To wonder why so many children go without breakfast

[Sunnydays999]

Iv seen these adverts Kellogs are doing - it made me wonder why the situations so bad ?
Now I totally get some children won't eat breakfast - totally different .but not to be able to afford it on a regular basis ? Breakfast has to be the cheapest meal of the day. Not the best but value bread for toast is penny's ?
If parents can't afford breakfast what's happening with tea

I used to teach basic cooking and budgeting at a family centre. These people were parents (mothers and fathers) referred by social workers, health visitors, midwives etc.

Some of hyphen came and really put the effort it, they soaked up the information like a sponge and seemed to care about what they were learning. One guy and his girlfriend who we're expecting used to come and tell me really excitedly that they'd spent the afternoon cooking and eating together and I could tell they were so chuffed with themselves.

Some of the others turned up sporadically, some only once, when they did they didn't seem to care or try to learn anything...

One woman who had 3 young children was amazed that She was expected to feed her children 3 times a day out of her benefits! She was that occasionally that might mean putting alcohol, clubbing and fags on huge back burner.

They don't do these classes anymore because there isn't the funding but there was a huge variety of attitudes from the people that were attending.

It was shocking at how little some people knew and I'm talking really basic, every day stuff. It shows that it's a cycle that families get into, adults leave home not knowing how to to A&E care of the kids they'll go on to have.

Classes! I don't want the government telling me how to parent thanks! Their "Healthy Eating" campaign is a big fucking advert disguised as "Advice". Imagine the sponsors on the "Parenting Classes"

Then we'll just bumble along as we have been doing for years and years.
Children go without breakfast, they survive well enough and those that are at the extreme end of the problem will attract the notice of SS if they are lucky.
Parents will continue to make excuses, be enraged at the interference and other people will try and fill the gaps.
Just like it always has been.

Could be any of the reasons mentioned above.

I leave the house earky u still manage to feed the kids. Doesn't take much to chuck then a banana, even a smoothie or yogurt is better than nothing if your kids struggle to eat.

It's great that there are things out there that feed these children BUT parents pay a lot of money for some breakfast clubs and CMs who and nursery to provide these things for their children and I do feel sorry for how pussed off they may feel working their arses off paying for it all while others get it free just fir being lazy or prioritising stuff that isn't food.

And between schools not providing breakfasts and KS1 getting free meals, are these kids going to see the benefits of their parents saving money on two meals a day or are they going to end up starving in the holidays because parents aren't used to having to budget fir meals.

Where did "not" come from?

Ignore

well some children like my dd15 basically refuse anything I offer for breakfast - is that neglect?

My DS goes to a breakfast club, though he doesn't eat breakfast there. I drop him off and then go to work, it suits him as he gets time with his friends and I am not late for work after taking him to school. Most of his friends have working parents and go there for childcare for a short time, they don't rely on it as a breakfast club on the whole. Most of the children there seem to be teacher's children who work at other local schools and so need an early drop off at school.

I remember my ds in year 5 going to school and telling his teacher and the dinner lady that he has nothing to eat in the morning because there was no food in the cupboard.

teacher pulled me aside at hometime and asked if things were ok, she was a bit bemused to discover that the cupboards were stacked, bread, jam, cereal, porridge, eggs and he had only said that because he didnt want to eat what was there. He was sulking because i had refused to buy the mahoosive box of kellogs cocopops the day before and he was on strike!

When people are talking about social services and parenting classes I don't think they (or at least I don't think) that they mean classes for everybody whose children don't eat breakfast. Some children don't want breakfast and some children have something at break time instead.
In my mind the classes and SS involvement would be for those parents who can't be areas to get up and make breakfast or spend their money on non essentials rather than on food. We are talking about people who don't know how to prioritise their children's needs and frankly I don't care if they find it patronising because I care more about children's welfare than what some can't be arsed parent thinks.

I think the 1 in 7 has been skewed by Kellogg's. It could be 1 in 7 and include not only those that cannot afford a breakfast but also those that refuse a breakfast. I've missed whether they said primary or if the have included secondary in those figures too (which would increase the figure going without breakfast) but just feature primary aged children on their ad.

I've had the odd disaster whereby we've woken up with no bread or cereal (flooding, mice, hungry DH having a midnight snack) but still managed to raid the fridge and throw pancakes and fruit together. But after reading above posts, I'm not neglectful and remember how hard it was sitting in class between break and lunch growing hungrier and hungrier, and that was after a breakfast!

Oh goast, i have one of those. Teacher called me aside (not too discreetly) to tell me ds needed more food in his lunchbox as he'd been starving all afternoon and she'd had to find im l/o fruit. I was mortified but when we got home most of his lovingly prepared packed lunch was still there - he just didn't fancy it. Starving?

First thing I do if someone is complaining about being hungry in class in the afternoon is get them to check their lunchbox.
Harder to manage if they've been school dinners, but if they didn't eat it, then they probably aren't starving.

Haven't seen this advert but thinking - how did they come to the figure?
Was trying to read the research they link to (Hoyland et al (2012) Nutr Bull, 37(3), 232-40) but hard to get to - instead found this
www.zoeharcombe.com/2013/09/give-a-child-a-breakfast-give-me-a-break/
She talks about the research findings ...interesting read - sample of primary and secondary children - I do disagree with the teenager dieters - my DD1 (13) doesn't eat breakfast - usually doesn't have time. I get up an hour before she is supposed to leave - despite nagging she gets up at the very last minute and is often running for the bus which is already at the stop -with loose hair/tie draped round her neck/ fastening her shirt buttons...I did try buying cereal bars -but she doesn't like any of them...I've given up.
I will also admit DD2 (7) has been to school twice without breakfast - both times because we went out of routine. She eats breakfast and then gets dressed - getting dressed first meant I just completely forgot she hadn't had her breakfast!...first time she told me when she got home - second time I remembered at lunch time ...

If someone isn't providing their children breakfast, and everyone in the uk can afford to do so, then something needs to be done and it isn't simply providing free brekkie.

But providing free breakfast

a) fills the child at the point they are hungry

b) is cheaper than working with families

I frequently went to primary with no breakfast. At the weekend we (brother and I) would turn on the gas fire and sit with bread on a fork for what seemed like hours to make toast.

Mum was in bed, dad left for work before we got up on a week day.

We were not poor.

But sash

How many parents will think "great I can put the money on the electric and wash the clothes and make their beds now"

And how many will get used to the exta cash from not doing breakfast and lunch, throw the kids a bag of crisps in The evening and use the money for more drugs/fags/booze/ expensive clothing/ and not change that in the holidays when the meals are all down to them.

Perhaps in the future when schools have to open in the holidays as wrap-around childcare that won't be a problem. They can continue to provide breakfast and lunch.

Ok Guys ...I'll make it clearer - the 1 in 7 isn't true!!!
It has nothing to do with poverty or child deprivation ...or bad parenting
Look at that link and the info about the research paper the 1 in 7 figure comes from - I was struggling to find the journal Nutritional Bulletin

These are the members of the organisation that publishes that Journal
www.nutrition.org.uk/aboutbnf/membership/members

The first author of the research paper works for Kelloggs...
It is a purely an advertising campaign by Kelloggs ...

I'd rather an advertising campaign was run through feeding children than exotic locations and high-priced stars TBH. Don't like it? Feed your children so they don't have to rely on random handouts from corporations.
I wonder if MaccyD and KFC are lining up to provide school dinners?

I agree the one in seven figure is a bit misleading but I think its worth acknowledging just how much harder it has got for low income people lately.
There have been some really severe benefits cuts and at the same time electricity, gas and rent have all gone up.
Some people have pointed out how cheap value bread is, but that misses the point. We're not talking about affording value bread, we're talking about value bread and everything else. So, for example, a family might have bread but might not have £2.50 to put into the electricity meter later that week. Or a family might generally have bread but might regularly find themselves with no food or money for one day at the end of the month.
When your that skint, the margins are very tight and just one miscalculation or unexpected expense can genuinely leave you without food. Free breakfast for a child, even though it might only save pennies, can be a godsend.
I accept that some people are better at coping than others but for gods sake, the harder it gets, the more people won't cope. It stands to reason surely.

Ultracrepidarian

I agree with you, it's just a marketing campaign to make it seem like the right breakfast to give your children is a bowl of Kelloggs cereal.

It most certainly isn't, and if you want to talk about obesity rates, a few bowls of cereal a day is a pretty good way (plus throw in some rubbish chip based school dinners) to go about increasing it.

My children persuaded me to buy a box of Special K yesterday (don't normally buy this product). My dd gleefully informed me that each small bowl (she'd had two) had 11 grams of sugar in it! So, she's eaten 22g already today which is half the recommended amount for a whole day for an adult woman, and if the WHO cut the recommended amount in half which they are likely to do- that's the whole amount eaten in one breakfast.

Anyone is welcome to come round my house on a weekday morning and get my dc breakfast!

This morning.

Dd2 (10) had an apricot then a frube pouch under sufferance.

Ds (12) had one slice of toast but took weetabix minis in a bag for on the bus.

Dd1 (14) slammed about then took belvitas. She's probably didn't eat them.

They'd all eat bacon rolls any day but as they leave at 7:40 it's a bit early to be cooking!!

Or maybe the advertising budget could just be donated directly to charity ???

And Macdonalds are a member of the organisation that published the original research ...(couldn't see KFC though) - British sugar plc is too - funny that isn't it?

I used to be quite involved at my sons school (as Chair of Govenors) and I would say that 1 in 7 is quite high and we live in what is classed as a deprived area.

There are a number of reasons why some of the children at my DS's school did not have breakfast:

Mother too drunk the night before to get up and sort out breakfast or take her kids to school. She was also drunk in the mornings sometimes.

Another mother who was just not organised enough to get the kids up, dressed, fed and to school, so they mostly came in late and hungry.

Dad had recently been made redundant and they were finding it hard to manage on benefits and pay bills etc and often ran out of cereal, milk and bread.

Another family where the child refused to eat breakfast, but was really hungry mid-morning.

Lots of different reason and the school was really involved along with other external agencies to help out. In some instances the help was welcomed and in others it didn't make the slightest bit of difference.

I always want to know who funded research on anything I'm looking at.
It always skews the data and the presentation of it.