Even The Washington Post has reported on the kids’ meal controversy. A story from last September examined the reasons why adults are interested in ordering from kids’ menus. There’s the obvious reason: it costs less. If you ordered off kids’ menus at restaurants for an entire year, you’d save a significant amount of money.
But it turns out that the size of the meal is also a pretty big motivator. The Washington Post spoke with Ashley Garrett, a self-proclaimed “kids meal connoisseur” on TikTok. She confirmed that people in the weight-loss-surgery community are very supportive in the comments on her TikToks.
One user commented on Schwarz’s viral TikTok explaining that after having bariatric surgery, they were given a special card to show restaurants. “When I got my bariatric surgery the surgeon literally gave me a card to give to restaurants explaining I needed to order from the kids’ menu,” they wrote.
One has to wonder if restaurants are taking a financial hit from adult customers ordering kids’ menu items. On the other hand, in a Reddit thread from three years ago, one user wrote about the time when their mother tried to order from the kids’ menu, but was denied by the server. She chose to share a pizza instead of ordering her own meal. They said they had a good laugh “because the restaurant ended up losing money because of it.”
But according to one Redditor, the restaurant probably did not lose money due to how kids’ meals are targeted and sold.
“The restaurant likely did not lose money. Kids meals are typically sold either at cost or even at a loss in order to bring in families who will also order the profit-generating entries,” they wrote.
So, what do you think: should adults be allowed to order off the kids’ menu, or is it okay for restaurants to ban it?
