Teaching Parenting at McDonald's

A fast food restaurant can be a source of information for busy people as well as a source of a quick meal.

In Ashtabula County, Ohio, traditional approaches to parent education such as group meetings and support groups were reaching a limited number of participants. The idea of distributing parent education materials through kids' meals occurred to an Extension staff member while taking her young sons to a drive-through at a fast food restaurant. An Extension advisory committee had been brainstorming about how to reach parents of young children with parenting information.

The owner/operator of four McDonald's restaurants agreed to participate in the project in April 1988. Single-concept cards that parents could read quickly and then take home for later referral were prepared by Extension staff, printed by McDonald's, and put in kids' meals. A Take a Break with Your Kids parent education/family activity card was put in each kids' meal sold at participating restaurants. The target audience was parents of the 3-7 year olds who eat kids' meals. After its initial success in Ashtabula County, a statewide Extension inservice was conducted to expand this project to other counties. The cards were also made available at local Extension offices.

Thirty-six different cards have now been developed and distributed monthly for the past five years. Each card contains a parent education topic and a low-cost or no-cost family activity. The major objective of the project was to encourage parents and children to spend time together. Topics on the cards include: building a child's self-image, developing interpersonal communications, managing stress, discipline techniques, and promoting a safe, strong, and nurturing family environment.

Interviews with McDonald's customers showed this nontraditional method of parent education was having an impact on families. During in-store interviews of 547 people, 68% of the respondents indicated they'd read at least one card and 20% had tried some of the activities Parents reported older children read the cards and encouraged the family to try activities.

Since 1988, more than two million cards have been distributed at 47 Ohio McDonald's restaurants. Participating owner/operators felt this cooperation in strengthening families reflects positively on their company and shows they care about families and children. Currently, 75,000 Take a Break with Your Kids cards are distributed monthly in 24 of Ohio's 88 counties. With the increase of parents in the workforce, providing concise parent education in a product purchased for children has proven to be effective and efficient.