of other parents and their children, I want McDonald's to stop interfering with my family.
"This litany of requests [to eat at McDonald's] is draining and very frustrating for children. I would like this practice to stop."
In other words, Parham thinks that McDonalds is somehow preventing her from saying "no" to her daughter when she demands a Happy Meal.
But the New York Daily News reports that when Parham said "no", her children "pouted". Somehow, this is all McDonald's fault, and rises to the level of a class action lawsuit.
(Excerpt) Read more at examiner.com ...
Unbelievable.... How about she just does not take her daughter to McDonald’s if it is such a problem for her?
This woman may just be the dumbest person on the planet
"I would never take my child to a dollar store for toys...even my two year old wants free toys"
It’s just the Nanny State mentality in action.
Has anyone opened a box of Cracker Jack lately?
Remember the toy inside?
The toy is now just a folded up piece of paper that the kid will immediately throw away.
What? And cook at home? Never!
Whatever happened with taking on the parent role, being responsible for your children, and not letting them rule the house.
And where has she been eating? She looks kinda´ fat herself.
How is it deceptive? The kids know it comes with a toy and so does everyone, no one is being decieved.
BTW, does Sonic burgers still come with a peppermint candy??
Gee, as I kid, I remember being “enticed” by Cracker Jack and my parents being OK with it....I also remember Cinnamon Crunch putting CDs on boxes for my Kids and as their parent, I liked it. This is outrageous. Only reason kids even know about the toys is probably because they sit in front of the TV all day.
When my kids were little, they would not have known what was in a Happy Meal unless they saw a commercial, which they didn’t see often as they didn’t watch network tv...
...have you seen the Donut Dolly we have as Surgeon General?
Well, it's not like they can entice them with the promise of a great meal.
On the other hand, have you seen the toys? They really aren't that "great".
And maybe she didn't know that she can buy the toy and throw out the meal, if she is incpable of telling her kids "no".
Maybe she didn't know that McDonalds has a slightly more healthy version of their happy meals as well, with fruit and everything. But that would again require that she can tell her kids what they can eat, which is apparently difficult for her.
It’s just a choreographed shakedown. Any lawyers from the Center for Wackos should be disbarred for phonying up this scam.
WTF? Is this true? /sarc
There is a distinct difference between "Parent" and "Friend", parents are the control in a situation, friends just go along to get along. Tell thes eidiots to stop being their kids friends and start being their parents.
"It's all about me, Me, MEEEEEE!"
No wonder her children are whiny pains.
Too many of today's parents were never told NO,and can't conceive of telling their offspring NO.A large portion of America's population IS actually lazy and whiny,worse,they have been rewarded for that behavior all their lives.
That group is a 501(c)3. What SHOULD happen is that since all these so-called nonprofits are subsidized by the taxpayer if they sue a standard corporation any money they win should go directly in to the US Treasury.
““I don’t think it’s right to . . . .”
“I want McDonald’s to stop interfering with my family.”
“I would like this practice to stop.”
Well, Monet, whatever you “don’t think”, “want”, and “would like” will just have to rule the rest of us through the power of Big Government, won’t it?
Anything else you’ll be outlawing soon, Monet, because you don’t like it?
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