One of the characteristics that restaurants that have friends with children have to have is the presence of a children's menu in their menu. Cheaper, with less amount of food… But, also with a different meal than the older ones? From here we want claim a healthier children's menu in restaurants.
As an adult, if only fish wands, chicken nuggets, hamburgers and frankfurter sausages appeared on a restaurant or hotel menu, I would be quite unhappy (and undecided). If the side dish is fries and you can't choose salad, you would eat without side dishes. If we add to that the absence of fruit and dairy in the dessert, better restaurant change.
The initial impression has been confirmed: they offer us an unhealthy menu. And it is as unhealthy for us as it is for children (although the options may seem more or less desirable, because the variety is the taste).
In the end, what we end up doing many times when we are traveling or eating out is asking for "adult" dishes for girls that they share (or share with us). Even sometimes we carry the fruit incorporated from home if we know with certainty that in the restaurant they do not have (which does not take away to put the culmination with a delicious sweet).
AdvertisingOn our recent trip to Dublin we were surprised by the absence of fruit in the options for lunch and dinner in various bars and restaurants, although this is not uncommon to happen in Spain and in other countries. So we bought fruit in stores and from there we were pulling throughout the day.
What should a children's menu include
I wish normal were healthier options in children's dishes of restaurants, with some basic "essential": Homemade soups and creams, grilled or grilled meats and fish (Specific, because it is usual to find these fried foods, in batters, etc.), vegetables and fruits, natural juices and water.
Drinks are not nonsense. Packaged juices and bubble soda populate the letters, but the water shines by its absence, and in many places the rescued tap jugs are not drinkable (or are quite inadvisable), so you have to ask for a bottle, which if not included In the children's menu you will have to pay separately.
Normally we will manage with a bottle for the whole family, but the situation is still strange: soft drinks, not recommended for children, are included in the price of the menu, but water is not. I recognize that the bottle of water that always accompanies me since I was a mother has served as an "emergency" supply on more than one occasion, also in restaurants.
As for the fruit, considering that most children do not consume the recommended amount of fruit and who else who least skip those pieces that are so valuable for health, having it as an option in restaurants would be fabulous. Seasonal fruits, or less common fruits in our houses, but what better than a fruit for dessert. In addition, it will generally be cheap enough to include on the menu without "ruining" the restaurateurs, even cheaper than other sweet desserts on offer.
Some will say ... "But if they eat fruit every day at home, let the difference be noticed in the bar." And you are right in that case. We also enjoy a cake or an ice cream in the restaurant. As we do at home from time to time. But also the difference can come in a slice of natural pineapple or some strawberries "touched" with cream, something we do not eat at home. The question is to be able to choose.
It should be normal and not the exception that some foods were part of those restaurant menus. Fortunately, even fast food chains seem to be aware of this need and are gradually taking steps towards positive additions to their letters. McDonalds has expanded its offer of healthy menus and other chains are incorporating the fruit, until recently invisible in these places.
Preventing obesity through proper eating habits and physical activity is a task in which society is involved, and restaurants are part of it, in terms of food. It is clear that subsidies are lacking, that healthy foods should be available to families, schools ... But we are going step by step, and this step is quite easy for restaurants. Or is it that there is no demand?
In short, I am sure that if restaurants offer healthier children's menus, they would probably have more customers (why would those who want fried or sweet, if they continue to offer, disappear?), surely happier and healthier. Big and small customers. And for eat Nuggets and hamburgers, we'll go to the fast food whenever we want.
