When did you give up on pushing your DC to eat breakfast? Cave to sweet cereals. Pop tarts?

[Anonymous]

Our tradition is the night before their birthday they get to go to the store and pick out whatever cereal they want. That is the only time cereal comes into our house, any cereal. I never started a regular habit of it so their tastes have been shaped into what I stock in the house for breakfast.

[Anonymous]

We did not allow the sugary cereals, only at the grandparents house. Recently though, I need my son to gain weight to be competitive in the sport he wants to play and have bought sugary cerelas b/c it is the only way to get milk into him....also hoping he may grow another inch or two!

[Anonymous]

If needed to take medications I would allow sugary cereal. At least it is fortified.

Heck, I have resorted to pop tarts in desperate times. I admit it. They truly are crap though.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the others who have suggested trying non-breakfast foods. My 12 yo DD doesn't care for breakfast foods, so she eats something like a bagel sandwich, or a salad, heats up fish sticks, leftover spaghetti, etc.

[Anonymous]

All the people weighing in that skipping breakfast is no big deal obviously didn't read the OP. How are your replies helpful to her? Skipping breakfast is a big deal for certain medications. As she explained.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my house, they wouldn't eat. I don't buy sweets for breakfast. 16 and 13 teens. Oatmeal, Cheerios, eggs, yogurt are what is available. One regularly has toast with peanut butter.

Same. I've never bought pop-tarts or sugar cereal, except once a year when we're on vacation.

[Anonymous]

Never pop tarts. I do buy honeycomb, though. One kid loves it at regularly eats breakfast now. I also buy frozen "cinnamon toast" waffles which one eats in the car (plain, no butter or syrup). Not healthy, but really not that sweet. Another eats a croissant--again, no butter/jam.

So they get almost no actual nutrition, but do have something in their tummies when they go to school. (I think the honeycomb actually turns out to be the healthiest since it is fortified and includes milk!)

[Anonymous]

Never pop tarts. I do buy honeycomb, though. One kid loves it at regularly eats breakfast now. I also buy frozen "cinnamon toast" waffles which one eats in the car (plain, no butter or syrup). Not healthy, but really not that sweet. Another eats a croissant--again, no butter/jam.

So they get almost no actual nutrition, but do have something in their tummies when they go to school. (I think the honeycomb actually turns out to be the healthiest since it is fortified and includes milk!)

[Anonymous]

When I'm energetic, I make high protein muffins on sunday, freeze half, and give them to kids on the way out the door to school (and sometimes in lunch boxes).

The weeks that I do this tend to be our best weeks, food-wise, though I often don't have time.

[Anonymous]

We have a simple rule: you don’t get to leave the house without eating breakfast first. If that means you’re late for school and have lunch detention, on your head be it. We offer several breakfast options each day: make your own yogurt parfait, make your own muesli bowl, protein shake with half an avocado, or dad will make you eggs any way you like.

[Anonymous]

outlier here. we regularly have sugared cereals and pop tarts. No one is hungry in the morning so this is an easy way to get some food in before school. Lunch is very healthy. Dinners are somewhat healthy. we almost always have dessert. No weight problems because we try and stay active.

[Anonymous]

No sugared cereal or pop tarts here, either.

Kid #1 eats eggs or grape nuts. He'll occasionally ask for milk, but often has a small orange and water.

Kid #2 is tougher. She has a crazy sweet tooth and wants pancakes w syrup every day. No way! Weekends are negotiable. But during the week she will have avocado toast, peanut butter toast or the occasional egg with shredded cheddar cheese. (Egg must be scrambled in the microwave!)


Kid #3 will eat an entire box of grape nuts if I'm not watching. Or two slices of pb toast with a small drizzle of honey. He was on a smoothie kick for a while this summer (frozen fruit, greek yogurt and a splash of milk), which was ok with me.

[Anonymous]

Our 14 year old is the same way. My husband sits with him and watches him eat every bite. It stinks but he's got to get food in him for similar reasons.

We have worked to find high calorie foods that aren't too high-volume. So he will often eat an Ensure Plus (drink), whole milk yogurt, and some bacon. There are also some Jimmy Dean sausages you can microwave he will eat.

[Anonymous]

No sugary cereals or pop tarts here either (16 yo and 14 yo). One does oatmeal. Other doesn’t like breakfast food so has bean and cheese quesadilla or PB toast or plain yogurt with fruit.

[Anonymous]

OP I let my kids pick out what cereal they want to eat.

They are both super skinny so I don't worry about the sugar. We use whole mlik.

Their favorites are: different brands of granola, honey bunches of oats with almonds, cheerios, Smart Start, and Chex. Oh, my daughter likes whatever cereal has strawberries and bits of chocolate in it with the flakes. I'm blanking on that name; also they like some corn pop type cereal I'm blanking on the name of.

I occasionally buy them the little boxes of crazy cereals like apple jacks, froot loops etc. I tell them they are too expensive for us to buy on a regular basis though (which is basically true - seldom find on sale).