Hmm...interesting question.

[firecat88]

On the Facebook fan page for the show Bitchin' Kitchen (which is actually pretty entertaining), questions get posed on a daily basis for people to discuss. The one from this morning was, I thought, a pretty good one:

Kid Krap. A lot of chain restaurants are re-vamping their kid’s menus to include some stuff that is vaguely nutritious and probably won’t leave your tots screaming their way through a sugar rush on the way to grandmas. What changes would you make to popular kid fare?

My answer? Get rid of the cliche stuff like chicken nuggets, PB&J, and pizza. Instead, just take the regular menu items and make kid-friendly, kid-sized portions of 'em. I dunno about anyone else, but when I was a kid, there was no such thing as me eating PB&J for dinner while the rest of the family ate something else. I ate whatever my mom made and that was that. Restaurants should do the same.

[draggar]

Mac&Cheese is another one. But, I can see this - making smaller portions but I think a lot of the food comes in pre-portioned for adults.

[dalesys]

..a lot of the food comes in pre-portioned for adults.

Two or three adults, at that.

[monolayth]

When the kids go to restaurants I make them order actual food. Not chicken strips. Not anything that I make at home.

[Kittish]

I agree that the whole kid's menu thing is a bit silly and even rather out of hand. When I was a kid, I wanted to eat what the adults had when we were at a restaurant, and resented having to order from the kid's menu.

A lot of things restaurants serve are indeed pre-portioned, especially in fast food and chain restaurants, but it shouldn't be too tough (at least I don't think it would be) to halve (or even quarter, dalesys makes a good point- entree portions are entirely too large most of the time) entree portions for a kid's meal.

[AdminAssistant]

When I was a kid, I had to eat whatever Mom cooked, of course. So when we went out, it was actually a treat to eat chicken strips, spaghetti, mini-pizzas or whatever. A lot of kids just don't have the desire (or palate) to tuck into a sirloin with baked potato and roasted vegetables. I don't care what the little ones eat as long as they're quiet.

[MoonCat]

I don't think this would work well, unfortunately. I can just hear SC's yelling, "What do you mean you don't have PIZZA or HOT DOGS or MAC & CHEESE!! My child DEMANDS his favorite foods!"

[Amina516]

I feel like there should be more kid options, but definitely dont take away the traditional kid options. My kids love to order grilled cheese, and though I can make it at home, going out is a treat for them so they can usually get what they want. Now, I do sometimes put the kibosh on ordering cheeseburgers everywhere and make them have some pasta and chicken or something.