CHEAP and EASY!

A friend of mine posted something on Facebook that caught my interest. Santa Clara County voted to ban McDonald’s from offering toys with their food. Yep, Happy Meals are no longer “Happy” in Santa Clara. First thought…parental control. No brainer huh? Tell parents not to take little Susie and little Johnny to Mickey Ds and the problem is solved. Well, if it was that simple, childhood obesity would not be on the rise. According to the CDC, childhood obesity has tripled in the last 30 years. No problem for parents who do not take their kids to the smiling clown restaurant! Well, not exactly. Who do you think pays for the rise in diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc? We do of course; through higher health insurance premiums is one way. Don’t worry I am not going down the Obama Care slippery slope. But, this does have major health care cost implications and I don’t think anyone wants to pay more in health care.

The problem is where should government draw the line when it comes to regulating our lives? I can hear it now…”The City of (insert name here) bans the use of (insert topic here). We already have laws about where you cannot smoke, when to wear a seat belt, wearing helmets while riding bikes, and thousands more. How about this law in Burlingame, CA…”It is illegal to spit, expect on baseball diamonds.” Or, in Cathedral City, it is against the law to sleep in a parked vehicle. Obviously laws are important and needed, especially regarding public safety, but to what end?

So, what are you recommending Mike? Sometimes I like to refer to myself in the 3rd person. Bob Dole and Jimmy from Seinfeld are near and dear to me…but I digress. I am not recommending anything. After all, I am not all knowing (don’t tell my kids.) I am merely sharing another dilemma in our culture. The easy response is that it is the parent’s responsibility and I actually agree with that response. But, what do we do when the parents fail? And, unfortunately, parents are failing on many fronts. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not suggesting banning Happy Meal Toys. This is a band-aid fix on a major wound and band-aids only last a little while before they fall off. What is needed is a major shift in American Culture. Why do we feel the need to have FOOD served FAST? Isn’t food the very thing that keeps us alive? Then why are we so QUICK to eat whatever is convenient? As long as we make it EASY and CHEAP for parents to feed, occupy, entertain, or whatever it takes to pacify our kids many people will take that route. The CHEAP and EASY doesn’t stop with fast food. What about our shopping habits? Hey, I hear there is a store where you can buy your underwear and your groceries for CHEAP! Are these giant mega-stores better or worse for our society as a whole? What happened to the days of knowing your grocer by name and taking his/her recommendation on which fruit was in season? Today it seems to be more important not what is in season, but how many can I get for the least amount of money.

I am not trying to pass judgment on anyone. We each have unique and challenging circumstances that might dictate some of the choices we make. Fortunately we live in a country that is full of choices. Unfortunately there are a lot of bad choices out there. No one ever said parenting was EASY!