NOW CLOSED: UK MNers with a child aged 5-15: take a short survey for Warburtons - & share your best morning tips/breakfast recipes - £300 of Love2Shop vouchers to be won

[AnnMumsnet]

We've been asked by Warburtons to find Mumsnetters to:

~ Complete their survey all about the morning breakfast routine in your house - this is open to all UK MNers with at least one child (of approx school age) aged 5-15 years - complete it and add your details at the end and you could win a £150 Love2Shop voucher - here's the link

and also for all parents (whatever age child you have) to please

~ Share your top tips for making mornings run smoothly, your top breakfast recipe tips or top advice on how to get your children eating breakfast - everyone who adds a tip etc will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win another £150 Love2Shop voucher.

This is all in advance of a new book which Warburtons are producing, so please note your anonymous tips/ advice may well appear in the book - as well as stats from the survey. The book will be distributed free of charge next year and there will be an opportunity to get a copy via MN.

Here's the survey link again (at the end you will be redirected to this thread so you can add a comment then)

thanks
MNHQ

[ShrekTh3Halls]

We do everything the night before. Our eldest child has aspergers so it makes it even more essential to get everything "in place" the night before. All we do in the morning is the fastest of washes, dress,brush teeth and eat breakfast. The children have a listeach of what they need each day - their idea, they made their own. Well with football kits, musical instruments, three packed lunches (thamks to food allergies)and

[WhoKnowsWhereTheMistletoes]

Our eldest has AS too, it really helps with the morning routines!

[369thegoosedrankwine]

Make breakfast part of the family routine that the child fits into. My two Ds's know that we go downstairs and eat breakfast before anything else, and we have all fallen into this routine since Ds1 was weaned.

I offer a limited choice of cereal with banana and toast and crumpets. Sometimes ds2 only wants a banana and that is fine, his appetite isn't huge as he s only 2 but he always has something.

In terms of getting out of the house on time (this is going to sound sad) but I know how long most tasks take so I know how long I've got to shower, dry my hair, breakfast, get boys dressed and get out so I try to get up early enough to try and factor everything in.

[BonzoDooDah]

How to cope:

Clothes laid out the night before.

A good night's sleep so I'm not ratty.

A box of Kalms for breakfast.


On frosty mornings I start the car and lock it with a second key so it is defrosted while the children get shoes on.



Agree the question how long before routine established being extremely odd (and not written by someone with children - they want a stupidly long answer).

0-6 months = Breastfeeding. 6-12 months = weaning 0-12 months on Maternity leave
1-4 years at nursery so flexible but need a routine
4-5 years - start the school run = completely different.

[ShrekTh3Halls]

oops the last bit of my post got lost, cheers android tab
well you get the idea anyway.
Aspies are awesome for making you be organised - every house should have one

[NowWhatIsit]

Ban cereal on weekdays. Now I give them porridge or bread/toast which seems to last them longer, less mid morning hungry grumpiness.

[directoroflegacy]

EVERYTHING is done the night before;
clothes laid out
Bags ready
Hwk/ pe kits/ money ready
Packed lunches done
Bread buttered(nutellad already!!)
No going back upstairs - always moving forwards so toothbrushes kept downstairs too!
No TV if dawdling
I find that this makes mornings as smooth as they're going to get
BUT
It just means I have a mini morning rush the evening before!!

[Bogeyface]

I have another.

Have age appropriate expectations. A 5 year old can take their own bowl and spoon to the sink when they have done. An 8 year knows that they need their book bag every day and should be able to remember it. A 14 year is perfectly capable of making their own lunch.

I found myself doing everything for everyone and feeling like I had done a full day by 8:30! Then I realised that half of the stuff I was doing was stuff they could do for themselves and that I wasnt doing them or me any favours by doing it for them. The consequences of forgetting a book bag, or going hungry at lunchtime because "I forgot!" soon means that they dont forget again!

[tethersjinglebellend]

Save time by having breakfast the night before.

[GetKnitted]

Top tips, honey, sultanas, or bascially anything sprinkly

[LiveItUp]

As much as poss done the night before - school and sports bags literally lined up by the door.

The kids actually get their own breakfast, unless it's porridge in which case I make it. They generally have weetabix.

It has taken years to get to the stage that mornings are calm. I do expect them to be independent in the morning, (and for older children to help younger ones) as I think this is a brilliant opportunity to help them prepare for RL. Like Bogeyface above, they need to think for themselves (age appropriate).

[eteo]

Get ready plate and spoon on table. Make sure I put out their clothing the night before.

[Annieuk75]

I always make sure that before I go to bed that uniform and other clothes are all layed out ready for the morning. I make sure my sons school bag is ready and any thing else that needs to be taken into school is left in a bag, hanging from the front door.Any important messages are also put on the front door using a post-it

[Loshad]

Really agree re getting organised the night before - with 4 dc and a full time job i find it essential.
We pack all school bags and sports kit the night before, i pack my briefcase and make my lunch, the dc get their uniform out. I lay the table for breakfast. allows for a totally stress free morning, i will have fed dog, cats, horses, set a load of washing of and leave house with the dcs by 7.15 am with them having had a decent meal.

[ILoveAFullFridge]

We find that channeling aspie behaviour helps hugely in the mornings. For example, our dc know exactly what they have to do in the mornings, but our 9yo really struggled until we made her a chart showing everything (alarm, get up, dress, hair, etc) and time deadlines for each step. She puts a sticker for each step accomplished on time. OMG what a difference this has made!

Though when something happens to derail her timetable - OMG what fallout!

We also do the no screens on a schooldays morning and no going back upstairs.

[lorka]

I always make sure I have school bags, lunchboxes and clothes ready the night before so we are not rushing about at the last minute.

[Bogeyface]

Save time by having breakfast the night before.

:o I think we have a winner!

[insanityscratching]

My tip would be to get up a good thirty minutes before everyone else so as to shower and dress yourself first and get the first cup of tea then because you are organised and wide awake everything seems to follow much easier. I love mornings though because I wake early every day and get an hours peace and numerous tasks done without interruption.

[InMySpareTime]

Mornings are not a problem in my house, the DCs get up pre-6am so have been known to sort their breakfast, get ready for school and be an hour into a film before I even come downstairs!
My top tip is to keep breakfast stuff including bowls and side plates in a low cupboard once the DCs are school age, then they can do their own breakfast without waking everyone up. They will spill a lot of cereal at first, but after they've been made to clear it up a few times (and find that the cereal fairies don't replenish spilt cereal) they get adept at breakfast preparation fairly quickly and you get an extra half hour in bed!

[cinnamongreyhound]

I always do lunches the night before.

Do everything upstairs before coming down, which does mean teeth before breakfast (naughty mummy).

The kids chose their own cereal when I shop so I know it's something they'll eat, it's mostly about calories to keep them going until lunch and the rest of their nutrition comes from other meals. Plus most cereals have added vitamins and minerals so I don't stress too much about that side of it!

Leave plenty of time for everything and be prepared to say everything 500 times!! I have thought of recording my voice- get dressed, get dressed, eat your breakfast, eat your breakfast, EAT, get your shoes on,

[poachedeggs]

Have children who class 5am as morning, then you'll have ages to get ready!

Also, make breakfast as healthy as possible to counteract the effects of whatever dubious 'healthy choice' they might have at school dinners. Porridge takes a couple of minutes in the microwave and they love choosing toppings like seeds, honey, fruit, or a sugary cereal like Frosties.

Have a 'no TV until you're dressed' rule, and a 'no getting dressed until you've eaten and brushed your teeth' rule.

Failing that, homeschool?!

[BadMissM]

A variety of things available for breakfast...bread for toast, spreads for toast, from Marmite and Peanut Butter through to Nutella and Jam. Varying content- sometimes brioche, other times porridge, yogurt, according to the time of year.

If washing is not done and given by bedtime night before, no point in asking for it....

Showers/baths in the evenings. Everyone wants to use the bathroom in the mornings....

School bags packed the night before. School clothes sorted before bed. Has school dinners- less prep, and DC who has long bus journeys to school has hot food in middle of day, much less hassle.

Therefore DC/DH not having to confront grumpy half-awake Mum to ask for stupid things in morning...means less arguments!

[NicknameHistory]

erm, just one question. Breakfast recipes - wtf???? cereal? porridge? toast? cooked breakfast? I have honestly never heard of a recipe being needed for breakfast. Weird.