We have taken this swift and voluntary step after receiving limited reports of potential skin irritations that may be associated from wearing the band.
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McDonald’s’ initiative ended nearly as soon as it started.
The Step It! Activity Bands were available in the USA and Canada. “We very much support children’s well-being”, Michelle McIlmoyle, McDonald’s Canada senior marketing manager, said in a press statement.
In a statement sent to CNN, company spokeswoman Terri Hickey said: “We are voluntarily removing the Step It!” The chain has been trying to shed that image over the years, particularly with parents, in part by tweaking its Happy Meals to include fruit. “Our restaurants are now offering our youngest guests an alternative Happy Meal toy”, she added. The trackers were introduced in the United States territory and also in Canada. They tracked the steps each kid made while using the pedometer as a bracelet.
Meanwhile, Mashable reviewed the trackers, and found them to be flimsy and inaccurate but conceded that “simply wearing it is likely to encourage more activity”. But it’s not just the fact that the company has stopped offering the trackers due to skin irritation concerns. Still, it does come about as a odd move that a company still notorious for serving fattening foods would want children to get active with some colorful, shoddily-made pedometers. The post was shared by over 100,000 users. According to consumerist.com, Casey Collyar of Arkansas posted on Facebook last week that her child was burned by the Happy Meal toy after playing with it for eight minutes. Also, kids love to copy their parents and seeing them with their Apple Watches and Fidbits makes kids want to have their own. Certainly a lot of steps to do. Whereas once upon a time parents were content with feeding their kids burgers and McNuggets (before letting them ride in the trunk of the station wagon), now the clamor is for better, more wholesome meals and ingredients.
The toy is a colorful wrist fitness tracker called the Step It! Others believe that it can promote a more healthier lifestyle among children.
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It has been truly hard for McDonald’s to change the unhealthy image they have without being highly criticized. “In this case, it was a little too easy for people to criticize and take the cynical view on it”.
