to think this isn't ok at breakfast club?

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My children both go to breakfast club Monday to Friday and are there by 8am so that I can get to work on time. They have breakfast there so that they don't have to get up so early at home. I happened to stay a little longer dropping them off yesterday and saw what they are given for 'breakfast' it was 1 piece of (heavily) buttered (Marg) toast and a carton of fruit juice.

AIBU to think this isn't a)enough b)very healthy??? I am prepared to be told that if I don't like it I should give them breakfast at home which is what I'm going to do now but still!! This is supposed to give children a good start to their day no? Also they charge for breakfast so I would expect cereal, yogurt maybe the odd piece of fruit?!

Schwab - I'm watching a friend's child getting fat. He's always had a biggish breakfast and now that he's in year 8 he's still having the same breakfast, but then gets something at break (because his friends do). My friend blames herself for teaching him to eat so much at breakfast.

DS gets something at break because he's not a morning person and can't eat much earlier.

Sorry teaching^ was the wrong word there, getting in to the habit of would be more appropriate.

I'm a breakfast person. I need loads of food to get me through the morning, eat a normal lunch and then my evening meal is usually a starter sized light meal. Works for me and is only a problem when I eat out in the evening but I get round this by ordering lightly, while still being sociable, so I will have a salad or soup, or a couple of starter or take most of main home in a doggy bag. I probably eat less eating in my preferred way and am not over weight.

I remember at school crippling hunger late morning if I had had a 'normal' breakfast of a couple of slices of toast or cereal for breakfast.

Today I have had a 2 egg omelette with cream cheese and smoked salmon and 2 potato waffles and I'm not particularly full - I will certainly be ready for lunch by 12.

We stopped using the breakfast club because the breakfast was similarly bad and it was essentially just a group of bored kids in the school hall, with minimal supervision. We flexed our starting times instead.

I'd not give my children a piece of plain bread and marg and a carton of cheap fruit juice for breakfast. Apart from anything else it's just quite a nasty meal.

My two weren't big breakfast eaters so they mostly had an egg on toast. Having a decent breakfast sets them up for a morning of learning, and ds's behaviour really deteriorated if he was hungry. He had a biggish snack and a decent lunch, a snack after school, tea at the childminders and at least one more snack before bed. He was on the 6th centile until very recently - some children just need more food than others.

That's terrible OP. Our breakfast club is free and offers toast, cereal and juice. No way would I pay that much for that!

Mine use ours only occasionally and it's £2.50, not the most healthy but ok, they get to choose between cereal (corn flakes) and toast and juice. My oldest is a big breakfast eater so I would give him a bowl of weetabix at home before hand whereas my youngest would have a piece of toast only

That's really bad. for that priced I'd expect more that sone cheap white bread and some juice.

wouldn't a choice of crumpets or croissants or bagels with peanut butter or cream. cheese be more substantial.

where's the protein to fill them up?

at least have some. cereal and fruit on.offer

Milk no 12 year old is getting fat because they eat a big breakfast, unless that breakfast is hugely sugary and setting them up for a blood sugar crash at break.

Your friend's child is getting fat (if they are) because of what they eat throughout the day, not because they have a good breakfast.

Generally active children who don't eat excessive amounts of processed sugar can self regulate perfectly well, and parents obsessed with restricting their children's food intake inappropriately (my mother was one of those - a feeder pre puberty, though always with absolute control over what children ate, down to counting out the ten cooking chocolate drops we were allowed once a week with custard for a special treat) and then believed that pubescent girls and all women should live on air) ... eating disorders and disordered eating a-go-go in both directions (over eating, bulemia, anorexia) in her adult children (but she was treated the same by her own mother and has always been absolutely obsessive about her own food intake and everyone being aware how little she eats).

I've always felt parents should unobtrusively control what their kids eat but children should be in control of how much.

Jesus that is a crap and cheapskate breakfast. Must cost them very little indeed, compare to what you pay!
I would expect:

• cereal (at least some plain cornflakes, or maybe porridge, as it's cheap to make)
• milk
• toast with butter and jam
• fruit

At my DD's school, BC is £2.50 and they get croissants too.

Now that is what I call a good deal.

I'd be very unimpressed with that. Where's the protein for a start?

This sounds like Ds's pre-school club. They do specifically say it's only toast though - it's one bloke and a toaster with no access to the kitchen.

I make sure DS has eaten before he leaves the house, ours starts at 7.30, then the toast is just topping him up. He occasionally takea a banana as well but it wouldn't be provided at school. It's run by an external firm on school property, so I don't know if that's relevant.

You may be surprised how crap the breakfasts are in breakfast clubs.

Everyone is saying 'but mine provides cereal'- if it's through the Kelloggs breakfast programme which keeps boasting about providing a million breakfasts, then it's CocoPops/Rice Crispies all the way.

The trouble is, most children when presented with choices like CocoPops or plain porridge with raisins, will choose the CocoPops.

Mine went to breakfast club and although they had more choice, the toast was white and the cereals were ones I wouldn't have at home. I considered it part of the penalty of using it!

If you think they are all poaching eggs at 7.30 in the morning, you are sorely mistaken.

Sorry, my post reads like it's a school for nursery age children - it's a club which provides cover before school starts, in the school hall. The toast is an imporvement on it's previous incarnation, where you had to take your own breakfast and no food was provided.

I agree there should at least be fruit and cereal and milk to drink, fruit juice is not good.

But for those of you to say toast is crap, I think is an over reaction, my kids will not eat porridge and neither would I, it's like gloop, good for those that can manage it. But is toat really that bad, are breads and cereals not fortified with iron and other vitamins?

DS (8) goes to breakfast club twice a week. It costs £2 a day for childcare 8am-8.45am and the breakfast supplied is toast with toppings, cereal, fruit, juice and yogurt. They also have special days, like hot chocolate Wednesdays in winter and Fruity Fridays when there's a greater selection of fruit on offer.

DS always has breakfast at home. He's like me in that he wakes up hungry and needs to eat as soon as possible, so he'll normally have cereal and fruit at home and then a slice of toast at breakfast club. Or on days that he goes straight to school, he will indeed have cereal, toast and fruit at home.

He doesn't have a snack at breaktime though. He sometimes did in KS1 when there was free fruit on offer but not every day. I've offered to give him a snack for break but he says he doesn't need it.

So, yeah, apparently children are just like people and have different appetites and food preferences...who knew?!

Anyway, OP, that does sound like a rubbish breakfast being offered by your breakfast club, especially at the price paid. I presume it's run by the school? I would be asking the head what the aims of the breakfast club are...check their website.

Margarine

Yeuch

It's a dismal breakfast and while one of mine would be fine on that, the other, tall and skinny most definitely would not.

My tall, skinny 8 year old eats a bowl of cereal such as redy brek or weetabix (2) plus a banana or muffin for on the walk to school and a cup of milk.

I think it sounds like enough but not for what you're paying.

My school age DS and DD sleep a good ten hours a night so wake starving most mornings a slice of toast would not suffice. If I were paying for breakfast club I'd expect a variety of foods offered or at least extra toast.
Surely sending children to school with full bellies is better for the staff as they are likely to concentrate better without rumbling tummies.
I'm sure no child got fat through just eating a substantial breakfast I am positive it will be the childs diet as a whole that contributes to the weight.

Get your children up earlier and give them a better breakfast at home.

YANBU that sounds very poor, quantity and nutrition-wise

My DC never went to a breakfast club but DS did go to an afterschool club for a while - their snacks were always varied and consisted of more than one piece of toast and marg!

Sometimes it was toast, sometimes crumpets, sometimes fruit loaf etc plus fresh fruit too. This is the sort of thing I would expect from a breakfast club too (with a cereal option as well)

Fair enough he does not do breakfast ds is a bit like that, but will prefer to eat later. What was the portion control thing about then! You made it seem like he was allowed one piece of toast only.

Itoldyou that sounds fabulous, that is what a breakfast club should be, that is very good value.

DC's breakfast club is free, porridge is free but you pay for anything else cafe style. However most families I know using it use it so they can drop kids at school early not as a substitute for breakfast. They all have a proper brekkie before going.

Even if there lots to eat there no guarantee DC will eat anything.

Cost wise I think £4.30 is ok as it is almost an hours childcare, you wouldn't get an hours childcare anywhere else for that really. ( a childminder is £6.50 an hr here)

But still that is a crap breakfast. I would rather they call it before school club, and say no main breakfast is included but say bananas and milk are avalible to those who want something.
That way parents know and should feed them main meal at home, then the fruit and milk is a bonus.

At my children's school it's free to drop early ( but private school so you have effectively already paid). They can be dropped at 8.15am for 9am school start. In that time they have toys/ books to read in cosy corner/ drawing. No running around as its in their actual classroom. No breakfast provided.
They get a large mid morning snack provided though at 10.30am of crumpets/ scone/ with three types of fruit and milk. Lunch is 1.30-2pm there so later than many schools or at some homes hence the snack. School finishes at 4.15pm