Daughter Eating Breakfast at School and at Home

Unless she is grossly obese and on a strict diet regimen I would be glad she is eating.

So many kids "especially" girls won't eat for fear of weight gain, etc.

Maybe she is hungry, mayby she she has low blood sugar, maybe she wants to join her friends. $1 a day is not that much to think about when you have a healthy child. If it is that much to you. then adjust her morning choices from home.

Find out why... are her friends eating school breakfast and she just wants to hang out? Is it cold outside and she gets to go in early to eat breakfast? Does she get chocolate milk? etc. Ask her what's up and then try to compromise. Maybe you can send her breakfast from home to school with her to eat there. I'm just guessing there's more to it than being hungry again.

Check with the school. They may have a way to "block" her account from allowing her to purchase breakfast. Or just stop serving it at home (my kids aren't hungry first thing in the morning) and go ahead and budget yourself for the $1 a day to eat at school.

Okay, I hate to be the neagative one here, but it sounds like to me they are probably serving junk food at breakfast and she wants to eat it or she just wants to hang out with her friends. I know at my school (I used to teach) sometimes they would serve things like donuts and pop tarts for breakfast (both a parental and a teacher nightmare by the way!) and the kids went crazy for them on those days.

Is there any way you can have access to the breakfast menu? Maybe you can both sit down and she can choose 2 breakfasts a week that she'd like to eat at school. Is it possible to send her with cash for those breakfasts and not give her access to the account for that time? I'm not sure if that would be possible, but it's worth a shot. Depending upon how old she is, you could also consider telling her you'll pay for X amount of breakfasts per week or month and the rest are coming out of her allowance, or whatever. Since you have access to her account you'll know how much she's spending.

It sounds like to me that this is more of a money issue than a weight issue, and I think that's okay! We all have to cut back on what we're spending and although a dollar isn't much, when you can and are providing her a breakfast at home, those extras can add up!

Maybe she isn't so hungry first thing in the morning. Ask her which one she would rather have and if she keeps having school breakfast then she won't be able to have home breaskfast. Can you find out what school breaskfast is? If she prefers to have whats on the menu then she could decide then. Sounds like she would rather have school breaskfast and thats when her hunger clock starts ticking. hope it works out.

She may see everyone else eating breakfast and wants to eat with them. I let my kindegartener eat at school, it's also $1 here where I live. That $1 does add up, but from looking at the menu the food is well rounded and he enjoys sitting at breakfast with his school mates.

If you can afford it, I would say let her eat at school. If you'd rather save the money and have her eat at home, maybe let her have breakfast at school on Fridays if she's had a good week. Also, there should be a way you can block her account at school so she can't get breakfast if you don't want her to.

Good luck, hope this helps

Ha! I have one of these, too :) He would actually eat a full breakfast at home and then eat at school - so much so that he was having stomache aches and getting sick at school from too much food. For awhile, I would have him choose first thing in the morning - are you eating at home or at school today? Then, I would put a name tag sized sticker on his shirt (I don't know how old your daughter is so this may not appropriate) that said "I ate breakfast at home" or "I'm eating breakfast at school today" so the teachers knew to have him eat/not eat. Maybe a colored necklace - one red and one blue - red when she eats at school and blue when she eats at home, would work as a reminder for her, even if the teachers aren't involved. Then you could remind her as she leaves "remember, you are wearing the _________ necklace today, that means _____________."

Good luck!

Some kids (and many adults) are not hungry when they first wake up. So, I would just save yourself some work and let her eat at school. It may also be that she likes the social environment that goes along with having a meal with her friends. It's possible she's not finishing that meal either, so you've got double the food waste when you also feed her at home. While $1/day does add up, I would guess most home breakfasts are at least $.50 a day and I'm certain I spend more than that for each of my sons each day, so I don't think you are really overpaying for the service.

It sounds like she's just extra hungry to me. She could be going through a growth spurt.

I'd cut back on what you offer her in the mornings, reminding her that she can have more at school.

Our kids (mother of 6) were doing this last year too. What I discovered was that while they prefered certain breakfasts at school to cereal at home the main thing they prefered was eating with their friends since at lunch they are told where to sit and only with their class and at breakfast they can eat with anyone from any class or grade. I watched their breakfast menu for the days where school breakfast didn't fill them up(some are small servings) and offer them nutigrain bars that I stock up on when they are on sale that day to eat in the car on their way to school. They get to sleep long since they don't have to eat at home and are more prone to get ready faster and easier in the mornings because they want to see their friends. +ur food bill drops by about $40 a week due to having to buy less milk and cereal so it comes out financial about the same with less headaches and craziness in the mornings.

I remember those days. I raised 4 children and when they ate 2 breakfasts, it did add up. I learned they were usually in a growth spurt and it did pass. I asked them to eat the extra breakfast only if they were truely hungry. Sometimes, when they got to school, it looked good. It wasn't that they were hungry, it just looked good. I would have them put an extra cereal bar or something like that in their backpack. Then when that happened, they could have that instead of purchasing at school. Looking back, I do miss those days.

I have the same problem..and am concerned with my daughters weight...i let her eat something before she goes to school, but will not let her choose a large breakfast...something like a go-gurt, piece of fruit, dry cereal etc...because i know she will go to breakfast every morning. and it may not be because she is hungry, it is a social thing. she goes to daycare before school and they send them up for breakfast before school. for my daughter there is a 2 hour gap between drop off at school and breakfast...so i know she will be hungry if i do not let her grab something small at home and also allow breakfast at school...it wasnt worth the battle for me.

If she doesn't have a weight problem, I wouldn't worry about it. she may need the extra calories to get through the day.

If I can only get my child to eat...

Don't worry

First and foremost: do not make a big deal out of this until you know what's going on. You wouldn't want to put bad body image on her, or lay the groundwork for an eating disorder later on. As one mom mentioned, later on so many girls WON'T eat because they're scared of either getting fat or looking like a pig for eating in front of friends. Ridiculous! Don't be a part (even inadvertnently) on that developing.
I suggest talking to the teacher and asking her to tell you what she buys and if she eats it when you see her later that day. If not, go to the school and make it a casual thing where you just go and eat breakfast with her there. See what the breakfast menu is and what her natural choices are (just observe, so you know what she's doing when you're not there), and see if she eats most of it. I HATE eating breakfast early in the morning, so I have a piece of fruit and that's it. I simply won't finish a larger breakfast. A banana obviously isn't going to hold me over all morning, so I eat again a little later. That's how some people's bodies work.
If it's "junk" or "fun" food, I'd allow it maybe once a week, on a Friday as a reward if she was good all week or something. If it's normal food, then by all means don't argue with it. You can adjust your budget and menu as needed. Instead of cheesesticks, you can buy block cheese when it's on sale and slice it. One slice, then cut in half, is 2 sticks! Instead of buying single yogurts, pick a flavor for the week and buy the larger container of it. That way you can serve a couple scoops that she'll actually eat instead of wasting a container she won't eat all of. Things like that help, and I'm sure you can make up $5/week and still allow your daughter a little social time and the healthy habit of eating 5-6 small portions a day instead of 3 large portions. And if she IS severely overweight (NOT talking "baby fat") then consult a doctor to make sure you get a plan for HER NEEDS not yours (children have different dietary needs and shouldn't just be stuck on a diet), and do things together that are more active then tv and video games. Make it a family change, not something put on her. If she's healthy though, I'd be perfectly fine with this.

If it's the cost you're worried about, can she bring "second breakfast?" Both of my kids and my husband eat second breakfast, so I think it's pretty common, and unless she's overweight, I wouldn't worry about it. But I can understand the money piece - maybe there's a way around that. Good luck!

Get a copy of the breakfast menu. My son eats breakfast at school two days a week. Pancake day and muffin day. The other days he eats breakfast at home. It is a social thing by the way as well. He plans to meet his buds on these days as well and I'm not even sure he finishes with all the talking and fun they are having. Girls are usuallu socail creatures ask her if she even finishes the meal or does she buy it just to hang with her friends.

I'd just let her eat at school. Pick your battles : ) There are more to come that will be more pressing. My daughter likes to girl talk with her friends and she's only 4. She tells us that she HAS to eat breakfast at pre-k cause that's when they "catch up" lol. I'm sure that will carry over to elementary and beyond. This is the age when they develop their friendships that they look back on when they are older. Sounds like she needs that bonding time.

Maybe she wants to spend time with a friend who is eating breakast at school. It may not be the act of eating or eating the food because she is hungry but has a friend who is eating at school and they get time to be together during breakfast.

My son will eat a lil something before he leaves he gets up @ 7 on the bus @ 7:55 to school for breakfast school begins @ 8:30 kids are hungry especially through growth spurts.i'm trying not to worry but now after school I have dinner ready we eat before mostly 4:30 early I know but i'd rather feed him than him snacking & not wanting to eat dinner @ 5:30

Wow there can be some negative people out there. My guess at 6 is the social aspect of sitting with friends who are eating. Especially if she is a healthy weight and has healthy foods to eat at school. My son is only 2 but he is already showing signs of liking to be social and eat with his friends at school.

I agree with all the other Mamas...as long as she is not overweight, I'd suck it up and pay the additional $20-$25 a month. Anytime my son eats, is a good time for me! How old is she? Is she eating breakfast at school because her other classmates are?

I used to do this too! I would grab something little at home to hold me over and then eat breakfast at school.

For $1, she is more than likely getting a nutritious breakfast with dairy, bread, fruit, and possibly meat. I say, LET HER EAT!