Hauled into school because dd had no breakfast

[takeastand]

Got called into school as dd(13) felt unwell and it transpired she hadn't eaten. I don't encourage her to eat breakfast although I don't stop her - she rarely gets up early enough to eat it during the week. I honestly thought the school would be sensible about this but what an absolute waste of everyone's time. I thought once I explained that she wasn't neglected or malnourished we could go on our way. Instead a load of hand wringing, unsubstantiated and unscientific bollocks about how important breakfast is and how clearly this is the reason dd felt light headed, even though she hasn't eaten breakfast before school the entire five weeks and this is the first day she has felt unwell.

For context - she is overweight. I'm not going to force another 300-400 calories that she doesn't desire or need at the only point of the day that she doesn't seem to be starving hungry! I make her a cup of tea each morning, she drinks plenty of water. Her house is first for lunch so she eats at 12ish!

It's half term next week and I'm not sure whether I should say anything to the school tomorrow or just let it lie.

I don’t think grown adults expressing whether they choose to eat breakfast or not is helpful to this thread. A 13 year old girl is a growing child, she is likely to need the input of a responsible parent to ensure she eats healthy balanced meals and turns up to school nourished enough to be able to learn.
I can remember being a 13 year old. I was left to get up and out myself in the morning and I would rarely be organised enough to have breakfast. I wouldn’t feel hungry at the time but would be starving by 10am, and continue starving hungry and distracted until lunch break, or would buy chocolate/crisps (ie junk) at morning break. I was chubby, probably from filling up on crap instead of healthy meals. I then developed an eating disorder which stayed with me on and off for the next 20 odd years. Parents need to help their kids learn good eating habits. 13 year olds don’t know what’s best for them at all. They are still kids and need guidance. In this instance a parent bothering to offer them a breakfast would be a good start.

YABU OP
If she’s overweight you need to monitor her diet and skipping breakfast will definitely make her overweight due to overeating later in the day.
Speaking as someone who is slim with skinny (normal weight) kids and overweight nieces due to skipping breakfast and being generally bit lazy

@iamyourequal
Exactly this!!

Don’t suppose her light headedness lined up with a period? If so, might be worth encouraging a little something once a month... if it was completely random light headedness, then please ignore me! It was just a thought is all :) -

If completely random, just keep an eye in case of repeats and see if there is a pattern. I don’t really have any ideas why.. so just, good luck! Xx

Agreed Plink not only is the research old it failed to look at other factors like increased exertion etc

I'm quite glad I'm not alone in my observations that breakfast is not necessary for all. My metabolism works much better without breakfast.

I'll look the book by Max Lugavare up

The below in response to a pp saying eating breakfast makes them hungry two hours later.

Because you have kick started your metabolismIt's a good thing and means your body is doing what it is supposed to

A different pp who had no breakfast.

I wouldn’t feel hungry at the time but would be starving by 10am,
and continue starving hungry and distracted until lunch break

So eat or don't eat, apparently your still hungry?
The OPs child could have felt ill for a hundred reasons. Food may well have nothing to do with it.

This is a crazy thread.

Ok. Just had chance to (sort of!) catch up with thread and it would appear OP is no longer here but instead a really interesting debate is raging on - I'll catch up properly when have time.

But in interim...

@SofiaAmes and @TakeAStand - my absolute bad. I utterly misunderstood the sentance about 'multiple times/called into school/DD not well (paraphrasing as it's pages back now and I can't see it but I think YKWIM?) I totally read it as 'multiple times' DD been ill but happy to stand corrected.

Also happy (well, not 'happy' as it's all a bit grim TBH:/) to acknowledge that I'm probably very over-sensitised to even a hint of neglectful parenting ATM, can't go into detail even on an anonymous forum but suffice it to say that, this week especially, my heart has been broken and my head just enraged at having to try and help pick up the pieces of the parents who don't give even the faintest of shits re their kids well being, let alone a shiny shit (so so not referring to OP here - know that's obvious but clarifying for absolute avoidance of doubt JIC anyone grabs wrong end of stick).

I'll post when I can later as do still have lots of thoughts on this, and it really is a thread that has stuck with me all day, but guess the headline point is this: when schools/teachers see a loose thread, they cannot know whether it is simply that, a one off loose thread, or - if when pulled - what it unravels is a maelstrom of hideousness such as that which Lego described so achingly THAT is the whole point of safeguarding - cues being picked up on (& hopefully early on) to check all is as it should be. And I for one am bloody grateful that schools, often against all the odds given the woeful under-funding and over-stretching, do actually do this.

My apologies again to OP though as I clearly did misread that bit re multiple times/called in etc etc and I do genuinely feel bad about that

no wonder there is so much disorder eating when a simple concept of what time breakfast lunch or supper gets twisted into a massive knot.

Flooffloof very true. Could be hormones, could be lack of sleep, could be many other contributing factors.

Teaonthelawn the marvel of MN, I feel. Many of them are crazy and get wildly out of hand. I find it quite entertaining sometimes... particularly reading exasperated responses at how ott some reactions are.

I honestly think this thread should be deleted now as it is full to the brim of pseudo science bullshit.

skipping breakfast will definitely make her overweight due to overeating later in the day.

This is just rubbish. Complete and utter rubbish. Along with a load of other things like kick starting the metabolism and, my personal favourite, activating the blood sugars!

To an earlier poster, I'm sorry I forget your name, I tend to eat my last meal at around 7.30 or 8pm. So I'm effectively doing 16:8 intermittent fasting.

Ferrier- what has this got to do with the subject of this thread? Are we really interested in the fact that you are doing 16:8 fasting?

Ferrier what's wrong with 'Kick starting your metabolism'? 😂😂😂 after a long period of not eating, including yourself, breakfast will kick start everyone's metabolism. Simply because you haven't needed to use it for 16 hours, your body has most likely have been in a state of rest. So eating will kick your metabolism up a notch, out of sleeping and into working... I don't understand what's so odd about that phrase 😂

Of course if you mean saying eating breakfast at a specific time will kick start metabolism is a load of tosh... fair dos. We all work differently. But seriously, ANY 1st meal of the day is going to suddenly wake your metabolism 😂😂

Giggling at A586Hojas 😂😂😂 she's had enough now 😂😂😂

There is no such thing as kick starting your metabolism. It’s not something that can be effected by what or when you eat, it’s just part of digestion.

"Ferrier- what has this got to do with the subject of this thread? Are we really interested in the fact that you are doing 16:8 fasting?"

It's very relevant because the rise of the 16:8 is linked to modern thinking about breakfast not being so important.

"But seriously, ANY 1st meal of the day is going to suddenly wake your metabolism 😂😂"

But what is the science behind that claim?

Gwen, are we suggesting that a 13 year old girl should be considering 16:8 fasting? Or have we moved away from the original post?

MsOtis. No, I didn't say that did I. My comment was about whether we actually need to have breakfast. If we did, the 16:8 wouldn't be seen as healthy.

Gwen - sorry just a lot of pseudoscience and not relevant to the thread - have you even read the original post?

People and their bodies are different. Including children. And people (including children) need to find out what works for them and their bodies, and the people around them (including their parents) should respect and support this.

It really isn't that hard to understand.

MsOtis - I've read the whole thread.
So you're arguing that the 16:8 is pseudo science? Well, maybe, but I haven't heard a good explanation for this 'kick start metabolism' thing either so I'd say that's pseudo science.
Just because we were brought up with the idea that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, doesn't mean it's true.

Breakfast is over rated.
I havent eaten breakfast since i was forced and threatened on a school camp as a kid. That forced breakfast caused me to throw up in front of everyone, teachers didnt force breakfast for the rest of camp oddly
Ive never get hungry before lunch, even when pregnant.
Not everyones body follows the text book, some of our bodies dont want not need food early and thats ok.
Forced eating is MUCH worse imo

Even dd isnt a big breakfast fan, i dont force it. She is topping her class and school for her age so no breakfast hasnt influenced her learning

Love the “kick start metabolism” rubbish - like you’re a car in a garage waiting for a key in the ignition.

Dd (16) will drink a coffee (if that) in the morning. I’ve never eaten breakfast except if staying in a hotel (unecessary greed!). Can’t equate having no appetite in the morning with neglect ...

Dd v slim but I’m a bit porky now nothing to do with breakfast but more to do with too much cava in the evening 🥂

Simply because you haven't needed to use it for 16 hours, your body has most likely been in a state of rest
This did legitimately make me lol. Your body is never in a 'state of rest', the metabolism is always working, even when you are asleep.