My son really likes fried, breaded chicken bits from various fast food restaurants. Are they bad for you? What would be a good alternative?

Here is an abbreviated ingredient list of what is in a typical fast-food chicken nugget:

Chicken, water, salt, modified corn starch, sodium phosphates, chicken broth powder. Battered and breaded with water, enriched bleached wheat flour, yellow corn flour, bleached wheat flour, modified corn starch, salt, leavening, spices, wheat starch, dried whey, and corn starch. The batter is set in vegetable shortening and cooked in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (trans-fat). Trans fats are close to the molecular structure of plastic. TBHQ and citric acid are added to help preserve freshness. Dimethylpolysiloxane is added as an anti-foaming agent. 

Try duplicating this in your own kitchen! Many of these ingredients aren’t even foods, they’re chemicals. Keep in mind this is an abbreviated list!

Trans-fats are something to avoid completely from any food source. TBHQ is an oil that is derived from petroleum that is either sprayed directly on the nugget or the inside of the box to "help preserve freshness." According to A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives, TBHQ is a form of butane, the same stuff used in lighter fluid. The FDA allows food processors to only use TBHQ sparingly in our food.  It can comprise no more than 0.02 percent of the oil in a nugget. Ingesting a single gram of TBHQ can cause nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation, and collapse. Ingesting five grams of TBHQ can cause death.

Based on this, I would say that yes, fast food chicken pieces are not the best thing for you or your son.

Here is a much healthier alternative:

Preheat your oven to 375F. 

Prepare the following ingredients:

2 halved boneless/skinless chicken breasts cut into small, bite sized chunks.

1 cup natural bread crumbs.  You can make homemade bread crumbs by simply adding a couple of slices of toasted bread to your blender or food processor for about a minute. This is a much healthier, cheaper and easier alternative to store bought breadcrumbs.

1 cup natural corn flakes

1 egg

Seasonings (Cajun, Mexican, Italian, Salt & Pepper or whatever you like)

Cut the chicken breasts into small chunk sized shapes, cover and set aside in a cool place for a few minutes.

Place corn flakes in a plastic bag and crush finely using the back of your hand or a rolling pin. Combine bread crumbs, seasonings and crushed corn flakes in shallow bowl and set aside.

In a separate bowl whisk the egg lightly. Coat each chicken chunk lightly in the egg mixture and then dip into the bread crumb mixture. Coat evenly. Place chicken pieces on a lightly oiled baking tray. Bake at 375F for approximately 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Makes three to four servings.