Got any ideas for enticing a teen to eat breakfast? for Questionland Seattle

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Got any ideas for enticing a teen to eat breakfast?

My daughter is 15, mostly healthy, no into anorexic behavior or other damaging struggles that we can see (as someone who struggled with anorexia, I look for signs and we talk openly about it). The problem is she doesn't eat breakfast -- just crabs a cup of tea and not much more before heading to class. I know this is not good for her mood, mind or energy. Does anyone have any ideas on how to encourage without turning it into a struggle between us? I'm worried about her setting healthy habits. Did I mention she's vegetarian? No milk in her tea....

JoJo asked in Teens & Tweens about 1 year ago | Report

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This sounds like different strokes for different folks. I was waaaay into athletics at that age, and oftentimes, I would get up very early to get a morning workout in prior to class. Even with a morning workout that involved getting up at 4:30, I still couldn't stand the thought of food until after 9:00 or so. Food was just gross to me until I'd been awake for a while. Your daughter's only-tea mornings are very familiar. And like the other commenters have pointed out, if she's eating well during the rest of the day (or maybe late at night?), then she's compensating for a lighter morning. That's what I did.

Also, does she like typical breakfast food? A cousin of mine never really ate breakfast as a teenager, and it turned out he disliked pretty much all breakfast-y food. He was much happier cooking up a bowl of pasta or mixing up a salad in the morning. Maybe some variety or out-of-the-box options could augment the tea.

rickibot answered in Teens & Tweens about 1 year ago | Report

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Well, some teenagers feel sick if they eat first thing in the morning. I'm in college right now, and quite a few of my friends are like that; they eat plenty at lunch and dinner to compensate for it.

I'd ask her about it, if you haven't already, and send a hearty lunch with her if it's due to a lack of appetite or nausea after eating in the morning.

Also, if she's vegan (which you implied with your comment about not having milk in her tea) I doubt she'd want honey in her smoothie (as suggested by whiskeypony), but I otherwise agree with that advice as well. If she wants something warm, toast with peanut butter is my quick, go-to breakfast food.

Finally, good for you for letting her be a vegetarian. My parents forced me to eat copious amounts of meat until I left for college. Now I'm a vegetarian, myself. (I still eat dairy and eggs, though; I'm no vegan.)

Namae Nante Iranai! answered in Teens & Tweens about 1 year ago | Report

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Many of my teen clients aren't hungry when the rest of the family is hungry, particularly in the morning.

I recommend Builders Bars by Clif (tm) It's got a good protein to carb ratio and they taste delicious. You can throw a couple in your kiddo's backpack so they can eat when they're hungry and not have to be a slave to the school schedule.

Some parents prefer Zone bars. Those are good as far as carb to protein ratio, but I don't like the taste.

margit crane answered in Teens & Tweens about 1 year ago | Report

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have you asked her why she doesn't want to eat breakfast? maybe it's a time management thing, or as others have said, maybe she feels nauseated eating that early.

listen to her, don't push or rush her, let her decide. the food is a prelude to a power struggle. and being vegetarian is healthy, you just have to get creative. why not offer her soy or rice milk?

when i was in 9th grade i refused to eat breakfast at home. instead i ate doritos and dr. pepper pretty much the whole year. i lived. so will your daughter.

quit pushing her and give her some control.

hillsafar69 answered in Teens & Tweens about 1 year ago | Report

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I am the kind of person that just cannot eat breakfast early in the morning. Give it to me at 3pm, and I am all for breakfast, but anything earlier my stomach is just not "open" for food.

So! The solution I have found to give me some energy in the morning is to drink weight loss shakes. Specifically, from Costco you can get some shakes that are basically a meal-in-a-can. They are designed for weight loss - but they are PERFECT for drinking in the morning for something more solid than juice.

I would recommend buying those and seeing if she can drink one of those every morning. Plus, if you get the Costco Kirkland brand they actually taste pretty decent.

Basil answered in Teens & Tweens about 1 year ago | Report

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Like others, I think this just sounds like a typical teenage metabolism thing; food in the morning was hard.

I hated breakfast until I was at least 20, and only because I had a super early wake-up call (4:30 AM) for a job. I ate when I was hungry, which is a healthy way to go about it.

It did and still does boil down to convenience for me. If you want to encourage her without being overbearing or explicit, try just providing options that she can grab and go if she gets the urge. Stuff she can take with her and still be able to eat later in the morning or even the day when she's hungry and needs to snack.

My favourites: Yogourt, nuts, baggies of celery sticks/carrots w/ containers of hummus, grapes, or cherry tomatoes. Clean, fresh, and light stuff that doesn't play with the stomach.

Gloria answered in Teens & Tweens about 1 year ago | Report

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i'm sure you've talked to her about this if you also talk openly about things as heavy as anorexia, right? what reasons does she give for not eating breakfast?

maybe it's just as simple as convenience. a cup of smoothie isn't that much harder to grab than a cup of tea, especially if someone in the house has already made a blender-full for their own breakfast and has some leftovers. orange juice + whatever frozen fruit you find at trader joe's + soy milk + honey + a handful of spinach already made and in a cup would be hard for me to pass up. eventually you could graduate to having all the stuff in a blender pitcher prepped the night before and ready in the fridge. that would be AWESOME for my morning. maybe she's the same!

whiskeypony answered in Teens & Tweens about 1 year ago | Report

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