Hi Mamas,
My son is a HUGE dawdler when it comes to eating breakfast. Some days he gobbles it up, other days he has no interest and it takes me an hour to get him to eat it (if at all.) I'm concerned because he will be starting morning preschool this fall, and, obviously, he will need to have a filling breakfast before he goes, since they won't be feeding him there. Any tips for getting him to eat?
*Currently our breakfast repertoire includes Oatmeal, Scrambled Eggs, Cheerios, Yogurt...these seem to be the only foods that he'll even try. I don't want to give anything like Pop Tarts since they have significant preservatives in them, and so many of the other breakfast-type foods seem to be loaded with sodium. I've tried letting him choose his cereal, so we've bought Trix, Fruit Loops, and Cocoa Puffs, all of which he chose in the store, but after tasting them, wants nothing to do with them.*
Preschools almost always have snacks and breakfast (if it's a daycare they usually do). Explain his eating situation to the teachers. He will be fine.
I am a big fan of letting kids decide, then also letting them deal with the consequences...within reason. So I would start by getting him on the schedule you want for the Fall NOW. Wake him up. Sit him down to eat. Whatever he eats is it. Then follow the preschool schedule as far as when the next "snack" would be. (You can call them and get a copy of the schedule they follow so you know what his Fall routine will be there.) If and when he's hungry and asks for food, try to distract him, play a game, go on a walk, etc. (i.e. just like at preschool) until it's "snacktime". If he fusses, try to remind him that he's already had breakfast.
Of course you don't have to do this "cold turkey". You can wean into this, so if snacktime isn't until 11am, you can push your son off for 5 mins each week until he gets to 11am. The key is to get on their schedule by August.
I think it's FANTASTIC that you are aware of this now. I can't tell you how many parents I see stressing when their kids go to school and they are both struggling with waking in the morning, eating issues, anxiety, etc.
BTW - We took pictures of the preschool teachers in the Spring and posted them by the light switch in our kids rooms. (It was both teachers, with my child smiling!) That way they saw the faces of their teachers all summer. It wasn't a "new" stranger to them in the Fall then. My kids walked into class and said "Hello Ms. Paulette!" There was not crying, no drama. It worked great.
You could try serving him foods that are easy to take "to go" like sliced apples, dry cold cereal, sandwhich, veggie sticks, go-gurts, string cheese, etc. that way he can eat them in the car if he needs to. Does the preschool class have a snack time? Most do, so you can check and see what the snack policy is and send him healthy snacks for that, too.
This reminded me so much of my own kids I had to smile. I am also not a "morning eater" but do so to help stabilze my metabolism. I have found that by making my EVENING meal smaller, I am much hungrier (sp?) in the morning. It worked for my children also. We always had a medium sized breakfast, a large lunch and a light supper. Things like ants on a log, apples with sunbutter to dip in, or a cup of soup with a 1/2 sandwich for dinner would encourage my children to eat a cup of hot cereal, a piece of fruit and perhaps a 1/2 piece of toast with cream cheese or peanut butter for breakfast the next day. They got the same amount of calories, just spread "upside-down" so to speak. Good luck to you.
Mine was NEVER a "morning eater" when he was younger but I didn't want to send him off to school without breakfast. The one thing that finally worked was I would make his breakfast look fun....Pancakes, use different fruits to make the face on it...eyes, nose, mouth, hair, even ears. The funnier and sillier the better. Yogurt or oatmeal..same thing, put in bowl, use fruit, cherrios, or other cereal to make hair, face, ears, etc. Scrambled eggs...use those as the big 'open mouth', bacon was hair, fruit as eyes, mouth, etc. He actually began to look forward to breakfast each morning to see what "funny face" creation I had come up with. My son is older now and I don't do it anymore except on occassion just to be silly and he thinks it's funny...he remembers me doing it all the time when he was little.
I agree with Mom om the GO....one thing my sister does to keep her kiddos on schedule is she put a sticker on the clock and when the minute hand gets to the sticker breakfast is over...she also gives them a reminder..by saying "you only have three minutes left"... it works for them!
Our son wakes-up hungry each morning. Our daughter barely touches breakfast, but they do get it at Day Care, so it's not as much of an issue.
Lately, our kids have been gravitating towards Nutrigrain bars (has to be blueberry for our son), Dannon sippable yogurts, Clif Kids bars (usually with Power Bars - we just found big boxes at Sams Club this weekend for a fraction of the cost of getting them elsewhere, though Target carries multipacks), and string cheese.
They tend to do really well with those items at just 2 years-old and almost 4. We used to make cinnamon toast a lot, but they grew out of that pretty quickly. I, personally, used to eat a lot of peanut butter sandwiches when I was in high school to help fill me up - didn't bother me that it's usually a lunch item.
Good luck!
Is it 1/2 pre K or all day pre K. Our here, the kids do have snack time.
My pre schooler refuses to eat breakfast some days. Other daysshe takes her sweet time and ends up not finishing her breakfast.
What helps me is sticking on a schedule. Get dressed first, get backpack and shoes ready and then eat. That way if she goes to slow, she is dressed and we can still leave on time.
I have used drinkable yogurt and yogurt tubes, sliced fruit, toast with peanut butter , etc. My kids HATEto eat a big breakfast before school. You may also want to get him up 15 minutes early too. That worked for one of my children.
It is not a huge deal if he doesn't eat breakfast. It does mean that he should eat a nice big lunch. My 9 year old has always been a slow poke when it comes to eating. Some kids are just that way.
Wow! He could be my son at that age.
Just try to get "something" in him. I have read that ANY breakfast is better than NO breakfast. Even a donut.
My son was a morning pokey too. He had afternoon K, and it just made it worse. His battle cry was "I can't eat as soon as I get up!!!"
I was so worried about 1st Grade when he'd HAVE to eat pretty soon after waking up. He adapted. Your son will too! Good luck. Smoothies, Carnation Instant Breakfast, fresh fruit, a piece of toast & juice...you might even have to dismiss your "idea" of breakfast: my son used to ask for pepperoni & cheese, which turned my stomach, but if he'd eat it happily, I figured "why stress?" Good luck!
I am not a breakfast person. Therefore, I am not surprised that my oldest child isn't either. My little one? Sure, he will inhale breakfast. Buy my 5 year old will eat a handful of raisins upon waking, drink a glass of milk, wait about an hour and then eat some more.
If your little one isn't eating a lot first thing, I would try giving him a little bit in a little bowl then giving him a bigger meal a little while later. I've been known to hand kids waffles in the van on the way to church/school/the park. Whatever.
Added:
Seriously, try the waffles. You can make them at home or buy the "hippie" ones at the store.
hi-
make sure to focus on not being too stressed about how slow he eats. the more you rush him the slower he may become.
have you noticed a pattern the mornings he eats faster - does he get more sleep? has he gone to the bathroom? Also are you or his dad not a morning b-fast eater?
if you want to try "on the go" breakfasts - maybe try making homemade cereal bars? You can also have him help mix the bars :)
Here are some examples:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Oaty-Cereal-Bars/Detail.aspx
http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/recipes/600
http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/recipes/healt...
Good luck!
My son is into bagels right now. They have them in mini sizes which are just perfect for him. He'll eat them out of the bag or you can toast them and add butter, peanut butter, cream cheese etc. It may not be super nutritious but it is something quick and can be on the go. You could throw a banana and a yogurt drink with it and that should hold him over til lunch.
You are right not to give him the sugary stuff- its a waste.
He will probably get a snack within a few hours of school- so he will have a little something more to hold him over until lunch.
You might need to get him up earlier then you'd like so he has the time to be "lazy" about eating.
You could always try carnation instant breakfast- my son is a breakfast picker, so he drinks that to help stay full.
Bananas are also good, and whole wheat toast. Even a grilled cheese sandwich or a hot dog. Just becasue it is not typical "breakfast food" doesn't mean you can't have it in the morning!
Once he gets into the schedule, his body will adjust to breakfast time and you won't have any trouble getting him to eat in the morning.
Also, You should try buying those multi-pack of single serve cereal- then if he ends up not liking something, you don't have a whole box of cereal left.
Does he like peanut butter crackers? That was about the only thing our son would eat and when I told the dr. he said it was quite fine for him to have that each morning. It was actually healthier than many of the sugary cereals. I made what he called "home-made" ones with pb from teh jar on ritz crackers. He LOVED them and it would fill him up. Sometimes he would only eat 2, sometimes one or two more. He still loves them and he's a teenager now.
