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[NewGirlHelenMumsnet]

Weetabix would like you to share your top tips for making breakfast time as stress free as possible. What are your top breakfast tips? Can you share your best breakfast stories with them on this thread? For example, do you run round trying to eat and feed the baby at the same time or is it a calm, relaxed affair in your house?

The best tips and stories will feature on their new page on Mumsnet (coming soon).

Everyone who shares a story or tip on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky winner will receive a £100 Sainsbury's voucher, from Weetabix.

Thanks MNHQ

breakfast for us is military routine routine on school days..

switch on radio 4,make coffee, heat enough milk in microwave for coffee, 2 girls cups and their shredded wheat. drink coffee whilst kids eat and drink. kids seem to know i need that first cup to be able to speak.. sometimes vary it by putting on porridge same time as coffee..

sundays used to be pancake mornings but i've swapped my lie in so he poor kids are missing out on my pancakes, dh will sometimes try but dc complain they're not as nice as mine. actually it's just ocurred to me i should make batter and leave in fridge.. there you go these surveys are ocassionally useful

Breakfast eaten at the table, usually cereal and milkshake, or toast/ bagel.

No tv allowed on school days, makes my life so much easier.

Breakfast eaten at the table in PJs so they don't wear their cereal to school.

Strict limit on sugar in cereal - no more than 25g per 100g. They usually have shreddies, no-added-sugar alpen, mini weetabix, ready break and two others on the go - currently another muesli and weetos.

School uniforms, bags, lunches, everything else: ready the night before. When breakfast is finished then hands, face, teeth are cleaned straight away and they get dressed before doing anything else. Then they have a relaxed half an hour or so before leaving the house.

Child who gets dressed first gets computer to play on before school :)

dd1 needs to be awake for a bit before she can eat so she's allowed to sit and have a drink before coming to the table

dd2 just hovers up whatever, whenever

dh doesn't bother

I eat something when I get to work/home from school drop off

NO NO NO tv on a school day until everyone is breakfasted, washed, dressed, teeth brushed

DCs to sit at the table and not piss about whilst eating, esp on a weekday

Uniform on after breakfast otherwise she will end up going to school with cereal stuck to her front

DD1 is allowed toast at the weekend and can eat it in front of the telly (I am doing it so can't really tell her not to)

Putting some music on during breakfast helps the day get off to a good start.

Have a routine and stick to it, ensure the kids learn to help and take some responsibility.

breakfast is not rushed for DCs here, cereal, weetabix or toast for them. sometimes they might have a banana instead.
DH has already left for work without breakfast before 7am and i will have cereal or fruit

school bags and lunches are all ready the evening before and then its teeth brushing and toilet (8:30am) before leaving for school

we're dead boring as anything else leads to chaos so breakfast for us is military routine routine on school days..

switch on radio 4,make coffee, heat enough milk in microwave for coffee, 2 girls cups and their shredded wheat. drink coffee whilst kids eat and drink. kids seem to know i need that first cup to be able to speak.. sometimes vary it by putting on porridge same time as coffee..

sundays used to be pancake mornings but i've swapped my lie in so he poor kids are missing out on my pancakes, dh will sometimes try but dc complain they're not as nice as mine. actually it's just ocurred to me i should make batter and leave in fridge.. there you go these surveys are ocassionally useful

Just want to add that we have weetabix most weekdays. I sometimes give them a choice of a few Shreddies on top but not always. Free choice at weekends, normally eggs or porridge.

A tip from Annabel Karmel was Weetabix, greek yoghurt and bananna for young babies / toddlers. Worked for all 3 of mine.

Always have frozen fruit in the freezer to sweeten porridge or weetabix. Frozen fruit also cools down hot porridge.

Always sit at the table (with a wipeable cloth )
Have a set time for breakfast, sametime every day. It must be obeyed, Make it the last thing before leaving.

DCs 4 and 2 don't even know that chocolate cereals exist - i intend to keep it that way.
they have weetabix, ready break or toast.
if running really late put the toast into a small sandwich bag to eat in the car just don't let them walking into school with it or the apha mummies will think you are a very bad parent

if you manage to get your own breakfast before the dcs wake up, you are in with a fighting chance of eating it before the school run

Ds eats breakfast in the car on the way to school as he's not hungry before and it's a half hour drive. He has a cereal bar or similar. At the moment he's enjoying the hot cross bun season. I try and get him to have some milk or juice before we leave, but he rarely wants more than a couple of sips.

I have suggested he could get to school a bit earlier and have breakfast in the canteen there, but he doesn't want too.
He tends to eat a bowl of cereal just before bedtime though (does that count as 'breakfast'?)

For me - I make a cup of tea (has to be my favourite darjeeling) when I get up and check my emails before I start rushing round getting lunches made, showered, dc up etc
If I have time I will grab a bowl of cereal or piece of toast after we are both ready to go but usually we head straight out the door so I will have something once I get to work (keep a box of shreddies at work) or eat whatever fruit I took with me from my lunch pack (or help myself to one of ds's cereal bars out of the glove box if I can't wait!)

At the weekends ds tends to eat later and sits at the table for cereal or likes toast or very occassionally I have made him eggy bread if requested.
I tend to have toast or porridge at the weekends, again as and when I feel like it. We don't have a set routine.

get up at 5 am then there's no rushing around.

Teach the children to make their own breakfast of weetabix and milk.

When they are finished get the goats in to sort the floor.

Usually to the sound of the budgie who sings a lot in the morning.

Military operation here too:

7-7.30 - all up, washed/showered and dressed to sound of Chris Evans
7.30-8 - breakfast - 2 Weetabix then a bowl of Shreddies and bit of fruit for 8 yr old Breakfast Monster DD, scant bowl of something for DS (with 2 minuter bits of pear and a lot of screaming ), cereal and fruit for DH and I
8.05 (after Moira Stuart has finished the news) - teeth, hair then TV if time (and if there hasn't been any fighting/niggling/slacking)
8.25 - shoes, coats etc on and out the door by 8.35 for 5-10 min walk to school

And...............breath!

minute ie virtually invisible!

DD has some warm milk then either toast and peanut butter, porridge with seeds and honey or granola type cereal if we have any. DS like toast and marmite plus at least 2 pieces of fruit and maybe yoghurt or some cheese too. I need tea then possibly eggs or maybe cereal or cheese on oatcakes.
Everyone eats theirs when they are ready (We're all up way too early so plenty of time)

No real breakfast hassles here as they're both usually starving.

we are very relaxed here. dont have a shower so (unless its a special day) we all have baths in the evening.we get up at 7ish The Boy eats his breakfast and plays while I check mn my emails and bank account. lunch, clothes and book bag all sorted the night before so about 7.45 we go up and brush teeth, wash face, brush hair. get dressed. out of the house by 8.30 for the 10-15 minute walk to school. ds is allowed chocolate cereal of a weekend, but he tends to have honey hoops during the week. I might have a\ crumpet mi8d morning, IF im hungry.

From the age of two everyone is able to carry their own bowls or plates from the table to the kitchen - which saves me a job.

No-one is allowed to speak to mummy till she has had coffee unless they are bleeding.

I love the idea of having to wake your children up - in my dreams - we are always up early here so no real hassle - insist on breakfast at the table, cereals or toast in the week (sometimes a boiled egg) with some fruit. No TV/PC allowed before breakfast - can be difficult if DS gets up at 6am ! Must get school kit/homework/face & teeth done. Cooked breakfasts at weekends.

Had to prevent DS from going out cycling this morning before school !

Prefer to have an even more leisurely breakfast on my own in an ideal world .

I go into autopilot every morning. It's always very calm, because I get everyone up at 7am, giving us plenty of time to pull ourselves round before we have to think about getting organised for the day.

The children are given only two options for breakfast. So this morning, for example, they were offered a toasted hot cross bun or Rice Krispies. Tomorrow it might be Marmite on toast or Cheerios. My husband lets them gaze into the cereal cupboard for 5 minutes, dithering and then inevitably getting upset when they are forced to make a decision (or have a decision made for them). They usually have a piece of fruit too.

No TV, everyone is far too dopey and gawping at the screen makes us worse and less inclined to shift ourselves.

Breakfast can be an easy way to get toddlers involved in making their own food, taking a handful of cereal from the packet, putting it in their own bowl, adding some dried or fresh fruit and then carrying it to table for mummy to add the milk. DD eats more when she's been involved in the preparation!

My 3 come down stairs asking what's for breakfast. No "good morning" or "did you sleep well, Mummy?" No, it's "I'm starving, what is there?"

Generally the girls have something cooked along the lines of boiled egg or fifi toast a few mornings a week and cereal the rest of the time and me laddo has cereal everyday. I have 2 weetabix with hot milk in the winter and cold milk in the summer and a very large cup of tea.

After troughing everyone gets dresses, then I run round and do all the morning jobs whilst they have a play.

Out the door at 8.40.

My top tip is to get as much as possible done the night before and also to get up 10 minutes before the kids. Silence is golden!

Breakfast is not calm in my house! Currently I stay in bed with the baby, whilst DH runs around after the other two. This has to be recommended as a strategy.

My only tip is to limit choices of cereal, or it will all end in tears.

Mornings in our house consist of me being woken by a tag team of DS, the dog, the cat - basically, anyone who wants feeding.

I get DS dressed first otherwise we never get out of the door, then he can take AGES over his brekkie.
My porridge goes in the microwave, the kettle goes on.
The dog wolfs hers down in 2 bites (she enjoys half a weetabix with her brekkie in the morning but I won't expand on why!!) then gazes at the cat nibbling slowly on his, waiting to pounce on his leftovers.

Once that lot are done, the microwave pings and I get to eat mine in peace.