Last week, the McDonald’s Corporation voluntarily chose to withdraw its sponsorship on the cover of Florida County school reports cards. They cited corporate responsibility for the health and well-being of children as a primary reason. Some believed that the campaign “preyed on children.” Please.

The report card does not say “CONGRATS! Eat french fries EVERY DAY!” Instead it rewards children with a happy meal for good grades, few absences or leadership. One Happy Meal per 8-week quarter, or four times a year.

Pizza Hut started a similar incentive in 1985. The BOOK IT! Program rewards children with personal pan pizzas simply for reading. My elementary school developed a competition between classes and, simple enough, the class that read the most won a pizza party. Two slices of cheese pizza and a semester’s worth of elementary literature in my head left me a happy camper.

A commentator on AdAge stated, “fast food is almost as vilified as cigarettes.” Brash. Examine the health risks of a McNugget Happy Meal versus nearly 600 additives in cigarettes. Nobody rewards a child with cadmium (battery acid), acetone (nail polish remover), and arsenic (rat poison) for passing social studies with an A-.

I ate McDonald’s as a child. Driving two children around from school to endless clubs and practices was a daunting task for my mother. Take into account that her cooking skills were sparse and we welcomed fast food. A cheeseburger happy meal with an orange Hi-C was my dinner of champions. Extra fries if we behaved well. Not healthy? Duh.

So what did I do? I got off my itty bitty bottom and exercised. Rode a bike, played tag with the neighbor kids or used our couch cushions as a trampoline (sorry mom and dad). The most I ever sat down was when I read a book and I was rewarded with, PIZZA! Hooray! Responsible parenting, physical fitness and food in moderation encourage healthy children.

Restaurant mega chains like Pizza Hut and McDonald’s are not out to get our kids. I do not believe in manipulating children for marketing, but I also do not see rewarding them once in awhile as a dire situation. Two years ago, McDonald’s began sending Ronald to poorly funded schools where he led exercise classes and taught children about healthy eating. The McDonald’s folks in Florida will still print the district’s report cards sans McD’s logo and meal offer. Still, people complain about corporate sponsorship of schools.

A number of public schools are cutting physical education, music and theatre programs just to afford books. Something has to give. Pun alert: that’s another issue that makes me Grimace.

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