I thought we heard enough from the food police disguised as the First Lady and the Mayor of NYC.  Well, I was wrong.  We now have a 9-year old “scolding” the CEO of McDonald’s for not wanting kids to be healthy so they can live long and happy lives.

Yes, Hannah Robertson, whose mother is Kia Robertson, member of the advocacy group, Corporate Accountability International, attended a shareholders’ meeting of McDonald’s and told Don Thompson, “Something that I don’t think is fair is when big companies try to trick kids into eating food that isn’t good for them by using toys and cartoon characters…. It would be nice if you stopped trying to trick kids into wanting to eat your food all the time.”

I don’t get this story on so many levels.

First of all, I believe this 9-year old child was used by her mother for her own ideological views and I hate it when parents do this. I guarantee if the child spoke on behalf of the Tea Party, her mother would be blasted by the liberal press and audited by the IRS.

The last time I looked, we had child labor laws in this country so 9-year old children are not forced to work and earn their own money to buy their own food.  Parents still control the purse strings and if a parent doesn’t want his or her child eating food at McDonald’s, it’s up to the parent to make those decisions, not the child.  Period.

This nonsense reminds me of the story about Park Slope (Brooklyn) parents who backed a ban on ice-cream trucks in Prospect Park in order to avoid screaming kids.  How pathetic is that?  Parents didn’t want to suffer through their child’s meltdown when an ice cream/Italian ice push cart came by in the park.  One stupid woman had the audacity to say, “I should not have to fight with my children every warm day on the playground just so someone can make a living!”  She’ll be in for a rude awakening when her children hit puberty.

Next, we’re talking about capitalism and advertising.  I see ads on television for a thousand different items every year.  That’s the beauty of capitalism and advertising.  It doesn’t mean I go out and buy those thousand items.  In the case of children, again, it’s up to the parents to control what they buy for their children, be it food, clothing, toys, or anything else.  If you don’t want your child to eat hamburgers, then don’t buy them hamburgers.  If you succumb to your child’s every wish or whim that you believe isn’t good for them out of fear of a tantrum, then you’re a lousy parent.

I fondly remember eating Cracker Jacks, a combination of molasses, popcorn and peanuts, as a child and the whole point was to get to the toy inside.  I don’t ever remember anyone complaining to the Cracker Jack Company that it shouldn’t tempt children with toys by hiding them in a sugary treat.  But, back then, we weren’t numbly sitting around in front of the television or computer screen or playing games on a hand-held machine.  We were actually outside playing and burning off all those delicious calories.

When I was a kid, I ate what was put in front of me, not because there were starving children in China (my parents never said anything like it), but because my parents were the boss of me.  I guess, nowadays, a child is the boss of their parents.

Finally, young Miss Thompson and her mother should be aware of the millions of dollars donated by McDonald’s every year and especially the good works done by the Ronald McDonald Houses.  They’re obviously unaware of the 322 houses in 52 countries which provide a place to stay for families with hospitalized children who are receiving treatment.  The estimated value to these families is $257 million.  There are currently 43 Care Mobiles that offer affordable health care to more than 100,000 children in their own neighborhoods which saves families about $10 million in medical and dental costs each year.  Apparently, this doesn’t mean much to them.

If you don’t want your children eating at McDonald’s, don’t take them there.  End of story.

I don’t get it, but if you do, God bless you.