Thought About Breakfast

[littlemommy]

At a class last night, the instructor was asking how long it takes the typical family to get breakfast ready. Some people said a couple seconds if you do it in the car. I know a lot of families do this, and it takes away from the face time between the parents and their children. It's sad, really.

On the flip side, I serve breakfast to the DCK's in the morning. It makes me feel good to replace sugary poptarts with a nutritious, warm breakfast in the morning. But then again, I'm doing exactly what i talked about earlier-taking face time away. With most kids being here 9-10 hours/day, I'm sure they would love to spend extra, quality time with their parents in the morning. Sad thing is, how many parents would actually sit down and eat with their little ones?

How do you feel about this?

[Meyou]

It only takes me 5 minutes to make scrambled eggs or oatmeal so it's all excuses IMO. I don't normally sit down with my kids for breakfast but I make it and I'm "around". DCK's have normally started to arrive before they eat.

I know my DCK's eat a variety of things for breakfast. One family has oatmeal and a protein shake each day. One family has oatmeal, yogurt and berries. One has brown sugar toast. The last family normally gives their child peanut butter toast or cherrios, milk and a banana.

Alll in all most of them get a good breakfast but I also don't serve it so I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

[littlemommy]

Even though my DCP's know I serve breakfast, they still bring their kids in with tootsie rolls, cookies, twizzlers, sugary doughnuts, or McDonald's with 7up.

So looking at it this way, I'm glad I do serve it and can replace that stuff with something healthy. Even though these parents are "serving" breakfast to their own kids, they aren't spending time with them in the mornings.

[MarinaVanessa]

I serve breakfast here too but that doesn't stop the families that get here early enough to offer their kids something to eat for breakfast at home too. Maybe I have good parents??? All I know is that even though I serve breakfast here both DCK's that get here that early usually pick at their plates and leave some of it, sometimes they still eat it all. DCP's tell me "Oh we had toast, yogurt and a banana this morning so he may not want to eat with you". They let me know what the kids had and how much so that I'm not surprised or worried if they don't all of their breakfast for me.

[mismatchedsocks]

I serve breakfast here as well, but alot of the kids "eat" at home or in car before they come too. I have had kids come in with candy, soda, cookies, donuts, etc. Those get handed back to parents so it doesnt happen anymore but I can see the crumbs on coat, etc.

My own kids have cold cereal, milk and a fruit each morning. Sometimes they will eat what I am making for the daycare kids, waffles, pancakes, sausage biscuits, muffins, egg scrambled mini muffin type things, mini weiners. It takes me 5 minutes to prep breakfast and with hot things I serve as they are getting done, but fruit gets eaten while everyone waits.

I cant imagine eating breakfast in the car, maybe in a rush, but even then would be a granola bar, fruit, or veggies.

[E Daycare]

Even though my DCP's know I serve breakfast, they still bring their kids in with tootsie rolls, cookies, twizzlers, sugary doughnuts, or McDonald's with 7up.

So looking at it this way, I'm glad I do serve it and can replace that stuff with something healthy. Even though these parents are "serving" breakfast to their own kids, they aren't spending time with them in the mornings.

I had a dck (2yrs) walk in yesterday with a grown ups fiber one bar which his mother said was a "breakfast bar" and that it was "something at least since he doesnt eat for you". I make a hot breakfast every day and sit with the kids too but this kid eats nothing of the sort (except that friggin fiber bar). I was very irritated but at this point I dont care if she feeds him fried ****ers 'cause nothing is gonna change.

I enjoy sitting with the kids. We talk and they sit better to eat. Same with lunches and I do it with my son EVERY day, not just when dck are here. We eat dinners as a family every night too, at the table, with home cooked meals. That family dynamic has diminished greatly with most.

[lpperry]

I offer breakfast, but most of my daycare kids eat at home. I open at 8 and the three that arrive shortly after 8 get up fairly early. They have plenty of time to eat at home.

I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with my own kids because I am home to do so.

Now, if my own kids were going to daycare and the daycare provider offered breakfast, I would have my child eat at daycare. My 2 1/2 year old goes to bed at 7:30/8:00pm and gets up at 8am. My 1 year old goes to bed at 7:00/7:30pm and gets up at 7:30am. I would much rather let them get their 12 hours of much needed sleep than to wake them up so that we could eat breakfast together. We can eat dinner together.

[HeatherJ]

I feed my son breakfast at home. He goes to a daycare center each morning at around 8:30. We don't wake up until 7:00 or 7:30, so it doesn't give us a lot of time. His breakfast is usually some yogurt, a banana (or I will cut up an apple or orange) and some cereal w/out milk. My son has oddly never liked milk in his cereal, he always eats it dry, but will drink a glass of milk with his breakfast. He never eats all of everything, (except for his cereal, he always eats all of that), but he does eat some of the yogurt and fruit.
The cereal is always high in whole grains, I usually buy boring-sounding organic stuff, never anything with marshmallows or sugar, or flavored like peanut butter or chocolate, but he really loves cereal. I have also given him Post's Bite-Size Shredded Wheat, not organic, but I've read the ingredients and didn't have any problems with it. It's been cold the last couple of mornings here, so I've made plain oatmeal and he really likes that, too.
The daycare does serve breakfast to children that come in between 7am - 8am. Sometimes when I get there to drop my son off, I see kids that are still eating. They are usually eating things similar to what I would feed my own child.
If I am ever running late, I don't count out breakfast. I don't give him a granola bar in the car. He still sits down and has his breakfast, I may not have time to sit down and eat with him when we are running late, but I always do when we are on schedule. & I rarely run late. I always take my make-up bag with me and put makeup on at work, , and I will skip straightening my hair and just quickly pull it up in a bun.
I absolutely cannot stand having to rush around in the mornings, it makes the whole day seem rushed & stressful. I would never be able to let my child eat an unhealthy breakfast in the car. I pick out what clothes each of us are going to wear the night before, I take showers at night and my son takes a bath at night before bed, it really saves time.