Do Kids’ Menus Do More Harm Than Good? Kids can be picky eaters. This is a fact recognized by parents and restaurants alike—hence the classic children’s menu featured at many restaurants around the country. These menus are virtually identical: chicken tenders, mac and cheese, grilled cheese, french fries, and so on. Kids’ menus are loaded with fried foods and cheap carbs.
down to control. By giving kids the option of the children’s menu, you relinquish culinary control to your kids. The next time you go out as a family or youmake a delicious meal at home, they are more likely to demand “their” food. This is a habit a child can quickly adopt —and a habit that’s tough to break. Kids are picky eaters because, as parents and adults, we let thembe picky eaters. We perpetuate bad habits. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In a Mom.me article, Dr. Cara Natterson suggests kids eat what the rest of the family eats. For instance, let them indulge in the appetizer menu, then build up to the entrée menu and let them share and sample your food. Encourage culinary exploration. When you encourage your kids to avoid the children’s menu, you give them an opportunity to expand their flavor horizons. More importantly, it helps themmake healthier choices that aren’t loaded with fat and empty carbs. Make going out to dinner a learning experience, and before you know it, the phrase “kids’ menu” will have disappeared from your family’s vocabulary.
Some parents love the kids’ menu. It makes deciding on food easier. Or, at least, that’s what we tell ourselves. Kids’ menus are populated with foods practically every kid loves. But they have a dark side. Aside frompoor nutrition, the kids’ menu changes the family dynamic. In an interviewwith Eater.com, television chef and host Alton Brown (who you may know from “Good Eats,” “Iron Chef America,” and “Cutthroat Kitchen”) said, “Never, ever, ever, ever, ever let your kid eat from the children’s menu at restaurants and never, ever, ever make your kid special food to allow them to avoid whatever the family is eating.”
Why? During his “Alton Brown Live!” tour, he explained that it comes
Meet MATTIE SHERRILL! ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT
The teamat Next Level Tumbling is pleased to introduce our athlete of themonth: Mattie Sherrill!
Society, Peer Helpers, and the Key Club, Mattie wears many academic hats. She is also the Vice President of Project Outreach at Spanish Fort High School and a
member of the Red Shoe Krewe, which is a volunteer group for the RonaldMcDonald House that assists parents and families when their child is hospitalized for long periods of time. Not only that, but Mattie is also amember of Life Teen at Christ the King. This summer, she volunteeredwith Habitat for Humanity and the American AutismCenter. Mattie has not decidedwhere she would like to attend college, but her top three schools of choice are Auburn, Troy, and Florida State. She hopes to study kinesiology and become an occupational therapist or to study biomedical sciences with hopes of eventually attendingmedical school. In addition to school and cheer, Mattie will be competing in the Distinguished YoungWomen pageant later this year. Her talent portionwill incorporate all of her athleticism—dancing, tumbling, and flag twirling— into one routine. Her song of choice: “It’s the Hard-Knock Life.”We wishMattie all the luck in the world, andwe know she will do great things in her future!
This August, Mattie started her senior year at Spanish Fort High School. Not
only is she a varsity cheerleader, Mattie was also chosen as an All-American Cheerleader at camp this summer. As a result, she will be traveling to London to cheer in a parade later this year.
As amember of the color guard, National Honors Society, Mu Alpha Theta (amath honor society), National Spanish Honor
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