To think that free breakfast at school is a bad idea due to the quality?

You really do have to micromanage children
I have seen the results with my own eyes of not doing so
Cousins born six months apart and I was called intensive for a micro manager and a control freak
But mine are doing a lot better in life, just generally.
If you look at beautiful adults with good skin and good teeth, it’s all diet related from a very early age.
It’s the making the right decisions when you’re not in the room because it’s ingrained into them that they wouldn’t do anything else

If you think that feeding my children nutritious food is ‘holier than thou’ and something to be sneered at or in any way a bad thing, honestly I’m happy to accept that.

i find it worrying that you are saying that giving children healthy food is giving them a restricted diet, of course it’s not! The key is variation, they have mainly healthy , varied meals but will also have snacks, but no, I’d never substitute a meal (breakfast)with choc cereal. I doubt they’ve ever had choc cereal, but if they wanted it, it’d be offered as a snack (instead of cake or chocolate).

what’s interesting is seeing what they choose to eat when they have a choice….ir in a hotel buffet, where they can have what they want.

they still don’t choose the choc cereal.

they actively choose healthy food because that’s what their palate is accustomed to…. Fresh fruit, eggs on toast, etc…and of course a pancake with banana.

I’ve just asked my 15 year old what she would choose for breakfast if she could have annything and she says curry😂, and if not that, Coconut yoghurt with mango, pineapple and granola. Or avo on sourdough with chopped tomatoes and chilli oil.

im proud of that and thankfully doesn’t show any signs of her going ‘haywire’ just yet!

and actually they don’t like chocolate. There is a whole table in the kitchen with Easter eggs on which is a free for all and the only person eating them is DP.

what’s ‘faddy ‘about nutritious food?

Nope they are not. People thought it was about brain chemicals which was debunked many moons ago. The people who create the DSM-V have admitted there are no biological markers in the brain. The age old theory of it being a brain issue is false. These things were created historically to control and oppress groups and those who were needed to be silenced and that has continued. The whole field is built on stigma. Look at what we have - diagnosis that you are mentally ill for being bereaved, being beaten by your husband, being raped or being black. Absolutely nothing in there is to do with brain issues. All are normal reactions.

Those who eat UHPF on a daily are usually those who have limited time to cook fresh often run ragged with work, home, clubs etc - so they are overwhelmed with life so cut corners. Being overwhelmed is normal.

Also those who eat UHPD on a daily are often poor. Being poor is a trauma not knowing if you can clothe your kids or not knowing if you have enough money for electricity or heating.

Look at what is behind those UHPF choices and that is the cause going on.

Dementia is a decline in cognitive function I agree and nothing to do with emotions and feelings. People with dementia can struggle emotionally because of the trauma of having this and the impact it has. It is not a given though.

Completely agree with thinking before feeding things to kids which could impact brain function. Mental health is not an issue with brain function though. It is a normal function. Suffering a trauma and responding to it is your brain functioning normally. It is not abnormal and calling people abnormal for that is wrong.

It isnt the money for most. It is living a chaotic lifestyle and not feeling that feeding your child is a priority. The benefits system tops up low salaries.

some parents do not get out of bed in the morning to make sure their children are up, washed, dressed and fed. Just like they don't ever hear their children read.

Some parents do not know how to parent or simply just do not want to do it.

the poorest children’s clothes almost always smell of cigarette smoke. Priorities are not parenting.

free breakfast attempts to cover the actual issue, which is the culture.

As unbelievable as it might be for you, when you have £70 - £100 a week or less for everything - food, travel, clothes, gas and electric, entertainment, emergencies - £1.75 is a lot of money. Also my kids would get through a loaf of bread in 3 days. It’s not a week’s worth of breakfast.

There is also the problem of will children eat it. I used to volunteer at GCs school and one Christmas I was serving Christmas lunch. I could have cried when most of the food ended up in the bin. Turkey, veg, stuffing, beautiful roast potatoes and the majority thrown away. It was heartbreaking.

Mental health issues are strongly linked to the brain. Dementia is not a mental health issue, but a broad term for brain disease which causes a decline in cognitive function.

If something we eat affect our brain function, we really ought to be thinking twice before feeding it to our children.

I totally agree with all this.

I went to primary school in the 50s in a poor inner city area. In winter our free milk was heated up and mixed with Cadbury s cocoa or chocolate powder, can't remember which. It meant at break time poor kids had milk, nutritious, and a hot drink to warm them. I remember it fondly and think Cadbury's were great to do it.

The Germans are closely following us with obesity and upf

Eating dreaded processed carbs won’t cause diabetes. It’s over consumption and poor education on food. Plus some people will always eat to excess.

Most breakfast cereals (even the sugary ones) are fortified with vitamins and minerals including iron. Iron is key in prevention of anaemia, particularly in teenage girls who have higher iron requirements and are more likely to be deficient. Iron from breakfast cereal (non-haem iron as opposed to the haem iron found in animal proteins) is more easily absorbed if vitamin c is consumed alongside it e.g fruit or fruit juice (max 150ml portion because of free sugar content). Higher fibre cereals are a better choice because they keep kids fuller for longer, minimising unhealthy snacking, and help prevent constipation which is a common problem in kids. Milk provides calcium which is key because children's bones are growing and to ensure they reach peak bone mass which happens late teens / early 20's. In a nutshell, a bowl of higher fibre fortified cereal with milk and fruit or a small glass of orange juice will provide children with a lot of good nutrition relevant to their needs. It is simple and cheap to provide. Interestingly porridge (unless ready break type) is not usually fortified so doesn't provide vitamins, iron etc like other cereals. An issue to consider with breakfast clubs is that they aren't usually attended by the children who really need them but more by children of working parents who need childcare in the mornings.

Mental health issues have nothing to do with issues in the brain or they'd test the brain when you go for a diagnosis. Mental health labels come from the notion that someone's normal reaction to something is that problematic it needs a label. There is no brain science behind mental health. Mental health is nothing to do with changes in the brain.

Being fearful of something is normal nothing to so with what we eat. Dementia is not a mental health issue.

A lot would be hungry again by 8:30. It really shouldn’t be compulsory if you have a decent breakfast at home. That’s just treat food.

I’m another one who works in this sector and am in favour for the reasons outlined by the teachers/heads above. Yes I’d rather they serve porridge and fruit but if they don’t have the cooking facilities something is better than nothing. Shouldn’t be where we are in the UK but it is, it seems.

It isn't balanced if they are eating chocolate cereal each morning. They are having too much sugar in their diet daily for their diet to be balanced.

Mental health problems are absolutely not only caused by trauma!

There is lots of scientific research that shows UPFs change the pathways in our brains. Studies have shown links between high consumption of UPF and anxiety and depression. And newer research is showing a link between UPFs and dementia.

Not to mention the links to diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

And yet we, as a nation, are still eating and feeding our kids, the highest levels of UPF in Europe.

And this is why we have an obesity crisis. Of course it’s harmful.

Mental health problems? Is it heck! Trauma causes those not what you eat.

A crappy breakfast is better than a starving child.
All school lunch’s must meet school food standards which includes providing salad. Any school not doing this is non compliant. anyone having a pop for bad school meals should note that the government gives £2.53 per meal. Bearing in mind this generally needs to cover staffing, equipment, food.. it’s not alot for a nice meal. A recent study showed it should be £3.10. So the government is providing 23% less than required. Yet again underfunding is the issue. If the average 1 form primary school made up the cost difference, it would cost them up to £24k a year, that’s the cost of a TA. So which would you choose if you were trying to balance a budget? This is the problem.

I work in a primary. There is a salad bar every day they can help themselves to in addition to their lunch. Plus bread. Pudding always has a yoghurt or fruit option in addition to the hot pudding option. The fruit is really popular.

The main meals vary. But the 'healthy' pizza is a total waste of food. It's made with some kind of brown flour base. It looks revolting and most of the kids don't eat it and throw it in the bin. An unhealthy normal pizza would be so much better as at least they would get food in their stomachs

My child’s secondary school have wanted them in from 8am for exams with ‘breakfast provided’. It was a Squares rice crispy bar. Hardly a breakfast?!

This is my experience too.

My DC went to a paid breakfast club before school. It included breakfast, although we are together at home first. School breakfast was limited though as the full kitchen wasn't open. They provided fruit, milk, toast (brown bread) or teacakes.

Do you think my kids only eat coco pops for every meal or do you think they have a balanced diet that doesn't restrict food 🤔

I grew up eating cereal every morning as a child I don't have diabetes this was the 90s diet for most kids or certainly everyone i know and I only know one person with diabetes