The Meal

For the first time ever, McDonald’s has removed the iconic smile from millions of its Happy Meal® boxes in restaurants across the country. The move aims to communicate to children it is okay not to be happy all the time, helping spark family conversations about emotions during Mental Health Awareness Week (May 13th to 19th).

This follows new research commissioned by McDonald’s which reveals that almost half (48%) of UK children feel like they must be happy all the time, even if they do not want to be. The limited-edition Happy Meal® boxes have been designed to encourage parents to talk to their children about how they are feeling.

Available alongside the limited-edition Happy Meal® boxes are sheets of stickers that showcase an array of emotions that children experience, enabling children to illustrate their feelings directly onto the boxes themselves. The boxes will be available nationwide in all McDonald’s restaurants, with the stickers available in select locations from Monday, May 13th until Sunday, May 19th.

McDonald’s is working with BBC Children in Need to provide families with access to a dedicated hub of resources designed to encourage candid conversations on emotional well-being with children, in collaboration with the charity’s Mental Health Awareness Week campaign shining a light on the emotional weight children and young people across the UK carry. The hub will be available to access via a QR code on the limited-edition Happy Meal® boxes, as well as via the McDonald’s website and social media channels.

“Mental Health Awareness Week is the perfect opportunity to shine a light on the vital impact we can make on children and young people’s mental wellbeing and we are thrilled to be working with McDonald’s to provide the necessary support parents and families may need to start the conversations with their children.”

Customers can donate the cash equivalent of their MyMcDonald’s Rewards points to BBC Children in Need through the McDonald’s App, to support the company’s commitment to helping children’s wellbeing.

For more information on the resources available, visit the McDonald’s Family Hub: https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb/family-hub/the-meal.ht