A McDonald’s in Franklin, Tennessee, is attracting viral attention after a customer called out the children’s play area.
X user @NancyAFrench posted an image of the PlayPlace,” writing, “This is so heartbreaking. I’m at a new McDonalds in Franklin, TN and look at their ‘play place’ for children. Two screens/two chairs.”
The photo showed a corner of the restaurant with a sitting area and two screens embedded in the wall.
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“McDonald’s and our franchisees are proud to provide family-friendly spaces across many of our U.S. restaurants,” a McDonald’s spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
“While this restaurant has a few interactive features for younger guests, it does not represent the full PlayPlace design and experience,” the spokesperson added.
Some McDonald’s restaurants feature a PlayPlace consisting of a playground area. (iStock)
The X user added a video to her thread saying, “I went back in to make sure I didn’t miss something.”
“There was this column thing that might be for getting kids to exercise. But I don’t think this is temporary. I think this is it,” she continued.
The video shows the woman stomping on an interactive music pad along with a “playground safety rules” sign.
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The post garnered more than 16 million views and nearly 2,000 comments.
This is so heart breaking. I’m at a new McDonalds in Franklin, TN and look at their “play place” for children. Two screens/two chairs. 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/j2gxrJZklq
— Nancy French (@NancyAFrench) March 5, 2025
“I hope that’s only temporary! We still have the play equipment at my local McD’s,” commented one X user.
“Upsetting,” another user wrote.
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A McDonald’s spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “McDonald’s and our franchisees are proud to provide family-friendly spaces across many of our U.S. restaurants.” (iStock)
“This is more of a punishment place,” added another.
A user reminisced, saying, “so many joys our kids will never know.”
“The playpits were filthy, and this screen thing is an abomination,” declared one woman.
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“Nothing says childhood fun like staring at a screen in a slightly different location than home,” another person wrote.
I went back in to make sure I didn’t miss something. There was this column thing that might be for getting kids to exercise. But I don’t think this is temporary. I think this is it. pic.twitter.com/NkpTvACJ2J
— Nancy French (@NancyAFrench) March 5, 2025
One woman commented, “If kids won’t pick up toys to play with anymore and demand screens – businesses provide what the consumer keeps asking for, repeatedly. The digital heroin conditioning.”
Other X users didn’t appear to be fazed by the play area.
“seems fine to me,” one person commented.
“McDonalds is not a childcare facility. They are there to eat,” another user wrote.
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Children ages 8-12 spend four to six hours a day watching or using screens, while teens spend up to nine hours, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP).
For children ages 6 and over, the AACAP recommends encouraging “healthy habits and limit activities that include screens.” (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
It is advised that children between the ages of 2 and 5 limit non-educational screen time to an hour per weekday and a maximum of three hours on weekends.
For children 6 and over, the AACAP recommends encouraging “healthy habits and limit activities that include screens.”
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Too much screen time can cause obesity, irregular sleep, behavioral problems and possible exposure to violent content, according to Mayo Clinic.
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