Heads up parents–the next time your kid is whining about going to McDonald’s and you say no to stopping by the Golden Arches for a Happy Meal, you just might find yourself in some legal trouble. Okay, maybe that isn’t terribly likely for most of us, but that’s the situation one divorced dad in Manhattan found himself in. David Schorr, a lawyer, found himself deemed an unfit parent after he refused to take his 4-year-old to McDonald’s.

Schorr and his wife have been divorced for a couple of years and he has partial custody of his son. After Schorr picked up his son to take him out to eat at the end of October, the child didn’t want to go to their usual spot and begged for McDonald’s. The corporate lawyer put his foot down and said no.

Holy sh#t — NY dad who refuses to give his kid a McDonald's happy meal now branded an inept parent? Wtf is the world coming to?

— Patricia Potyka, MA (@PatriciaPotyka) November 9, 2013

“Normally not a very strict father who rarely refuses his child McDonald’s,” Schorr said, but he was firm about not going to McDonald’s “because his son had been eating too much junk food.”

Once his son started having a tantrum, Schorr then gave his son the option of going to eat anywhere else he wanted–just not McDonald’s. After Schorr told his kid that he wouldn’t get anything to eat if he didn’t choose somewhere other than McDonald’s, you can probably guess what the kid’s decision was, especially if you have small children–“no supper.”

“The child, stubborn as a mule, chose the ‘no dinner’ option,” Schorr said. “It was just a standoff. I’m kicking myself mightily.”

Once the child went back to his mom’s for the evening, he told his mom about the incident, and she promptly took him to McDonald’s and had a chat with court-appointed psychologist Marilyn Schiller. Schiller wasted no time in telling the court that she was concerned about Schorr’s parenting and asked a judge to reduce or eliminate his visitation rights. The psychologist said she found him “wholly incapable of taking care of his son.” Schiller did all of this without talking to Schorr to hear his side of the story.

Schorr has since slapped Schiller with a defamation lawsuit and now says he wishes he would have given in to his son. “I wish I had taken him to McDonalds,” Schorr said, “but you get nervous about rewarding bad behavior. I was concerned. I think it was a 1950s equivalent of sending your child to bed without dinner. That’s maybe the worst thing you can say about it.”

Assuming Schorr’s parental rights aren’t taken away over the incident, will he give in to his son the next time he begs for McDonald’s? “He probably knows that I now have to take him to McDonald’s. These kids are smart,” Schorr said.

Do you think Schorr was right to deny his son supper over the McDonald’s battle? Respond below.

Suit: NY dad criticized for denying son McDonald's: Man should be congratulated, not vilified

— Joe Orenstein (@joe4189) November 9, 2013

[Image via YouTube]