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Behaviour/development

2 year old DS refusing breakfast

21 replies

loverstryst · 11/02/2013 09:14

Exactly that. No longer wants porridge or cereal (we only offer sugar free weatabix or shredded wheat etc). Eats some fruit. Maybe a bite of toast. Been going on for weeks. He has some milk when he gets up, but only a little (cut to improve his appetite).

Any healthy suggestions for breakfasts? Or tips?

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pictish · 11/02/2013 09:18

Drop the milk, except as a cold drink in a sippy cup next to his food. A small one.

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pictish · 11/02/2013 09:21

Btw - some kids get by on very little. My dd is like that and so was ds1. A bit of toast and a mouthful of fruit might well be enough for him atm. It was for two of mine at that age.
Dd still eats like a bird. She will be 4 in a week, and at lunchtime if she eats quarter of a sandwich she has done well.
She's thriving so of course it doesn't worry me.

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pictish · 11/02/2013 09:21

a bite of toast I meant to say....

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loverstryst · 11/02/2013 09:31

Yeah, thing is he loves food! He's never been one to get by one a bite here and there. I'll drop the milk, I think

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loverstryst · 11/02/2013 09:32

But it's hard - milk is the first thing he asks for in the morning

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pictish · 11/02/2013 10:39

So give him half a sippy cup of milk. That's ok.
If he's getting a warm bottle of milk he's going to fill up on that isn't he?

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loverstryst · 11/02/2013 10:54

He doesn't get a warm bottle of milk in the morning. He gets a little bit of milk in a cup

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prozacbear · 11/02/2013 11:44

My DS (also 2) was the same - his eyes were barely open and he'd be demanding milk. I just tell him there is no milk, and give him breakfast. As long as he doesn't see the contents of the fridge, we're home free.

Now he says, "No milk?" when he wakes up. Easily brainwashed!

So yep, cut the milk. It's hard when they give you the big puppy eyes, but better in the long run.

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pictish · 11/02/2013 12:12

Ok sorry I assumed it was a bottle, because usually it's the sucky thing they like.
Do what prozacbear suggests, or something like it. Little kids are charmingly gullible and you only get to use it to your advantage for so long. Wink

My dd sometimes turns her breakfast away in the morning. I don't fuss, as she gets a snack at nursery later, and then eats her lunch. Sometimes being faced with a plate of food first thing is offputting.

Cut the milk for a while and see if that makes the difference, and try not to worry too much if he's not keen on eating. He will do. He won't starve himself.
Good luck xx

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seeker · 11/02/2013 12:15

Give him his milk- then give him his breakfast when he asks for it.nit's not compulsory to eat breakfast, you know!

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pictish · 11/02/2013 12:33

Or even what Seekers says.
I don't think you need worry. Unless he MUST have breakfast at 8 sharp, then let it be.

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Jakeyblueblue · 11/02/2013 23:42

Don't worry about and don't worry about giving him the milk either.
My ds is 19 months and has never really liked breakfast. He won't eat cereal of any kind or porridge. He's still breastfed and often has milk in the night and always first thing. He then has a few bites of toast, couple of fresh strawberries and a whole milk yog. I used to really stress about it but I've now figured that actually, that's fine. He eats a good lunch and I always cook him fresh food for tea.
Some people just don't do breakfast, also someone advised me to think outside the box with it too. Give him what you know he will eat, doesn't matter if its not supposed to be for breakfast as long as its healthy. Sandwich maybe? Or consider giving him a hot breakfast such as beans and scrambled egg?

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Fazerina · 12/02/2013 08:56

I very rarely ate breakfast as a child and my DS is the same. He's breastfed though and has a feed in the early hours of morning so no wonder he's not really hungry when he wakes. He usually wakes up around 8.30 and I don't offer breakfast until around 10am at which point he will eat a small bowl of porridge normally, not always.. He is 21 months.

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matana · 12/02/2013 09:56

Have you tried mixing real fruit in with the cereal to make it naturally sweet?

My DS is hit and miss with his breakfast. Some weeks he can't seem to wait for it, others he can't be bothered. I think most 'experts' say don't judge a child on what they eat during a day, but over the course of a week. If they're hungry, they'll eat. Though i agree that dropping the milk might help.

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MERLYPUSS · 12/02/2013 10:04

Drop the milk and give him a fromage frais with fruit/toast or a digestive?

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TrucksAndDinosaurs · 13/02/2013 00:35

I used to worry but now think its largely self- regulating.Ds didn't eat breakfast til 10am today. Is 2.2. Got up later than normal at 6.45pm. He'd had beef meatballs, jacket potato, broccoli, and an apple night before and just seemed full. He then ate lunch, apples and breadstick snacks all afternoon and a big dinner. I think they make it up over the day or even over a few days. I just carry extra apples, cheese and a bread roll or oatcake about and if he's suddenly hungry when we are out, there we go.

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TrucksAndDinosaurs · 13/02/2013 00:38

6.45 am, even.
As opposed to usual 5am
Seems to just want milk for first 3 hours awake time and make it up at dinner. Much like his dad.

Me, I shake if I don't get some toast or muesli down in the first half hour. Hence panic about Ds not doing breakfast.

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umiaisha · 25/02/2013 21:51

DS also eats hardly anything at breakfast. Have tried offering him all sorts of things, but the most he will have is a tiny yoghurt and a couple of bites of toast/crumpet.

However he eats more than enough to compensate throughout the rest of the day so I am not worried. I can't ever face breakfast either.

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KatherineKrupnik · 25/02/2013 21:53

my DD2 doesn't eat breakfast. She's 18months, & has a big breastfeed first thing in the morning and throughout the night- she is only interested in solid food about an hour after she has woken up.

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MrsSham · 25/02/2013 22:03

7 year old has only started eating breakfast these last few weeks. Some people just can't eat much in the mornings. I tend to, although not ideal offer croissants, pan au chocolate, brioche or even biscuits in the morning as cereal and toast are just to much effort and I would rather she eats something carbohydrate based to keep her going so she may have just a few bites but it will fill her tummy and keep her going.

When dd was a toddler I would let her have the milk when she woke and she always loved walking to the shop to buy a banana even if we had them at home, so we would either buy one on the way to nursery or get one if we were out and about in the mornings other wise it would be something mid morning as listed above.

It's good practice for school to eat breakfast but my dd never suffered and had a mid morning snack of milk and fruit at school anyway and she was able to function on that.

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MrsSham · 25/02/2013 22:07

Just to add even now if she needs hurrying along in the mornings I get her going by saying if she is ready with 10 mins to spare ill buy her a banana along the way Grin and she loves to still do it for some reason.

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