Labels are dumb

I’ve taken issue with McDonald’s labelling their toys for a while now. Namine proved me right.

We went to McDonald’s for lunch over the weekend. We let Namine order first, as is her preference.

“Hi!” she said to the cashier. “I would like a cheeseburger Happy Meal.”

The cashier looked down at Namine in her wheelchair. “With Gogurt or apple slices?”

Namine thought for a moment. “Apple slices, please.”

“What do you want to drink?”

“I would like an apple juice, please.”

The cashier looked up at me and Jessica. “Boy or girl toy?”

I was a little offended. I thought, Hey, she’s right there. First off, why don’t you ask her? But Namine answered anyway. “Girl toy. I’m a girl.”

I knew that wasn’t what the cashier meant, though. I asked what the toys were. The cashier told us that the boy toys were Spy Gear, and the girl toys were fairies.

Namine knew exactly what she wanted. “I would like a Spy Gear toy, please.”


There are days when I’m sure Namine would pick the fairy over the spy toys. There are days when she’d pick My Little Pony over Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but there are days when the opposite is true as well.

Call the toys by name, and let the child decide for themselves what they’d prefer.

2 responses

  1. Amen! Didn’t when you and Peter work at Mc D’s you have to say the toy name cuz you got in trouble for saying “boy toy” or “girl toy”?

    1. I can’t speak for Peter, but I worked the grill. I never sold food or handed out toys.

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