Children and Breakfast

As a family breakfast is the most important meal of the day especially for children. They like Weet-Bix with honey, fruit, youghurt, Vegemite rye toast, semolina with cinnamon and vanilla sugar, glass of milk, sometimes omlettes or boiled eggs. Even that pig slop that passes for rice congee is OK when visiting grandma in China.

What gets me is the amount of kids at my eldest's school who turn up with MacDonalds bags most days and that's breakfast or cake from 7-11. Busy parents and helpers who just buy anything for brekkie. Eldest can't understand why he can't have it also, or any of the other sugary cereals on the market which I never buy. I sense a mutiny coming up :(

I'm not so strict that they can't have anything unhealthy, kids are kids, but every day is setting a precedent for unhealthy eating habits and overweight problems in later life. What is a good breakfast for children and how do you discourage them from wanting junk for breakfast?

Recepies welcome.

I teach my son that all that crap is junk and rubbish food and so far he is going with it.

Every now and then they get some crap in them, but not anywhere near the average thai kids crap diet.

For brekky they get ceral and milk, sometimes honey.

Toast with various spreads, honey, vegemite, jams etc.

Sometimes eggs and toast, but the boy will not eat eggs for breakfast.

Very fussy actually now i think of it.

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Originally Posted by Nawty

but the boy will not eat eggs for breakfast.

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Will he eat them any other time?

Best breakfast food? Cold pizza hands down. :)

My daughter eats breakfast at school everyday, consists of rice and whatever other crap they have on that particular day, not for me but certainly a lot healthier than what i eat.

Yes he likes them at dinner time....go figure.

He also stole 4 packets of blueberry jam from hard rock hotel this morning.

I think a bit of peer pressure is going on here with my eldest. I just find it astounding that some parents/ helpers think Maccas or cake is OK for breakfast.

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Originally Posted by buriramboy

consists of rice and whatever other crap they have on that particular day, not for me but certainly a lot healthier than what i eat.

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White rice isn't healthy.

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Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

White rice isn't healthy.

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tell that to the WHO!

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Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

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Originally Posted by buriramboy

consists of rice and whatever other crap they have on that particular day, not for me but certainly a lot healthier than what i eat.

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White rice isn't healthy.

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Still gotta be better than a greasy fry up though.:)

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Originally Posted by good2bhappy

tell that to the WHO!

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It's subsistence food for those who have nothing else. If you're going to eat rice, eat brown rice. White rice just makes you fat like bread & beer if you have other sources of food.

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Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

White rice just makes you fat.

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Doesn't seem to have that affect on the majority of the Thai population.:)

Rye, wholewheat, multigrain, very good to eat and I make bread at home too if I have the time. Brown rice is not good for the congee stuff they make in China I guess.

My kids love muesli too, good stuff without fat and sugar I buy.

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Originally Posted by buriramboy

Doesn't seem to have that affect on the majority of the Thai population.

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As you already know, that's because the rest of their diet is generally ok, but things are getting worse here with regard to diet. Not just because of the shite Americans call food, but because their own food is becoming more unhealthy with more oil and sugar.

Anyway, when I was a kid I liked Weetabix, and as I'm still a kid, I bought some porridge the other day.

Loved porridge with mild and sugar and when I was a kid and particularly in the winter time.

My wife wakes up and cooks up some fresh fish (of all things for breakfast) and my kids love it. She also sticks the bread maker on and we normally have some fresh grainy bread most mornings. :)

Forget the Maca shit and to be honest my kids would prefer to eat sushi. Expensive taste my little ones :(

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Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Loved porridge with mild and sugar

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Porridge needs to be salted. IMHO.

Cap'n Crunch is excellent.

My favourite is corn flakes....but prepared as thus....

Put the ceramic bowl in the freezer for at least 15 minutes prior to gorging with the desired amount of milk in the bowl.

When done, place cornflakes in. slice bananas over the top, drip honey all over and smother in thick, yet runny cream......oh my god just the thought makes me want to come in my pants, but this is the family section so none of that.

for when in-laws kids stay over. Usually a great number.
prepare lots of toast. 1 bottle of HP sauce. Spread sauce onto toast serve as is.
Yummy.

sauce on toast......geeeezuz....with an imagination like that, dont open a restaurant

it serves a purpose of firing off the (not mine) kids outta the kitchen very quickly.
Then I prepare the peanut butter and cucumber for the gf. The cucumber I also place in the freezer for 15 minutes.....

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Originally Posted by Tao

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Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Loved porridge with mild and sugar

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Porridge needs to be salted. IMHO.

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Absolutely. Porridge with sugar is an abhorrence!

My Granda used to get my Granny to make him porridge stiff enough to stand the spirtle in. Then he'd have it (salted) with a separate bowl of milk, dipping each spoonful in the milk before consuming. That's how real men take their porridge!!!

Back to Momo's OP, littl'un has cereal or toast with his choice of topping on for breakfast. Usually he chooses ham, cheese, or both. For us, it's not the speediness of making that's the problem, it's the speediness of consuming. He can easily spend 2hrs on a main meal - I just can't allow him that amount of time at breakfast! For someone who can inhale crisps or ka-nom, he's very slow at eating proper meals (& he very rarely gets crisps or ka-nom). Anyone else have that problem?

I have demerara sugar in mae parridge, ye ken?

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Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Loved porridge with mild and sugar

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I preferred bitter. :)

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Originally Posted by momo8

What gets me is the amount of kids at my eldest's school who turn up with MacDonalds bags most days and that's breakfast or cake from 7-11.
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While I understand your point, the critical factor is that kids eat something before school. There are a fair few studies that show that children who have no breakfast (and sadly, especially in Thailand that includes quite a number of children) fare much much worse in school. Bottom line is even a 7-11 kanom is better than nowt.

^ agreed.

We introduce a breakfast program at my last school. Weetbix and milk, as much as you like but you must finish your plate. Hot milk when it was cold. Up to the kids to take it or not. Made a huge difference to their attention spans and general behavior.

Worth every penny.

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Originally Posted by jandajoy

^ agreed.

We introduce a breakfast program at my last school. Weetbix and milk, as much as you like but you must finish your plate. Hot milk when it was cold. Up to the kids to take it or not. Made a huge difference to their attention spans and general behavior.

Worth every penny.

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School breakfast programs for kids are believed to be one of the best educational investments possible. Good to see it implimented, and good to see its works.