Not Eating In Mornings

[suedonim]

I'm finding it almost impossible to get dd (11yo) to eat anything until she gets home from school at around 2pm. She starts school at 7.55am and occasionally has some orange juice before leaving home but nothing else.

She takes a packed lunch of a sandwich or cheese and crackers, plus fruit but four times out of five it comes home uneaten. She says she just doesn't feel hungry which, because we live in a tropical climate I can understand to some extent. But I know I would pass out if I left it that long between meals. Once home she's looking for food all the time as though she's making up for lost time.

I'm concerned that the long gaps between eating will damage her health - what do you think? Also, I'd love any new ideas at all for tempting her to eat. I'm pretty limited in what I can buy in the shops so recipes for home made stuff would be good, too.

Hello suedonim I am not the best person to advise on recipes, but I can say that I was, and still am, rather like this. My mother did force me to eat breakfast when I was at home but I never, ever wanted it once I hit adolescence, and never eat it now. I do have lunch though (but not a huge amount). I then eat like a pig from about 5pm onwards. I agree it's not terribly sensible but my mother was just the same, and my grandmother. I certainly wouldn't recommend it, but I doubt if it really causes long term damage.

Thank you. I think the talk about diabetes on the sugar rush thread has concentrated my worries about it! I know not eating breakfast is common, it's just that it seems such a long time to go without food.

She sounds like me. I used to do early shifts, starting at 7am, and regularly wouldn't eat until 1pm, my digestive system just wasn't awake, and the thought of food would make me heave.

But that is a long time to go without eating, especially as she is at school. But if it's not causing any problems, then don't worry.

Could you get her to have a smoothie at breakfast or even lunch, maybe? Easy for her to get down, and it would keep her going a bit.

Me and DS (11) are useless in the morning - we both hate breakfast and both prefer to eat slightly later on. Can you send her with a croissant and smoothie for mornign break?

I'm cheered to learn that there's quite a number of people whose appetite doesn't kick in until later in the day! Part of the problem is that we rarely get any fresh dairy products here (Nigeria) otherwise dd would eat some cereal or a yoghurt. Smoothies might work as she wouldn't be able to taste the UHT milk in them. Bananas are no problem to get but there are no berry fruits, peaches or pears, all of which dd likes. Is it possible to make a smoothie with banana and tinned fruits or would it go yukky?

LostinFrance, dd does come shopping with me sometimes but choice is so limited. This week there's no orange juice - this is Africa, fgs!!!! I'm constantly scratching around for things for us all to eat, tbh.

As long as she is eating at some stage during the day and eating plenty when she does, I don't think you need to be too concerned. I'm sure you know she doesn't have any 'issues' with food, otherwise you would have mentioned it. Who made the rules that everyone has to eat at certain times of the day? I'm always having this arguement with my mother. I sometimes don't eat lunch until 4 or 5 in the afternoon and she is always and says but lunchtime is 1 o'clock! But if I'm not hungry, why eat? Personally I could keep eating breakfast til about 11, but dh doesn't eat until 7 or 8 at night!

Sorry, folks, the internet went awol. You're right, MaureenML, dd doesn't have any issues with food, it is just the time of day she eats the stuff.

However, yesterday she told me she ate loads at school for snacktime - birthday cake!! Her school has a tradition of the birthday child bringing in a cake for the class to share and apparently she ate a mahoosive slice. Birthday cake is obviously the way to go in future, hehehe.

Thanks so much for the reassurances, it really helps when you just can't seem to see the wood for trees.