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 gave up years ago with my daughter. She had a milk allergy up to 5 and refused milk alternatives so breakfast was difficult. Now she has chocolate brioche, Nutella on toast, croissants, cheese and ham quesadilla, cheese, ham and hummus with pitta, Nutella toastie. I have better luck encouraging healthy choices for throughout the rest of the day. I’d rather her eat something than nothing.

People aren't reading OP's posts. She isn't ever saying her DC will have 1/2 a banana with peanut butter. This was with the porridge.

OP I agree that you've over-complicated it a bit but I get where you are coming from.

I've 3 kids, my younger 2 (boys, 11 & 9) want the easiest thing in the morning, cereal with a load of milk. Half the time it's laziness! It won't fill them up & it's not balanced.

So they can have the cereal but need to have fruit of some kind with it - usually a chopped bowl of fruit is on the table. The cereal is grand, not sugary. I'll prompt them to have a slice of home-made brown bread or bagel. Milk usually to drink.

I think eating well, especially in the morning, is important. I see the difference when they don't eat enough or have enough balance.

All families & children are different. We all like porridge in this house, plain, with some yog or fruit. I don't allow them have honey or Nutella on it usually. That's because I know their diet overall & they have treats / sugar at different times, which is fine but I don't think they need it at breakfast.

I think OP is being hammered unfairly here & lots of PP are attributing a thought process to her without evidence.

Back to your question, I'd simplify the choices, but I'd have a similar menu for mine too. I'm not rigorous about it but a couple of times a week I do insist on eg porridge or eggs instead of cereal.

My kids have

Bagel/muffin or sourdough with almond butter and marmite. Then either an apple or satsuma. Every day.

Weekends
American pancakes with Nutella on Saturdays and then bacon and eggs on the Sunday.

If they want toast everyday what about whole meal toast, sugar free jam and a glass of milk / yoghurt drink?

I think you are over complicating things.

I wouldn't buy any sugary cereals

Plain porridge? I have that in winter, it's the Paula Radcliffe brekkie, but for kids? Possibly not.

Cut the fruit juice with water.

Don't worry about dairy: no mammal needs milk after they are weaned.

Porridge with PB and banana is lush

Just give them an option. Porridge and PB or toast. I used to love fruit toast with Philadelphia which is nice

If your late because of breakfast and the children want something so quick and easy such as jam on toast then I don't see the problem.. what's so bad about jam on toast? Plain porridge is horrible even I have some toppings on.

Our of curiosity to those saying ‘eggs at weekend’, is that a time thing? Or a health thing?
I would of thought a slice of good whole meal bread and a boiled egg was a good staple choice?

My dd has the same breakfast every weekday- treat breakfasts at weekends.
Weekday- fresh berries around 10 (usually rasp)and one tablespoon Greek yogurt, a crumpet with tomato purée and grated cheese (pizza crumpet) and hot chocolate made half milk half water.
I don’t feel entirely happy with this but unsure what i need to change- seem to have lost perspective like op!

Around 10 berries not around 10am!

Mine have cereal every day (not fun ones) with fruit afterwards. Occasionally porridge with banana/raisins in it if we have time. One day at the weekend we might have eggs or pancakes instead.

They don't have toast and they don't even think of this as a breakfast food. The reason is that 1.I'd rather they had milk as opposed to butter and jam that they would be eating with the toast and 2. they usually have bread/toast with lunch anyway. I'm not sure I'd put up a fight if they really wanted toast for breakfast, but it's not something I'm offering.

@Onesailwait

No need for the aggression surely.

Eat what you want, obviously. Nutritionally, as a key meal of the day, it's rubbish.

You really don't need to swear at me.

Plain porridge is lovely with cinnamon and a handful of raisins. Or chopped apple.

Mine have porridge with fruit everyday they know no better. Brown toast if still hungry most days
Bacon and egg at weekend only drink water

You’re overthinking it.
I didn’t have particularly good breakfasts as a picky child. Usually dry coco pops (I wouldn’t have milk) and toast with marmite. I happily ate that every day.
I’ve never been fat and have a good diet as an adult.

DD loves weetabix so she has that every day with some form of bread item (crumpet, croissant, toast) and fruit.

At weekends we occasionally have blueberry pancakes or scrambled egg on toast etc. But weekday breakfast is routine, same at nursery and home. Keep it simple.

Shreddies or cheerios with a slice of toast and peanut butter. Job's a goodun'.

Have you tried porridge with frozen blueberries? Makes purple porridge! Weetabix with sliced banana is great too. Toast would only be with eggs and a glass of milk. Instead of offering a menu how about deciding in advance what they're having on each day?

I think you are really overthinking this . It sounds as if you are running a restaurant .

I think we normally had shreddies or weetabix, sometimes the plain one with banana or raisins and sometimes the chocolate one. But there was only one on offer each week (apart from holidays when I bought the mini selection packs)

If we got up early enough on my non working day it might be booked eggs .

I would never have offered loads of different choices but nor would I have fed a food that wasn't liked (such as plain porridge )

I don't think fruit and yogurt or a smoothie and a baby bel is enough for young children . I think they need some carbohydrates.

I really think you’re setting yourself up for a headache. Clear out the fun cereal & options full of sugar. You’re the parent, they don’t need sugar for breakfast.
Weetabix or porridge or Cheerios are healthy with full fat milk. They need this for fibre, teeth & bones.
Toast is also fine, after the above cereal. A piece of fruit is also fine after the cereal, but because the milk is ideal for them, mine must have cereal first.
Pancakes, croissants, chocolate spread, bagels etc are weekend treats like twice a month.

As people have also said, mine do their own cereal at that age, 7 yr old can make toast if the bread is cut & a cup of tea (for me, not him).

Occasionally we’ve got into a bad habit of crap cereal (Christmas time etc). As soon as the box is finished there’s some upset for a few mornings, then we are all back to boring/ healthy breakfasts. No big deal. If they have really fussy mornings, when they can’t choose in the 45 mins they have to choose, they go without & have to have just a banana in the car - and they don’t do it again for a long time.

Over complicated. I think toast with jam is fine if wholemeal if that's what they want. It not much worse than cereal.

I won't buy the worst cereals, but know that all cereals are sugary. I've always just had the "healthier" ones in.

Mine have cheerios every day or currently conned into getting a special k with fruit thing from Aldi they said dh likes. They do love porridge especially my 6yo but they've generally fed themselves by the time I get downstairs. I did pastries for the family one weekend day a week but stopping that for new year.

If you dont want them to have sugar dont buy it. So its plain buttered toast. Again, if wholemeal its no worse than some weetabic.

I give my DC boiled egg on toast during the week (no choice) plus fruit if they want it.

Then at weekends we have two 'treat' breakfasts. One is usually french toast, the other is usually croissants and fruit salad.

With two of your options (yoghurt and fruit / fruit smoothie and cheese) I'd be concerned that there wasn't enough carbs to keep them going until lunch.

Also honestly I'd be so exhausted by providing a menu with options for children. Just tell them what they can have and give them some 'add on' options to make them feel they have some choice! (eg you could pop frozen fruit, banana or raisins into the porridge and give them some nut butter to spoon on top or some kind of seeds to sprinkle on top - sounds disgusting but my children will eat sunflower seeds and goji berries on their porridge at my mum's house where she puts them in a fancy jar on the table, whereas in ordinary life they wouldn't touch them!)