Breakfast for a 4/5 year old

[Mummyilovejokes1]

Morning,
Im interested to see what other children of this age group have for breakfast as we are looking to change our sons.
Most days he has:

Cereal or porridge
Yogurt
Belvita breakfast bar or similar
Piece of fruit

It seems a fair bit of food and too much sugar so my dp wants to reduce it but i believe he needs this amount of food (he always says he is hungry) but i am very happy to reduce the sugary stuff but im stuck for ideas other than fruit (which he also gets a school as morn snack)

He is tall and slim, i have no concerns over his weight at the moment.

What does breakfast for your 4/5 year old look like please?

My 5 year old has 2 slices of wholemeal toast and peanut butter, milk & a bowl of mixed fruit. If he's still hungry he has some cereal but it's usually enough.

My 3 year old just has 1 slice of toast.

On weekends we do sausages, banana pancakes, eggs etc but school/work mornings we just don't have time.

Eggs are super quick! DS likes a fried egg sandwich on toast - bread in toaster, egg into the pan, they are ready at the same time, put egg between toast, job done! Really no longer, and not much more effort than a couple of slices of toast.

But irrelevant if OP's DS doesn't like eggs

Have you tried him with other nut butters on toast? Meridian do loads, including a low sugar cocoa and peanut butter which is really good.

Overnight oats are really good - just soak oats in milk or yoghurt overnight. In the morning just add more yoghurt and a bit of fruit. You can sneak all kinds of nuts and seeds in for extra nutrition too.

*The world of mumsnet will say eggs! But I don't know many people who have time to make eggs every morning. But they would be a good swap when you have time.

• This is so me, I rarely have time to make eggs and clean up after in the morning.

My Dc have an adult size bowl of porridge or weetabix. DS seems to be going through a growth spurt so he will eat an extra banana or two for a few weeks. His older sister will just have porridge.

Even quicker than fried egg sandwich is eggy bread - crack egg in bowl, couple of whisks with a fork then dip in bread and do for a minute or two in a non-stick pan. DD won't eat egg any other way so I like giving her something that's hot and has protein in. It can be varied with grated cheese, marmite, jam, whatever you have in.

You don't need to stick to typical "breakfast" food's, you know. My DS's have gone off toast so they often have a sandwich for breakfast. They like peanut butter or jam () but I often have cheese or ham in the morning, as I used to live in another country where this is normal.
But if your DS is happy with his breakfast, who cares? It's healthy and filling. You're not just handing over the biscuit tin, you've obviously thought about it. Don't let your DH undermine your confidence. If he's got a better idea, he can sort it out can't he?

My scrambled eggs take between and one and one and half minutes in the microwave. Quicker then the toast they go on on for the kettle to boil. Can’t comprehend people not having one and half minutes to give a child a higher protein breakfast ( as long as they like eggs of course)

You don't need to stick to typical "breakfast" food's, you know. My DS's have gone off toast so they often have a sandwich for breakfast. They like peanut butter or ...jam ( ) but I often have cheese or ham in the morning, as I used to live in another country where this is normal.
But if your DS is happy with his breakfast, who cares? It's healthy and filling. You're not just handing over the biscuit tin, you've obviously thought about it. Don't let your DH undermine your confidence. If he's got a better idea, he can sort it out can't he?

My 4 year olds DS has a bowl of cereal, normally porridge, shreddies or weetabix and a cup of warm milk. He occasionally has a handful of blueberries or raspberries afterwards but he’s normally desperate to run off to play so he doesn’t have time to eat!!

Do you have any flexibility in your evening routine? 4-5 seems quite early to be eating their last food before the whole night. Mine are a similar age and finish eating about quarter to seven. In bed, washed and teeth brushed by 7:30 so it's not a crazy up all hours kind of household as a result!

That might help him as well as the other ideas you're considering.

(I'd also echo the weetabix/shredded wheat above sugary alternatives and bananas above other fruit for longer lasting energy.)

My DC love breakfast.
On school days they usually have plain live yogurt with a bit of fruit and/or cereal on top and a drizzle of honey, followed by a piece of buttered toast. Sometimes they'll have peanut butter, Marmite or cheese spread on the toast - my rule is that it must be savoury.

How about hot cross buns / tea cakes if your DC isn't keen on savoury toast? Probably a bit less sugary than toast with jam / honey? Buttered malt loaf?

Fruit with plain yoghurt and honey might be an improvement on sugary yoghurts

I try and bulk cook hard boiled eggs (to be eaten cold on their own or sliced on toast or oatcakes) or mini quiches (slimming world style ones) as eggs are so much more filling

Overnight or baked oats are great too- just pack them with yummy fruit to sweeten and maybe a little honey or maple syrup if he's used to sweet things

Peanut butter toast or avocado toast is very filling, or you can cook bacon ahead for bacon sandwiches- so some healthy fats. I love strawberries or banana slices on toast with peanut butter or Nutella for a treat. Sometimes I make mine cheese on toast or toasties if I have time as its well liked although most days we eat pre-prepared stuff on the hop.

I'm relaxed though- some mornings I'm lucky to persuade DD to have a banana and a glass of chocolate milk. Others she'll eat a fry up (weekends) or a stack of eggs on toast

Microwaved scrambled eggs in a mug is great and takes less than 2 mins- I make mine with a pinch of salt, pepper, grated mature cheddar and one spring onion cut up with scissors for ease, sometimes some diced tomato or pepper if I'm feeling fancy.

Porridge is great- I buy the plain tubs where you just add hot water and top with some dried fruit or sliced almonds and honey. DC2 will eat it plain, but DC1 has a sweet tooth.

Toast with cheese spread/ marmite.
Fruit salad (make night before)
Bowl of cereal

Hot cross buns or tea cakes are another good idea! I will pick some of those up, thank you. Malt loaf yes but no butter. He likes marmite but turns it down whenever i offer it.

Dinner is early as he is always hungry after school and rather than give him snacks i feed them earlier and if they want milk before bed they can have it. He is usually in bed by 6.30 as he is tired but we could push dinner back a little...
My dp is worried about his sugar intake, he never usually gets involved with my meal planning but he doesn't want him eating excessive amounts of sugar before school, and i agree with him but i dont agree that he should have less food as i think he needs it. It just needs to be the right food.
I've got some great ideas from you all and will be trialling them out once the food shop has been done.

I would try and move dinner back also. Take something as a snack at 3-3.30 on school collection nuts, fruit, small sandwich.

For many years as a child I had the same breakfast every day. A slice of cheese on toast, 1/2 apple cut in slices and a glass milk.

I think you can easily adapt what he currently has to reduce sugar intake based on what he likes and how much he needs

During the week my 4 year old has either toast, with just butter or cereal. Yoghurt or fruit if he is still hungry.

Weekend as above or pancakes or dippy eggs.

Posted to soon...or crumpets.

OP
If you’re going to try plain Greek yoghurt without honey, consider cutting up dried apricots or prunes or figs.

Definitely go full fat.

Definitely snack after school
I always give a treat, life a biscuit or a slice of cake
But if doesn’t appeal - a banana perhaps?

Then you can push dinner a bit later

5 year old DS goes to breakfast club four days and seems to have bloody Cheerios with extra sodding honey on most days. I’d rather he didn’t but I can’t control it. He often has a one slice peanut butter sandwich (made with low carb high protein bread and the lowest sugar peanut butter I can get) before we leave the house and maybe a small apple.

When he’s at home, he used to be porridge mad, but seems to have gone off it, so will usually have bite size shredded wheat with some fruit, and a slice of toast with peanut butter (see above). Sometimes at the weekend he will have eggs on toast or a bacon sandwich......after his cereal.

He also likes full fat yoghurt with fruit and a bit of honey. I mix some chia seeds and other seeds in to the yoghurt and sprinkle some flaked almonds on top, which he seems to enjoy.

You can batch cook pancakes

5yo Grandson loves little scotch pancakes... so easy to make and a good way to get eggs into them plus they can be made in advance. They can eat virtually anything with them, from crispy bacon to fruit. He loves strawberries with his.

He also loves stripey (streaky) bacon cooked until crisp and then any fat blotted out with kitchen towels. Also can be advance cooked. He eats this either on its own or in a sandwich with no butter.

Croissants, eaten warm and plain are a favourite, as are pain au chocolat, but that is a rare special treat.

Also plain cereals such as rice krispies with milk, but he refuses fruit with this.

Breakfast time is not the time for a scene over food especially when they have to then go to school so I always gave mine what they liked and what they would eat and left food battles for another time. I was really lucky, 3 kids and not a faddy eater among them. One couldn't eat fish (it made him gag) and one disliked rice but they ate literally everything else and always happily tried something new.

Cereal and a buttered tea cake.

DD has rice krispies (usually with raisins or blueberries mixed in), or a slice of toast with butter/Marmite/peanut butter. If she's still hungry she has a banana/apple. If we've got a bit more time in the morning, she loves porridge (and raisins - can you guess her favourite food? ) She prefers to have her cereal dry and drink the milk instead, little hipster! Deconstructed cereal, honestly.

Does he have all of those things in one go?
My kids must think I starve them!
Just cereal or toast

My 5yr old has

Belvita breakfast biscuits (think there's 4 in a packet - he eats them all)
Activia yoghurt
Cup of juice or milk.

He sometimes has a nutri grain or a soreen fruit loaf thing with a box of raisins or half a banana.

This morning he had warburtons toasted tea cake with butter and an activia yoghurt,

He doesn't eat cereal or toast.

All depends what mood he's woken up in usually a foul one!