What do your teenagers eat before they go to school

[moyasmum]

Early start,long bus ride,never a "good" eater,my 11 yr old is struggling in the mornings.
Ive tried cereals ,toast,pancakes, scrambled eggs in various conbinations but im getting nowhere.
What do other people do?
Am now driving her to school, but she is still not eating much(1/4 slice of toast).
Does anyone have advice?

My DS won't eat anything. I have pointed out that this is not a healthy way; he says it is too early for him to eat. He has a big breakfast at weekends.

What about a smoothie - fruit juice, banana/other fruit and yoghurt blended together? Easy to gulp down.

mine are the same. i tell them to eat weetabix/porridge but they won't listen!
they take a geo bar & apple to school with them.

btw the 12 yr old's school provides toast to buy at break. does your ds's school do this - i think its a good idea

mine have the oatsosimple stuff you nuke in the microwave

Thanks for the suggestions,you guys,i really am bothered by this, and appreciate you all replying.
Shes already been sick on the bus ,(had to bring her home to cleasn her up).
I well remember the morning slice of toast i grabbed as a kid, so i know the morning pressure, but shes a bad eater anyway and what i'm looking for (is the impossible),something that is easy to eat,stays down,and gives her energy.
This morning ,it was 2 mouthfuls of cereal and a small square of cheese (she ate 1/2 and palmed the rest!).
Ive tried all of the suggested foods ,so far
but its nice to know im thinking along the same lines as you lot.

would she eat a cereal kind of bar in the car?

my DS1 eats taost and jam ot bagel with ham and cheese or cereal most mornings.
If he is up early he does himself bacon, sausage eggs etc.

Why don't you do her a bagel or sandwich for her to eat at first break if first thing am is too much for her?

moyasmum - so let her go off empty and allow her a snack at breaktime. geobar/ milkshake (my kids like activia yog drinks)alternatives:homemade flapjack, breadsticks, veg sticks.we make homemade cookies with oats/brown flour and selection of dried fruit they are tasty and good for you!

if school object write a letter explaining its medical, and get GP to back you up

Have tried the breakfast bar idea in the car (low stress, you know)but it ends up not eaten howver i play it.
I guess I want to see her eat food, as she is a bit food avoidant ,but maybe doing the braktime flapjack or bagel thing might be the way to go and just rely on her sorting herself out,take the pressure off.

Gps a jobsworth and I think i get better suggestions from mn, to be honest.

it will sort itself out, honest. i have 2 teens now and they go through phases (not on purpose even)

My two teens vary. Ds will have an omlette or porridge if we have time, otherwise just cereal. Dd sometimes has cereal, but I often end up wrapping toast in foil for her to eat in the car, as we're running late.

I do try to encourage taking a banana to school - with mixed success!

They also both like a hot milky coffe to take in the car on our drive to the bus - like their own personal Starbucks!!

Maybe your dd just needs to settle in, and you can worry about breakfast when she's more comfortable.

DSD will occasionally eat some buttered malt loaf, or a blueberry muffin. Not a healthy start, per se, but healthier than an empty stomach.

Maybe if you let her have something easy and sweet with some hidden fruit or wholemeal in it till she gets in the habit of morning eating, then vary it?

Best of luck, you must be worried for her.

something to eat at first break - if sh wont eat

Always eats breakfast, porridge or cereal. Then takes a cereal bar for first break. I on the other hand eat nothing until lunch.

is she thin? is there an eating disorder history or anything just with u saying she is food avoidant, i would consider it, how about when she gets home does she eat a good dinner.

xx

I must admit, I can't eat breakfast until I've been awake for at least an hour. I take mine with me and eat it when I get to work - sometimes it's a bagel, sometimes yoghurt with muesli, sometimes a scone and a piece of fruit, in emergencies just a breakfast bar.

If she gets a bit travel sick as well, she's probably worried about eating before going on the bus, in case she's sick.

I'd be inclined to let her take a muffin or something with her, to eat when she gets to school. So long as she's not this bad at other times of the day, it won't do her much harm I don't think, especially if she could maybe get involved in making some on a Sunday, ready for the week. You can control what goes in them more then as well and maybe get some seeds, or fruit into her.

Cereal bars are not a good idea, they are full of sugar and can put your child on such a high that when they come down, they come down at such a rate it can be detrimental to their health and their ability to perform. Make up a fruit salad with your child/ren, with all the fruits they like to eat and give them this in the morning, if packed correctly they can eat this on their travel. If you find this is no good, you need to find a healthy food your child enjoys and try this with them. One problem may be evening eating habits(sounds silly but is isn't) i have four children whom have many adversities and allergies to certain foods and plain old i just don't like that and i have one child with ADHD and one with behaviour disorder and have been studying as much as i can about food since i was a child, so i know what i am talking about. With some children, if they eat too early in the evening then go to bed they can become starved overnight when their body burns off the daily consumption that is left and then putting certain foods into the tummy can be quite heavy for the tummy to handle, on the other hand if they eat too late, what is consumed is not always burnt off and can make a childs tummy uncomfortable in the morning so putting more food in it first thing in the morning just wont help. We need to give children a good balanced diet especially the evening meal before bed. In England most of us rely on tea in the morning to wake us up, it isn't rich like coffee but it just feels and tastes so nice without the harsh strength of coffee, try a cup of tea and NO to the idea of milky, i have found that is a no no with my children as it seems to activate their bowels in the morn and just at the point its time to leave for school...!!! although milky in the evening its great to help them settle before bed.

Are you nagging her to eat something? If so, stop. I used to do that and got nowhere with dd, other than a row at 7.30 in the morning. I leave it comletely to her now and she realised that actually, when its her decision to eat and what to eat, she quite likes the idea of breakfast. DD is a good eater however, so I don't have a problem with her not eating breakfast and what she does choose is good stuff for that time of day. She has the breaktime snacks available at school too.

Thanks for the advice, im open to any ideas.

This morning she had sliced apple, and 1/4 slice of brown bread- left the house after a shower 3/4 hr later , and she was sick again in the car (missed the uniform this time).
Shes a trooper, and a nice kid, but i feel like im locked on a treadmill here, just getting to school.

Have to say if I was travel sick I'd be wanting to avoid any stress and live beside the school or move the school brick by brick to 10 mins walk away....in an ideal world.

My father used to swear by Stugeron as an anti sickness pill. How about some of that for breakfast?

My two vary. My son loves breakfast and has bacon , cheese ,crackers and fruit .My daughter doesn't feel very hungry on a morning. She has a small amount of chopped up fruit and maybe a slice of toast or a waffle with maple syrup. I can't face eating til i've been up an hour or so so i can see her point. Some days she eats very little and buys toast or french bread at break time. Could your daughter manage an apple or banana once she's almost there, or a couple of bisciuts. I know thats not ideal but maybe better than nothing ?