To think breakfast club should offer more than item?

[Ellieboolou27]

DD 4 has started reception, I booked her in breakfast club.

They offer either toast (with jam/marmalade) orcereal.
The cereal is multi grain shapes, weetabix, cookie crisp, chocolate boulders, Frosties.
I'm not too impressed by choices of cereal but hey ho, however my dd asked for toast and cereal and they said it's either / or!

Now, I'm not a fuss pot helicopter mum by any means, however I was a bit miffed as it seems quite poor.
My mum runs a breakfast and after school club, she's been doing it for 18 years and she agreed with me that this was poor offerings.

So, would I BU to take it up with the school? They are a "healthy eating" accredited school btw.
My mums clubs offer, fruit, yoghurt, cereal and toast, cereals such as porridge, fruit n fibre, etc, kids also get 2 or 3 choices.

[bumsexatthebingo]

I think only one person mentioned the word greedy.
I don't think it's particularly greedy but having both cereal and toast for breakfast isn't a habit I would want my kids to get into. It would be like having macaroni cheese plus pizza for tea. Kids could maybe manage it but I would rather they had some veg rather than 2 loads of carb. Similarly either toast or cereal (preferably not full of chocolate) and a piece of fresh fruit would be what I would expect at a breakfast club and maybe some yoghurt and milk/fruit juice.

[oblada]

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and kids should definitely not be restricted! At least as long as the options provided are healthy! My kids can easily have porridge + toast and sometimes that and then breakfast at nursery! Little ones will naturally know when to stop eating.
My 5yrs old has started school now...bc is about 5pounds or sth per day, she'll start that soon... Let's see how good it is! :)

[Ellieboolou27]

selly that sounds like a great way to run things, my mums club is along those lines too. I will wait to see what the head makes of my email.

[HeCantBeSerious]

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day

Not for everyone it isn't.

[oblada]

Hecantbeserious - maybe not for everyone but it is the healthiest way to treat meals. Certainly kids shouldn't be restricted in what they want to eat at breakfast as long as it's healthy enough. If they want to eat loads then good on them! Ideally a good breakfast, good lunch and light dinner :)

[HeCantBeSerious]

Reverse here (night owls). None of us are interested in food much before noon.

[myfavouritecolourispurple]

It's not greedy to eat toast and cereal. Breakfast should be hearty. I don't eat toast but I have a huge bowl of porridge. Do they get a chance to actually eat anything at morning break?

I suspect the breakfast club is just trying to save £££. When my ds went to breakfast club he used to stuff himself with toast (having had a bowl of cereal at home) and eventually they started rationing how much you could have. Probably all because of ds.

Be careful when cutting down on sugar in cereals, you'd be surprised how much salt is in the less sugary ones. You sort out one problem and cause another! Porridge is probably the best option but not very practical for a breakfast club.

[Bumpasaurusmumma]

YANBU I'd say both is normal. My one year old eats like a horse but looks like a whippet. Just cereal wouldn't cut it now, never mind when he gets bigger!!!
This morning alone he's had porridge, fruit and oat bar, a few mouthfuls of my toast (food is never safe) and a handful of lentil crisps. He's only been out of bed an hour and a half!!!

[user1471945624]

Morning,
I am sure you would kick off. I bet your home is expertly run, you offer a la carte meals every sitting, there is not a cobweb to be found, you work full time and in fact, you are pretty amazing. Great, you wouldn't need this facility anyway. For all the lesser mums, including myself out there, who struggle to hold it together, or simply the poor kids who have to get themselves and their siblings up, and go to school with empty tummies, keep up the good work breakfast clubs everywhere!

[Beeziekn33ze]

Some breakfast clubs are free and heavily subsidised because they are in areas where children were coming to school hungry.

[Beeziekn33ze]

user147 - Xpost re child poverty

[TinyTear]

We pay £8 a day! - for 1h10m
But my DD has 2 bowls of cereal AND toast, from what they tell me..

And yes, we work. If we didnt have her in breakfast club I couldn't be at work until 9h45. COnsidering I have to leave at 4h30 because of picking up in two schools/nurseries it would be very poor show...

[madein1995]

Even though OP isn't too happy about the options offered - surely chocolate cereal is parents remit?- I'm sure she's grateful to the people minding her dd user. I agree breakfaat clubs can be fab, not just for working parents but for families in lower income areas, I'm very glad my county offers free breakfast clubs. While I don't think they need bacon and eggs - though a few boiled or scrambled could be easy enough- I don't think 1 slice of toast is enough (3yos at my old nursery got 1 and a half slices and a banana and pear) and I really don't think the school should be giving chocolate cereal - if for no other reason than op says they're a health conscious school so a biscuit in lunch box would presumably be looked down on - so hypocritical

[Jackiebrambles]

I'm impressed at the breakfast club a PP mentioned who do kedgeree!

[Youarenotprepared]

I would expect a small bowl of cereal and 1 slice of toast to be an option. The choices really aren't great for a healthy eating school. What's wrong with cheerios, rice krispies, cornflakes and weetabix? Small portion of one of these with a slice of toast and jam (choice of white or brown). or more cereal/more toast if they prefer one over the other.

[hoopyloopy2]

I the 'everyone's different let them eat loads if they're a big breakfast kinda kid' argument doesn't work here. Schools are catering to the masses, so they need to model best practice and healthy eating for life, even if those children are string beans right now. With obesity and diabetes rates sky high, no school should let children eat unlimited carbs and sugar, just because they ask for it.

[Abraiid2]

I think all dinner ladies, school cooks, and breakfast club personnel should go on a course run by qualified dieticians who will explain facts such as full fat cheese being good for most children.

[user1471945624]

Couldn't agree with you all more, you all have far more experience and knowledge than any of these people running the clubs.

I know, why don't you all volunteer and show them how it should be done. We could all learn a lot from your expertise.

[Swissgemma]

My 14 month old this morning had - porridge, half a pear, 4 blackberries, 4 strawberries, and a fromage frais. 40 mins earlier he'd had a bottle of milk.

I just had porridge.

Our food needs differ. I ate later last night, he hoons around while I sit on the sofa.

Let her eat both cereal and toast if she wants!

[smellyboot]

We pay £2 and kids can eat as much as they like. Many scoff the place out. Mainly not sugary cereals but some kids will only eat those according to the parents...

[ginormoboobs]

I suppose that if you're a parent who gives a yoghurt after every meal, normal portions of breakfast do seem too small. Most children don't eat 2 or 3 course breakfasts.

A bowl of cereal + fruit is a perfectly acceptable breakfast for a child. Unless of course they run 10 miles to school every morning, in that case I can see the need for extra food.

[Wincher]

My kids both eat huge amounts at breakfast - they both seem to fill up then and then not eat so much later. For example my 3 year old this morning had a banana when he woke, a HUGE bowl of porridge with raisins, and I left him at nursery helping himself to a bowl of cornflakes... The 6 year old had some leftover bread and butter pudding and then a bowl of shreddies. Neither of them ever just has one thing for breakfast.

[Goldenhandshake]

Crappy selection, and I don't see asking for both as unreasonable, ours lets you have a combination of any 3 of the following:

Toast (whole grain or 50/50) with butter/jam/honey/marmite
Cereal: shreddies, weetabix, bran flakes, cornflakes or porridge. Cocoa pops on Fridays only.
Fruit: selection e.g. apples, bananas, pears etc
Yogurt
Crumpets with butter/jam/honey/marmite

A good, filling breakfast really does set them up for the day and help them concentrate.

[LyndaLaHughes]

I honestly think people need to stop and think about how cheap breakfast club is as a childcare option. Most schools receive no subsidy for it and it is extremely difficult to cover costs not just for the food but to pay staff. Unless you have a large number of children attending which many schools don't then usually the school is struggling to break even and many make a loss. At a time where budgets are being cut in all areas its a struggle for many schools to make it financially viable. Sometimes less healthy options are cheaper and I do know where schools have had to change menus because it's so expensive to run. If you have a concern then address it with the school who no doubt will have an explanation but I think parents really do massively underestimate the running costs of extended services and want the schools to do it at ridiculously cheap costs- it's just not feasible.

[birdsdestiny]

It is fine to raise this with the school but the points Lynda has just made are very valid. The cost is about paying staff to look after children. You would not get a childminder for the cost of most breakfast clubs. Our breakfast clubs and after school clubs mean I can still work when my inconsiderate parents swan off on one of their many holidays. This doesnt mean that clubs are never to be criticised but I think expectations are sometimes very high.