If you only want a small portion for dinner, why shouldn’t you be allowed to order from the kids’ menu? People’s opinions are divided.
Little did TikTok influencer Vanessa von Schwarz know that by ordering a kids’ menu cheese pizza, she was reigniting a raging debate.
In the clip that has racked up millions of views, Von Schwarz claims hotel staff asked her about her order of a children's pizza to her room.
“I’m in Japan right now and I just ordered room service,” she said.
“And the girl who brought it to my room, opens the door and she’s like, ‘Where’s the kid?’ You ordered off the kid’s menu?”
“Is it really bad if I order some chicken nuggets and, like, a pizza? Like, a kid’s pizza and french fries?” she asked.
“Let me enjoy my kids’ meal in peace!”
In the text overlay, she said: “Is it illegal to order off the kids menu as an adult?”
@vanessaschwarzz I feel judged
♬ original sound - Vanessa von Schwarz
After sharing the clip on the video-sharing app with the caption “I feel judged”, hundreds of people rushed to the comments section to debate on whether or not it should be acceptable for adults to order children’s meals.
“I hate when restaurants don’t let adults order off the kids menu like I know it somewhat has to do with reduced prices but I’ll even pay extra for it I’m just picky,” one person commented.
A second user agreed: “No because it’s so rude that I can’t order off the kid’s menu sometimes. Like I’m broke and I’m not gonna finish the big one, I want the smaller portion.”
However, other users said some places are against serving kids’ meals to adults as they do not actually make any money off them and simply serve them to attract families who will be buying full-priced adult meals as well.
“Well typically at least where I work, we don’t make money off the kids' menu and we only have it so that we attract families, and the adults won’t need to worry about going elsewhere for their kids,” another person said.
“The Washington Post” has reported on the kids’ meal controversy. A story from September examined the reasons why adults are interested in ordering from kids’ menus.
There is an obvious reason: it costs less. If you ordered off kids’ menus at restaurants for a year, you would 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.
Almost every night, she orders dinner off the kids’ menu from one of the many restaurants in her area.
Garrett said the routine is time-and-cost-effective as it allows her to save on groceries and skip meal preparation. She has collected millions of views for videos sharing her adventures in kids-menu dining.