Preschooler Does Not Want to Eat Breakfast

Some of us aren't morning eaters. I myself can't eat before about 10:30, I don't even drink my coffee or tea until then, otherwise I'm forcing myself. I never liked breakfast when I was a child or teen, either. My mother always fretted and I tried to choke something down for her, but I never enjoyed it. I loved weekend breakfasts, because they were always later, more like a brunch, and I was ready to eat by then. My ex hated that I didn't like to eat huge breakfasts with him, but I just couldn't make myself do it, I'd nibble and get sick.

My little guy is 3 and he doesn't like to eat breakfast much, either. He will take a cup of milk about 30 minutes after waking, but doesn't want to eat until around 10:30 or 11. He'll start preschool in about a month, I'll find out Monday if it's morning or afternoon. If it's morning I'll do what I do other mornings he needs to be up and we need to get out, wake him at least 30 minutes earlier to give his body extra time to acclimate, (which means he'll go to bed 30 minutes earlier the night before) offer fruit/veggie juice in a box (he'll drink those easier than juice from a cup when he's not hungry, I guess it's a novelty), and string cheese and whole wheat crackers or a PB and a dab of honey on whole wheat bread so he gets some protein into him...if I use an animal shaped cookie cutter to cut the sandwich out it makes it even more appealing ; ) For some reason he'll eat "snack" or "lunch" foods better in the morning when he's really not too hungry, and he still gets the nutrition he needs so I'm happy. I save the pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, etc. for days we have time to eat later.

And, I eliminate the distractions, no TV or him using my Kindle, no dog or cat, no toys, and I sit down with him a least a couple of minutes. It all helps him to focus on the task at hand.

Many people think I hate breakfast... I don't... I just hate breakfasty FOODS in the morning. A sandwich? Live it. Dinner leftovers? Awesome. Microwav dinner? Rockin.

Eggs, cereal, waffles, oatmeal, etc just make me sick to my stomach in the morning. I'll eat them later in the day... But not before noon. And preferay not before 6pm.

So 1) Have you tried 'lunch for breakfast'?
& 2) after a couple days of being hungry, you child my change his mind
& 3) Eating in the car always worked (even for me) just because it was long enough after I woke.

I feel your frustration. Please don't reward him or punish him for eating or not eating. That sets up all sorts of other problems associated with later-in-life eating disorders.

I suggest that you have breakfast time together each morning. Make it special. Have him help you set the table the night before with colorful napkins and his favorite bowl or plate and cup. Have pleasant background music on. Have him serve himself, or serve tiny portions of something he has chosen the night before (milk, cheese, peanut butter on celery, nuts, dry or wet cereal, pizza, a quarter sandwich, egg/pita bread roll ups, etc. ) Never offer seconds, but kindly get more if he asks for it. Sit with him while you eat your breakfast and chat about anything, except food. You can even have a special book you read a few pages of while you finish your meal. Let him help clean up the table afterwards.

The idea is to learn to chill and socialize at breakfast. The food intake may or may not increase greatly. But you are very important to him and this special time will allow him to enjoy mornings, enjoy you and have the "opportunity" to eat.. All my best.

Hi! Please, please don't make eating or not eating a punishable offense. I hate breakfast and now my son hates breakfast. But I do (and now he does) recoqnize he needs something to carry him through. What are you trying to feed him? Try a handful of nuts, a hunk of cheese, leftover pizza (my favorite), pb&j (my daughter's favorite, smooshed together in a bowl!), some dry cereal to eat like a snack, make your own dry fruit, nut, seed kind of mix out of the things he likes, a smoothie. The possibilities are endless, some protein and some complex carbs and he's good to go. Oh, and waiting until he is awake and ready to go, if you stick food in my face before I am with the program I'm going to be instantly turned off. Just don't make it a battleground, I promise he will survive. Breakfast is the best meal of the day only for people who like breakfast--- my pediatrician told me that many, many years ago.

A smoothie and a granola bar? Something you can make quickly, put in a sippy and a plastic bowl. You can have him munch on the road so that it's not so much a battle.

My sister was like that.
She just couldn't tolerate or stomach food that early in the morning.
Don't wake him up any earlier than you have to.
Don't punish him for not eating breakfast. That sets up a whole negative
association.
Maybe try something he can take in the car & nosh on during the drive to
school: a granola bar, pop-tart, canned protein smoothie etc.

I've never been a morning eater and neither is my daughter. My husband can't start his day without a big breakfast!

What helps is getting him started earlier. My daughter will eat if she's had time to wake up first.

She really liked the Carnation Instant Breakfasts. I would put the strawberry one in the milk and she'd drink it. At least I knew she was getting some protein and some vitamins!

She would also eat fruit like apples and peanut butter or veggies like carrots and celery. Sometimes I could get her to eat toast and honey or toast and peanut butter.

Another thing that worked was to have a delicious smelling breakfast. I learned that you can put bacon in the oven, so sometimes I'll throw a couple of slices of bacon in the oven. Pretty soon she'd come wandering in the kitchen all hungry and wanting some bacon! That also worked with bread. I'd throw bread in the bread maker overnight and time it so it would be ready in the morning. Nothing makes you hungrier than the smell of newly baked bread!

Otherwise, don't sweat it. He'll learn. My daughter sometimes refused to eat. Then she'd be at school and tell the teacher "I'm hungry" and the teacher says "I'm sorry, I can't give you any food!" The teacher knew we were struggling to get her to eat breakfast. Eventually she learned that she needed to eat at least a little something in the morning. If we got a granola bar and some kind of juice in her, we were happy!

i hate to say it, but sometimes the only way to get my 4-year-old to eat is in the car. i told myself i would never do that, but lo and behold, i caved.

at home, he is very distracted by anything around him - we don't have the tv on, he sits at the table with his back to the room, we don't let the pets come around, yet he still knows his toys and whatnot are out there. in the car he knows there is really nothing else to do so he'll easily accept food. i sometimes leave early for a destination if i know he has to eat so he has time to do it in the car!

definitely not a long-term solution, or even a good short-term one. i'm hoping that one day he will know he is hungry and eat.

I agree don't punish your son for not eating. Take him out to get some stuff that he may want to eat for breakfast. I did that with my son when he tried to stop eating breakfast before he started his kindergarten day. During the school year he would have cereal with toast, sometimes bagels, or even waffles. He got a reality check one day when he didn't finish his breakfast and ended up hungry half way through class. After that day he realized how important breakfast was and now he eats once when he is up.

Have him drink a carnation instant breakfast and see if he might eat a granola bar in the car. If you can get him to do this then his body will at least get used to being fed in the morning and you can then try to get him to eat a "real" breakfast.

Start a earlier bedtime routine and an earlier morning wake up so he has plenty of time to wake up before breakfast time. If you need to leave the house at 7:30, wake him at 6:00 for a while. After a few months he will get into a routine of eating breakfast and you can try gradually letting the AM wake time slide.

I was never a breakfast kid. I would put "mixed up cereal" in a baggie and give him milk or a juice box and see if he'll eat in the car. For me, I can't really eat early in the AM. I used to keep fruit bars in my desk at work for a 9-10AM breakfast. Let him help pick what cereals get mixed up, shake the baggie, and whatever he doesn't finish by the time you arrive is what he has to leave in the car.

If my DD doesn't eat in a reasonable time, I set a timer so that I have time to get shoes, brush teeth, whatever. When I've waited as long as I can, she's done. She goes hungry til the next snack or meal. If she complains, I remind her that I reminded her and she's out of time. I try to just be matter of fact.

I had to laugh about the mac and cheese. For a while my SS would eat Stouffer's microwaveable mac and cheese for breakfast. He would put a paper towel under it and eat it on his walk to the bus. SD used to take soup on cold days.

I would give him some choices and make him aware that he won't be able to eat until lunchtime. This natural consequence will probably work itself out because when he gets hungry he will start eating. Don't force it. Make it fun by experimenting with foods together and having him help prepare the foods too. I never liked breakfast as a kid, but always got really shaky if I went too long without any food. I agree with Riley J. you don't have to necessarily make him eat traditional breakfast type foods.
My kids love peanutbutter on whole wheat toast or bagel. We slice up banana and drizzle honey on top. Sometimes I throw in a few chocolate chips in a tablespoon of peanutbutter and melt it in the microwave. They like chocolate peanutbutter on their toast with banana as an alternative.
We like melba toast, cheese cubes and fruit. I slice up an apple and smear peanutbutter on it with a string cheese. My kids like instant oatmeal with fruit. We have cheesy veggie eggs with a couple slices of bacon. Greek yogurt with fresh berries on top with a handful of nuts are easy. We buy Old Wisconsin turkey sausage sticks (look like slim jims) and roll them up in a tortilla. Those are great for on the go. You can also get yogurt and applesauce in tubes for quick meals. Sometimes our meals look more like snacks throughout the day and I try to balance them with at least a protein, carb and healthy fat.
Just have him try a lot of different things and keep notes on what he likes. Once you find 5 to 7 favorite meals then just have one every day for variety. Good luck!
A.

Our daughter has never and still is not a breakfast eater, but she still,a aged to pay attention and make great grades.

There are just some people who cannot tolerate much in their stomachs in the morning.

What I did was make sure I ad some raisin bread toasted dry cut into 1/4.
Then a few pieces of fruit and a small glass of milk.

She would eat a little of this in the car on the way to school. By this time she had been up for an hour. I think she just needed some time.

I learned what she would at least try to eat.
Dry toast
Sometimes a little bowl of cereal.
A slice of bread with a piece of ham.
Fruit was always offered with this, but in small portions.
I would offer pancakes, eggs, little smokers,tortilla and cheese quesadillas. And every once in a while she would take me up on this.

In middle school, she got up later so she would eat a small bagel, or a full fruit plate, or smoothies that I made. Or the above.

There is no way to tempt, punish or force a person to eat if they are not hungry...just try to accomidate him and remember, leftovers can be breakfast. It does not have to be breakfast food.

My son is a terrible breakfast eater. He has never liked to eat in the morning. We just give him a half a packet of instant breakfast in his morning milk. If I can get him to eat a little yogurt or a piece of fruit, I call it a success. He eats a morning snack at preschool, then lunch there as well. I find it odd that they don't serve snacks at a pre-k because of allergies. Usually a school can have a pre-approved list of foods.

If it were me, I'd say "You have to eat something. You can choose from 1, 2, 3, or 4." He'll likely say "But I'm not hungry" I would reply "Well you just need to eat something b/c there's no more food until I come pick you up. They don't serve morning snacks like you have at home." String cheese, tortilla, (my son eats bean and cheese taco), hard boiled egg, an apple .... maybe i the car on the way there he can munch on something? Sometimes with my son I say "Take a big superhero bite" since he's into superheroes.

I have a recipe for a savory muffin - cheese, egg, bisquick, sausage or ham. Easy to eat in the car and if you make them in mini-muffin pans, it's perfect size for him to eat one or two. PM me if you want the recipe.

I love big breakfasts but my husband and son can do without it. My son has a full bottle of milk while he is waking up and another bottle on the way to daycare...so that's about 16 oz. I also offer him snack food on the way to daycare...goldfish, animal crackers...or dry cereal. He gets a choice and it's so much easier to eat in the car than try to hurry in the am.

are you offering eggs and pancakes and such.....my son eats mac and cheese or hot dogs or corn dogs in the morning on some days. if he wants to eat lunch fro breakfast who cares.....he is eating and being satisfied whole a full tummy for school!!

My friend has a picky eater and he gets Carnation Instant breakfast or you can give some other drink like Ensure. My son can not have dairy and doesn't really like anything besides water and apple juice has either a hot pretzel or a plain Lender's bagel. I let him eat it while we get ready or he watches tv to wake up a bit. Don't make it a battle. I think making food a battle is detrimental in the long run.

Since he is not a real breakfast eater... what WILL he eat or drink, before morning Pre-K?
Feed him, that.
The main thing, is that he eats or drinks something. Even if that is a smoothie. Or a Carnation Breakfast drink.

It does not have to be "breakfast" food per say. Just feed him what he WILL eat.

Doesn't the Daycare, that he attends after, allow kids to bring insulated "lunch" bags???? If so, then in that, pack a water bottle, and some snacks... that he WILL eat.
And if he is at the Daycare, for the rest of the day until you pick him up after work... do they have, a "snack" time??? I can't imagine kids, having to go from Noon (lunch) to 5:00pm, with nothing. Any kid, would get hungry and need a snack. Even if that is cut up fruit or crackers.

Do NOT "punish" him for being ambivalent about eating breakfast. That is sending him the wrong message... and it sets up a kid for potentially having dysfunctional attitudes about "eating."

Try explaining to him, about his body, and it needs energy, and to fuel his body etc. That is what I did with my kids and my son who was 4 when he went to Preschool, and was not into eating things in the morning. I simply explained to him... how "breakfast" is important, and about nutrition.

Do not, punish him over this.
It will not, work.

And, per myself, I do not MAKE my kids, "sit until they eat...." per breakfast. In the morning, once my kids are ready for school, I "let" them eat their "breakfast", at the coffee table in the living room, while I then also eat my breakfast and they can watch a show.
But other meals, my kids sit at the dinner table. And this works for us. And gets everyone on schedule... and on time... to then leave the house to go to school on time.

Also, the NIGHT before, I ask them "what do you want to eat in the morning???" And then, whatever it is, I can prep it already, the night before. Saves time the next morning.

As an aside: per your child's Pre-K program which is only for 2.5 hours- Don't they ALLOW the kids to even bring a water bottle to school???? All of the preschools and schools & Daycare places that I know of, TELL the parents to bring a water bottle for their child, everyday. A kid gets thirsty. I can't imagine a Preschool or Daycare, that is sans food or drink. At all.
Daycares, are under certain rules too... they typically need to have snacks/meals etc.

Also: some kids or even Adults, just CANNOT eat, when they are "rushed" or pressured.
So.... with a lot of lead time in the morning... let your son get ready, and to eat... by doing things, AHEAD of time. I pad my every morning with my kids, with at least 20 minutes lead time... so that, we are not "late" for getting to school, or for them having time to eat... and get ready. My kids, will not and cannot eat, being rushed. If rushed, a kid will resist, eating.
Thus, wake up your son, and get ready (both of you), with lots of lead time built in. So that, no one is rushed, and has time to eat.

maybe if you let him know he needs to eat SOMETHING- and let him pick? just a thought. it could be pb&j if he wants, imo. good luck!

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