McDonald’s removes the Happy Meal smile

To mark Mental Health Awareness Week (13 May – 19 May), McDonald’s has partnered with BBC Children in Need to remove the smile from their Happy Meal boxes. ‘The Meal’ project aims to encourage families to discuss children’s feelings and mental health, emphasising that ‘it’s okay not to feel happy all the time’.

To facilitate this discussion, McDonald’s will provide emotion sticker sheets, enabling children to express themselves. What is more, the boxes will also feature QR codes, offering parents resources on how to support their little ones. On McDonald’s Family Hub, parents will be able to access printable documents, including:

Feelings Diary (where children can record their emotions throughout the week)
Drawing Feelings (where children can draw faces corresponding to different feelings)
Exploring Feelings (helping children understand the reasons behind their emotions)

Fozia Irfan OBE, Director of Impact and Influence at BBC Children in Need, commented on ‘The Meal’:

Ensuring children are happy is at the top of all parents’ priorities, but allowing children to express themselves and giving them the necessary space to articulate when they aren’t feeling at their best is of equal importance.