POPULAR CAFÉS ARE offering ultra-cheap and even free kids’ meals to tempt hard-pressed families in the door during the current cost of living crisis.

Ikea has been marketing low-cost kids meals in its Ballymun store’s popular cafe with outdoor advertising in Dublin. It offers kids’ pasta and tomato sauce for just 95c or vegan nuggets for €1.95.

Dunnes Stores offers a  €2 kids’ meal in its Dublin city centre café on Henry Street. This gives the option of sausages, chicken nuggets or pizza served with chips and peas and sweetcorn, along with a Freddo bar and juice box. 

Fast food chain Eddie Rockets told The Journal its “Kids Eat Free Tuesdays” deal, first launched in 2022, has soared in popularity over the past year.

It said parents are looking for ways to enjoy a treat without stretching the household budget, adding that its offer of a free kids’ meal with each adult meal on Tuesdays “has been hugely popular with families”.

An offer on Ikea's Irish website. Ikea Ikea

Eddie Rockets said its kids’ menu has been “designed with children in mind – smaller portions, a balanced drink option, and the choice of mash as an alternative to fries”. Ikea also gives the option of mash or fries, and serves kids’ options such as sausages or nuggets with peas or corn on the cob.

Registered dietitian Sandra Wilkinson, spokeswoman for the Irish Nutrition and Dietetics Institute, said kids’ meals in cafés and restaurants often comprise foods that are low cost to produce, and high in fat, salt and sugar.

Wilkinson emphasised that the nutritional composition of one treat meal out is not the issue, as parents may be feeding their child well at home most of the time. However, unhealthy kids’ meals such as sausages and chips can normalise certain food choices for children and influence their food habits.

“It’s very hard for parents. There is a cost of living crisis, and it is cheaper, unfortunately, to make unhealthy food choices,” Wilkinson said.

“My biggest issue is that it normalises those food choices for children. The food environment has such an influence over the choices that parents will make and those that children themselves make.”

900 calorie meals

Recently published analysis of kids meals in 84 Dublin restaurants by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) found the average chicken nuggets and chips kids’ meal contains 900 calories – more than three quarters of the daily recommended calories for a three-year-old, and over 40% of the recommendation for a 12-year-old.

The analysis did not include international fast-food chains, cafés or service stations, instead focusing on hotel restaurants, pubs and takeaways. Restaurant portions can sometimes be larger than those in cafés.

It found kids’ chicken nuggets and chips contained on average more than 2 grams of salt – the daily recommended limit for a three-year-old. The average salt in a kids’ sausage and chips was as high as 4.6 grams – 150% the recommended daily limit for a six-year-old.

Burger and chips or chicken curry averaged more than 1,000 calories, but pasta and sauce came in at less than 500 calories. Average salt content for these three options was above 2.5g.

The FSAI called on the food service industry to reduce portion sizes for kids and offer extra-small portions for younger children. It said healthier kids’ meals should be made more affordable and offered as a default option.

The state agency also surveyed restaurant owners and managers, who told it that chicken nuggets and chips was by far the most popular kids’ option on their menus. More than nine in 10 outlets offered chips as part of kids’ meals, most of which were deep fried.

Even when kids’ meal deals are not fried, they can be high in calories and sugar. Marks and Spencer’s €5.50 kids meal includes a sandwich or mini pizza, a snack and a juice box.

Obesity

There is mounting evidence that consumption of food service industry (as opposed to home-cooked) meals is increasing and contributing to poor diet quality among children, the FSAI said.

Almost one in five children in Ireland is overweight or obese.

Wilkinson advised parents eating out with kids to avoid fried food and try to ensure sure vegetables and fruit are served with every meal. She added that when eating in restaurants, parents could consider ordering a small portion of what they’re getting for their child, rather than the deep-fried kids’ menu.

“One of the things we don’t do very well in Ireland is that we don’t encourage our children to eat the same foods as us,” she said, adding that ensuring children eat enough fruit and vegetables is probably the biggest thing Irish parents get wrong when it comes to their kids’ diet.

Dunnes and Ikea did not respond to requests for comment.

With reporting by Christina Finn.