Breakfast before school

[Gambino1726]

I am just curious. What are your children eating for breakfast before school?

We’ve got into a habit of making scrambled eggs and a toast. My 8 year old makes this by herself most mornings. Occasionally, if there’s bacon in the house, she’ll throw in a rasher or two!

We don’t do cereal. Mainly because it slides into sugary shit plus we don’t drink milk so wouldn’t know what to put with it (daughter had an intolerance as a baby and we just never got back into it).

The teacher told me she has children in the class eating chocolate bars for breakfast - but is this really true?

Curious what others do

Cereal, juice, maybe toast or fruit or yoghurt if they’re hungry.
Can’t be arsed to overthink it. We all eat together; it takes 10 mins; it’s not yet 8am. I’m more concerned about what they have for lunch, but haven’t got much visibility beyond the school’s pre-circulated menu.

Some children simply won't (or can't) eat those foods for whatever reason. SEND, allergies/other medical reasons or don't fancy a big breakfast in the morning and just want a simple slice of toast or a bit of cereal.

This is a genuine question … what makes you think a bowl of porridge with a dollop of peanut butter is fancy or big?

Eggs and soldiers is an egg boiled for 6 minutes paired with a piece of buttered toast cut into strips.

won’t and can’t are two different things. It is the job of parents to build good habits for their children. You’re doing them a great disservice by feeding them sugary breakfasts or cereals. If they get used to eating whole foods from a young age you’re setting them up for life.

I didn't say that porridge is fancy, I said that some children don't fancy a big breakfast. What makes me think that? The fact that I myself tend to prefer a lighter breakfast rather than a cooked/hot breakfast.

My own child has a limited diet so my goal is simply for him to eat breakfast. Eggs are off the menu, as is porridge and peanut butter.

He eats toast or cereal for breakfast and that's more than good enough for me.

Eggs, porridge, fruit, crumpet/toast

totally normal

cereal sometimes but like you say, it’s sugary shit

@DrCoconut

scrambled egg takes under a minute

cereal bars are junk

If I was her I wouldn’t be so high and mighty about salty bacon

Time is an issue here in the mornings. Dd's (teens) are up at 6.30 and out of the door approx 7.20 for their desired bus. During weekends and holidays they rarely choose cereal, however it's quick. Even waiting for the toaster takes too long on a school morning.

Fruit toast is a current favorite when they don't have cereal. Neither like eggs, and porridge takes much too long.

Porridge isn’t a big breakfast. It’s nutritiously dense. It seems like you’re trying to convince yourself rather than me.

Not at all. Some people don't want to eat something nutritiously dense first thing in the morning, they prefer something lighter and that's absolutely fine.

and as I said, my son doesn't eat porridge (or eggs) anyway due to his limited diet. He's under a dietitian and ''just make sure he eats'' are her exact words.

@Twistedfirestarterswe aren’t ’gossiping’ about students but we do share information. If little Johnny had stolen food, had three dinners, asked staff regularly then it may be part of a bigger picture. Turning a blind eye is how things escalate and go into ‘lessons will be learnt’ territory. It’s important. (Safeguarding)

A DD’s friend in Italy gave her children Oreos for breakfast every morning.

I’m talking about parents who are care experienced, who have grown up in chaotic homes and foster system with no clue how to parent or about nutrition. Rather than judging the way they feed their kids, maybe check your privilege.

It's keeps changing. My kids go through phases. Started with ready brek, then cereal, then toast with jam ot peanut butter. Later it changed to fruit, then yogurt but at the moment it's grapes and apples . Basically whatever they can stomach in the morning

Oh come on in 2025, no one thinks a chocolate bar is a nutritious breakfast it's just something convenient you can buy at the shop that needs absolutely no preparation.

It's really offensive IMO to suggest that someone who has grown up in care doesn't have the ability to google 'healthy breakfasts for kids'. Or is incapable of making porridge or wholemeal toast or boiling an egg.

As someone who has worked closely with schools in deprived areas, and with the Magic Breakfast charity, and spoken extensively to teachers and headteachers on this issue, as well as meeting many of these parents myself, respectfully, you have no idea what you are talking about.

I remember when I was pregnant and visited the midwife (I live in a deprived area), and new mums were getting talks on not giving their babies coca cola in a bottle.

My 5 year old has SEN so very limited on what he will and won’t eat. I make him have a multivitamin which he thinks is a sweet. He will usually eat toast with butter so has a couple of slices but needs feeding otherwise he won’t touch it. I will often give him a couple of frubes too, I know they’re not the best but it’s a bit of protein. Sometimes he’ll have a nakd bar because he thinks it’s chocolate. He has an innocent smoothie every morning too (he won’t have homemade ones however I dress them up).
I basically have to trick him into eating semi-nutritional things otherwise he’d just live off pizza and chips.

Older DC eat cereal, toast, crumpets. I’d love to say we have time to make eggs and such but most mornings are absolutely manic. I often leave for work just as they’re waking up at 6.30 then DH has to rush around frantically getting them ready, younger 2 go to breakfast club on those days and have extra toast or whatever.

One large sausage, cooked the day before and heated from the fridge, served with one fried egg. Total prep time under 3 mins.

If his limited diet is due a diagnosed medical condition then yes but if it’s down to poor parenting then no.

Are you being serious? There some fantastic parents who have been raised in those environments and are going to the moon and back to ensure their kids are fed well and healthy. What privilege? It’s eggs, toast and porridge. Giving your child sugary breakfast like a chocolate bar or bowl of whatever is borderline neglect. The impact it has on their brain and day to day learning is terrible. This information isn’t new or enlightening it’s been there for a while.

Have you just said that giving your children cereal (bowl of “whatever”) is neglect?

Not feeding your children is neglect. Fed is best.

I wouldn’t recommend a Twix and a bag of Doritos for breakfast, sure, but cereal? Really?

Yes, I am serious. Yes there are great parents who are care experienced and do their research. I am telling you from direct experience with parents, charities, health professionals and teachers that there are a number of parents who come from chaotic backgrounds who do not know this stuff.

You can be in disbelief all you like, but it is still too often the case.

Just to add, sadly many of these families do have social services involved, and a proportion will lose their children. Often there is also neglect and addiction at play meaning parents can’t make good choices.

Completely agree.

As a fresh faced newly qualified teacher at 22, I kept breakfast items in a cupboard that I paid for myself, and gave out on a morning to make sure those children were fed.

Some of them slept in houses with no furniture, no gas/electric, boarded up windows, unwashed clothes. Real, actual neglect - not being given Coco Pops instead of freshly baked bread.

The idea that children in that position have parents who are able to make healthy food choices, when they can’t even make sure they’re not sleeping on the floor, is frankly ludicrous.

That’s neglect, giving your child pain au chocolat for breakfast, is not.

How many children do you know that are under dietitians due to poor parenting? Of course it's because of a medical reason.

In my son's case, giving him porridge would be poor parenting.