I've lost all perspective on breakfast. Please advise!

[KindergartenKop]

I'm in an ongoing battle with my kids over breakfast. I want them to have plain porridge, they want toast with jam, chocolate spread and pancakes on. We usually compromise somewhere in the middle. They also take ages to make any choices for breakfast, thus making me late for meetings etc etc.

So new plan is that I tell them the breakfasts available in the week and they choose which day it happens in advance. So in a week they have to have...

2 x cereal (not fun ones) or porridge with small amount of raisins or half a banana and peanut butter.

2 x plain yogurt with frozen fruit.

1 x treat breakfast (pancakes or croissant and jam etc)

1 x fruit smoothie and a chunk of cheese/babybel.

1 x egg on toast

Also fresh fruit if they want it.

Is this crazy? Is this too much sugar? I've lost all perspective! They are 6 and 8. I'm a bit concerned they need to keep dairy consumption up, they don't drink milk at all.

I would just let them eat toast if that’s what they want. Just don’t buy Nutella or ham if you don’t want them having it

I wouldn’t want to be told what I have to plan to eat in advance either. I have no idea what I might fancy for breakfast Friday morning until I wake up

We have 2 of, Weetabix, Rice Krispies Multigrain, Cheerios, Rice Krispies. I rotate what I buy so it doesn’t get boring!

Cereal or toast, glass of milk, piece of fruit if still hungry.

I can’t get overexcited about half a teaspoon of jam or Nutella on toast

Just put whatever is on offer on the table and let them serve themselves. In general I don't sit down at breakfast, I toast things, cut fruit, etc. So they eat their cereal, whilst I add fruit and butter toast etc. I eat my breakfast first on early mornings (before they get up!) Or afterwards on slow mornings.

We just do cereal in the week. Fun stuff comes out on weekends. Much simpler. Also they can hopefully serve themselves, leaving you to get ready for your meetings

I really live in a parallel universe to everyone on the first page. Toast and jam is a perfectly normal breakfast as far as I am concerned and it would never occur to me to forbid it.

@InSpaceNooneCanHearYouScream

These threads also really piss me off because white sugar is treated like kryptonite, whereas the little darlings are probably consuming around 12 teaspoons-worth of sugar in smoothies and fruit. It's still bloody sugar you know!! 😂

Well yes, except that the sugar in an apple comes with fibre (and therefore doesn’t spike your blood sugar as sharply) as well as lots of other beneficial vitamins, and the sugar in coco pops comes with fuck all.

That said, just let them have toast if they want toast! It’s not like they’re snorting lines of sherbet every morning

Gosh maybe you are overthinking this.
Ours have juice for the vitamins and one of their five a day, A piece of fruit or berries (for their second piece of fruit and veg, the rest of the day is veg only), then a choice of wholemeal toast, porridge with a teaspoon of honey, or weetabix.
I consider this healthy and not too much sugar.
Plain porridge is gross, fruit and yoghurt isn’t nearly filling enough

I never liked cereals much but my DF used to make the most amazing rice pudding. Not very much sugar. I know its yet another thing to do but it doesn't take long and they could help themselves? I think cans of it have alot of sugar.

Or porridge if they will eat it but with fruit on top. Or overnight oats?

Too much choice! Make a packed lunch for them the night before for lunchtime. For breakfast keep it simpler. It feels like you’re making it too complicated and giving them too many options and it reads like a cafe menu!

Weekdays-
Cereal/porridge with a bit of fruit

Weekends-
Pancakes/croissants with a bit of fruit and then any sugary spreads they like

@KindergartenKop

I don't have food issues. I have not wanting to argue with my kids while also giving them a balanced diet issues.

What I could be is a control freak regarding meal planning.....but I'm not funny about calorie control/portions etc etc. I just want to be a good mum and feed them properly. It's not like they're getting any other aspects of a good life at the moment...

There's deffo some kind of issue going on.

We're you given plain porridge as a child? Did you enjoy it? Was it forced upon you?!

Gosh mine are teemagers but they have always just had cereal pretty mucc incl chocolate ones or nutella and toast on occasion but not nig toast eaters
Weekends maybe egg & bacon ds2c ds1 fussy so maybe get him a croissant.
They are both healthy and not at all overweight.
Ds1 is that fussy though that I think as long as he eats something we have just let him have whatever.

Cereal or porridge or toast with butter / honey weekdays, small glass of juice.

Pancakes, pain au chocolate, scrambled eggs, bacon & eggs for the weekend.

No cheese, that is weird.

@EileenGC
There is recent evidence to show that teenagers don't need breakfast to concentrate. DS eats a proper 3 course lunch at midday and there is no snacking in school so he's fine.
I prefer he has nothing to a load of sugar even in bread or toast in the morning which is worse for the brain.
Breakfast is just a marketing strategy.

Not fun ones? 😭

DD will have
Homemade pancakes, often with cheese
Low sugar cereal (oat Cheerios)
Yoghurt
Toast with butter
Croissant
A cheese toastie (made in a toastie bag)
Beans on toast
Sausages, egg and beans (weekend when I have more time)
Plus fruit, usually berries or a banana

Weekends, she might also have
coco pops or similar, she goes through phases, but she’s not a huge fan
Pain au chocolat or chocolate chip brioche

She’ll only drink water or milk

I tend to give her the choice of 2 things, depending on how much time I have/what we have in the fridge

Your options sound great to me - healthy and with a good variety of nutrients. Pancakes/croissants should only ever be for the weekend IMO.

Porridge with frozen fruit (for flavour and cools it down!) is a winner here. I let mine have maple syrup in it too and always some nut butter- the fat slows the sugar absorption.

Meanwhile in the real world it's fine to have coco pops or toast with Jam or chocolate spread for breakfast.

You lot would all shit your pants at DS’s breakfasts then.

Cereal (sugary one if that’s what he chooses) or toast with either jam or chocolate spread for breakfast 5/6 days a week.

On Sunday’s he has 3 pancakes. One with sugar, one syrup and one chocolate spread.

@Onesailwait

Meanwhile in the real world it's fine to have coco pops or toast with Jam or chocolate spread for breakfast.

That's a desperate breakfast, for an adult it child.

An injection of sugar with very little nutritional benefit.

Are you generally a bit controlling and anxious about food?

Entire generations grew up on bread/toast with butter or jam ;or cereal, or porridge (with sugar) for breakfast. And those were not particularly obese generations either

Sorry but I think you are too worried about a bit of jam/sugar (and I am a mum who rarely gave my kids soft drinks or sweets )

You are kinder to your kids than I am! I make mine have boring cereal (wheetabix, shreddies, cornflakes) or porridge every weekday (they can supplement with something from the fruit bowl). One treat breakfast at the weekend (pancakes, fry up, croissants) and toast with jam/honey on the other weekends morning. With the exception of treat breakfast they can make it themselves (or 8 year old can make it for his younger brother) so even if they are faffing I can leave them to it and log on to work!

I think it’s a lot of work for you and perhaps not filling enough?? You always want to have protein and carbohydrate, and fruit.

In the week as a default they get porridge w yogurt and peanut butter/nuts and fruit (Bircher in summer). Now they are older they can elect to have toast and peanut butter and fruit. If I feel like making eggs or cheese on toast I offer.

Weekends we usually do (healthy) pancakes with yogurt and fruit one day, and bagels and scrambled eggs or Philly cheese or bacon sandwich the other.

Cereals and croissants only happen when we are away.

@Jemenfouscompletement what kind of bread do you buy that's a 'load of sugar'?
Each person is different and prefers to eat at different times but I can't imagine sending my children to school without food in them. Especially young ones like the OP has. At 16 you decide when to eat. At 6 and 8, the parent gives them food at appropriate hours.

I have two those ages too. They want proper big chocolate croissants or pain au chocolates every day.

Actually they only have it once a week as a treat.

I offer toast or cereal. A couple of times a week I tell them we have run out of bread and we only have cereal. (No chocolate cereals either here), but actually they have lots of yogurts and cheese so I don't worry about dairy and calcium

At that age my children would never check what is actually available and i think children should either only get a choice of two things or no choice at all