If my kids skipped breakfast they'd turn into demons by 10:30am. No chance at all. The first words out of their mouths after they wake up are usually "I'm hungry".

I am coming to the realization that my boy is part hobbit - meaning that he eats all seven hobbit meals a day "breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, tea, dinner and supper". Like UncleLongHair's kids - without these meals he is a demon that tears the house apart!

Big difference between an adult that's not growing anymore to skip breakfast and children that are changing clothes sizes every month skipping breakfast.

I just posted something similar then I saw you post lol. My 14 year old boy eats breakfast every morning before school, but on the weekends he will naturally just not eat until around noon (and he is up around 8 on weekends). When he does eat it's always good, healthy food. Before we began eating healthy he was hungry 24/7, although he still eats like a horse he no longer has to continually eat.

Does not sound like a good idea. I would keep my experimentation to myself and not impose it on my kids. In fact, that's exactly what I do.

I have one thought to add to this. If your kids are really not hungry forcing them to eat may set them up for bad habits later in life. My children are all very different. I have two who want to eat the minute they wake and two who just are not ready for food until later. As a kid I did not like to eat in the morning, in fact I remember food before I was ready made me feel ill.

I used to make everyone eat but it was just a battle and food got wasted. Now I go with the flow most days. I homeschool my two that live with me so I have more freedom in what I do. If all the kids went to public school I would just offer them something before school and remind younger ones that there would be no food until "insert first opportunity to eat at school or dacare here". I would pack a hearty snack or lunch. I might also mention to my child's teacher that my child refuses to eat before school sometimes although it is offered just so they have a heads up. Kids have better sense of fullness and hunger than we do since they have not ruined it with bad eating habits. I think letting them trust those signals is a good thing.

When it comes to kids, every parent should absolutely do whats comfortable for them. That said, I have 4 school-age children who eat the way we do....voluntarily. They absolutely CAN have breakfast, they just don't want it. None of them are hungry in the morning. We are always ready to whip up anything from paleo pancakes to eggs n bacon to a coconut smoothie; and there is always leftover meat in the fridge. They do all have a large mug of herbal tea with heavy cream from happy cows, each serving adjusted to their size. They break for lunch at 1130am. They pack their own lunches and we make sure its a HUGE lunch, plus a lil extra. Someone always wants to sample their "strange" food. In the evening, we all help prepare dinner and eat as a family around 7pm. All I can say is, they are growing like weeds, are never sick and are all "straight A" students. Interestingly, there last 2 days of school were half-days. No lunch. My 15 year old decided to hang with his friends that Monday, and didn't break his fast till he got home at 3pm. He ate as much as wanted, till satiety. He wasn't hungry at 7pm and didn't eat. His last day on Tuesday, same thing. Only he didn't return home TILL 7pm! He went 28 hours without eating. He never ran out of energy and even when his friends went to Arbys (he wouldn't have eaten there anyway), it didn't phase him.

i make breakfast, and its up to them to eat it or not. if they dont, i dont push it. if they ask for more, ill cook it. i definitely want them to learn their own hunger signals, but i swear sometimes they are just chewing on whatever is in front of them. what i dont do is make fifteen different meals based on their whims, but ill often give two choices (do you want eggs, or yogurt?). i decide whats for breakfast, and they decided whether or not to eat it. its not often that they eat NOTHING, but they often eat very little. on the days they eat very little, they are asking for a snack like an hour later which is totally irritating. i cant spend every second of the day making snacks, so i pretty much close the kitchen after breakfast with snack at 10, lunch at 12, snack at 3, dinner at 5 (give or take) and between those times, they can have veggies and water if they are really hungry. my kids are 3 and 1, so they arent in school yet.

Great question. My kids are so little (1 and 4) that I just can't imagine them not having something. Their little glycogen stores can't hold too much. My 1 year old eats pre-breakfast, breakfast and post breakfast. It's amazing and disturbing at the same time. (lol) My four year old is sooooo pokey about eating, but he finally gets around to it. I put out something at the same time each morning and I let them choose what and how much they eat. More often than not it's much, much, much more than I prepared!

My priority when I have my kids with me is to give them a chilled out start to the day. I don't have any specific eating plan for them, they just eat what we all eat and what is in the fridge. The only thing is that they get food first and get the best bits (I'm happy chewing the fat, squishy fruit, re-used teabags etc). I think as a parent we know how to maintain and control our apetite, but are often unsure about how little physiologies work, especially when they are so active.

I have never intentionally told them that "like daddy, you can skip breakfast", but on weekends, they are up early by themselves and sometimes make food, sometimes not. They learn to decide, and I play my part by involving them in the entire food process (buying/preparing/cooking/eating) and having good things about the kitchen. Hopefully, by doing this, they will take some nuts if they are waiting for me to come home, and impress their friends upstairs by making a shake with frozen berries, coconut powder, nuts and whatever else they find.

I used to worry about my kids' eating habits, but have realized that as long as they are made aware of the pleasures involved in good nutritious foods, and less fuss is made when they are stubborn, the better off they seem to turn out. They are still a bit iffy about my offal meatballs, but I still make them, and they still poke about with them, and I still get to eat the leftovers....

In the summertime, the kids (4th grade, 1st grade) get their own food for breakfast, whatever they forage from the fridge, around 7am. I offer eggs and bacon around 10, they are usually not hungry. During school, the younger one often eats a few bites, and the older one voluntarily skips breakfast most days. I remember reading something on MDA (or perhaps another site?) that kids skipping breakfast is not that big of a deal, and there is no change in test scores. I would certainly never force fast any child, but I also don't force them to eat. I just make sure they know they will not eat until [X time].