“Kid’s Menu” Items from a Century Ago That Would Never Fly Today

Fresh vegetables and fruits were sometimes thought of as dangerous for children, as parents and nutritionists recalled the upset tummies when too much fruit is eaten and presumed that fruit could be dangerous for small children. Fruit was often not even an option and vegetables were always cooked.

Our changing tastes mean that many children today might expect to see apple slices or baby carrots in a their meals, but this was not so when the kid’s menu was still coming of age. High school lunch menus show that fresh fruit was offered in the 1910s and 1920s, so there was a minimum age at which you were allowed these suspect foods. But, around the turn of the century fresh fruit was still thought to be potentially harmful to young children.

Along with the craze for fried food came the inevitable deep frier dishes that most children today expect to see. And this is where things get dicey: are the meals served 100 years ago to children at restaurants healthier because they offer no fried foods? Or are they less healthy because they also offer no fresh fruits and vegetables?

While we now have a much bigger range of safe foods to eat, the kid’s menu at most restaurants these days bears little resemblance to what children were being served 100 years ago. We dare say that a modern child might not even know what to order from an old-fashioned kid’s menu!

If you love food history then click here for the best and worst of school lunches over the years!