McDonald's always gets a huge amount of bad press about the rubbish it feeds its customers and how it is a major part of the world's obesity problem. Well, I have to say, we go to McDonald's quite regularly because they have a huge soft play area where the kids can run off some steam and I think you can actually eat pretty well there if you make the right choices. I think you possibly get more healthy options in France than you do in the UK, but last time I went, I had a seafood salad and a Diet Coke. Pierre and Juliette had a Happy Meal with a hamburger, small portion of fries for Juliette/little bag of cherry tomatoes for Pierre, a pouch of fruit puree and a bottle of organic apple juice. Sophie had a McWrap filled with chicken (admittedly fried) and salad and a bottle of mineral water. Madhouse Daddy had unhealthy stuff but that was his choice ! Anyway, my point is, if you want to eat a balanced meal there, you can.
This weekend, McDonalds put on their annual Kids Sport Tour (or Kids Iron Tour as it used to be called). We couldn't go last year because it clashed with our holiday but the two years before that, they put on a kids' triathlon, inviting them to do a little circuit on a bike, run around a track and swim a length of a huge inflatable pool. It wasn't a real race - everyone won a medal and got a bag of goodies - but it was a fun way to spend an afternoon and inspire the kids to get moving.
This year, it was a bit different. In place of the triathlon, they had a series of six workshops, each featuring a different sport, and a passport that got stamped every time you completed an activity. All three of the Madhouse Mini-testers had a really good go at all of the different activities and I was actually really impressed at how well Pierre got on with some of them !
First up was cycling around a track with ramps and cones marking out gates to pass through.
Pierre had to sit this one out because they only had big bikes and none of them had stabilisers.
He couldn't wait to try out the next workshop though : softball !
Having seen how easy they make playing catch, I'm seriously thinking of buying some softball (or baseball) gloves for the kids to play with.
Juliette initially didn't want to take part in this activity because she thought it would be too hard but she had a ball (literally !).
Pierre amazed me. He seems to have a natural talent for softball - that must come from Madhouse Daddy's genes because he spent a year in the States ! For the batting session, Pierre was the smallest by far. The coach told all the fielders to come in close, then Pierre smashed it right down to the far end several times in a row, much to everyone's surprise !
Next up, baskbetball ! Pierre was determined to shoot a hoop and he got his wish in the end - the trainer picked him up so he could throw it through ! He really persevered though and seemed to have the knack for this too. He just needs to grow a bit more !
The girls played too while Pierre was getting a one-on-one training session.
He even learnt how to dribble !
I thought he looked very cute in his kimono when we moved over to the judo session.
He had great fun making big sister Juliette fall over !
And she didn't seem to mind a bit !
Next up was dance and here, my camera ran out of juice, way before the kids did ! They went on to do athletics before being treated to a McDonald's snack : bottles of water, little bags of apple slices and grapes and cookies.
I'm not saying McDonalds is always an ultra-healthy place to eat and you can definitely eat incredibly badly there if you want to, but I do think it tends to get demonised as the root of all evil. The Kids Sport Tour was great fun, really inspired the kids to get active and try out new sports they had never done before and, best of all, was totally free !
Disclosure : This is not a sponsored post in any shape or form. We just had a great day out and I thought I'd tell you about it !
Other blogposts you may be interested in :
I'm not saying McDonalds is always an ultra-healthy place to eat and you can definitely eat incredibly badly there if you want to, but I do think it tends to get demonised as the root of all evil. The Kids Sport Tour was great fun, really inspired the kids to get active and try out new sports they had never done before and, best of all, was totally free !
Disclosure : This is not a sponsored post in any shape or form. We just had a great day out and I thought I'd tell you about it !
Other blogposts you may be interested in :
It's all about choice... we hardly eat in McDonalds but I don't mind the odd floppy burger and salty fries on occasion. We certainly don't get the seafood salad option here!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like your kids had a great day trying out those sports.
Oi, my comment is not showing up. What I wanted to say that though we don't often go to McDonalds, I don't mind the kids having a meal there, as you say, you can always find a healthy option there. Look at cute Pierre in kimono, aww.
ReplyDeleteWell done to McDonald's for raising their profile with organised days such as these which promote an active lifestyle, I'm sure the children enjoyed themselves and had great fun - thanks for sharing on Country Kids.
ReplyDeleteI think the odd Mcdonalds (or Burger king etc) is a nice treat on occasion so wouldn't personally be bothered about more healthy options for the odd treat. Its when people eat there all the time it becomes an issue!
ReplyDelete