Healthy breakfasts for children: 7 ideas for the week

Who these breakfasts are for

They are designed for healthy children aged 3 to 12 who eat a varied diet. Almost all the ideas also work for the adults at home. See “My teenager skips breakfast”.

They are not suitable as they are if your child has an allergy to milk, eggs or nuts, coeliac disease or diabetes. Nor are they suitable if their paediatrician is monitoring their weight or growth. In these cases, breakfast should be adapted individually with help from their paediatrician. For children under 3, textures and amounts are different.

Seven breakfasts for the week

From Monday to Friday, breakfasts that take five minutes to prepare. Saturday and Sunday offer two options when you have a little more time. The quantities are a guide and can be adjusted to each day’s appetite. The mid-morning column is a quick suggestion; you can find the full ideas in healthy school snacks for children.

Day	Breakfast	Ages 3 to 6	Ages 7 to 12	Mid-morning
Monday	Milk with cornflakes or oat flakes with no added sugar, strawberries and ground nuts	A small glass of milk · a fistful of flakes · 4 or 5 strawberries · a teaspoon of ground nuts	A large glass of milk · one and a half fistfuls of flakes · 6 to 8 strawberries · a tablespoon of ground nuts	A piece of fruit
Tuesday	Plain yoghurt with oat flakes, blueberries and ground nuts	One yoghurt · two tablespoons of oats · a small handful of blueberries	One or two yoghurts · three or four tablespoons of oats · a handful of blueberries	Small mild cheese sandwich
Wednesday	Wholemeal toast with 100% peanut butter and banana, with a glass of milk for dipping the toast fingers	One slice the size of their palm · a thin layer of spread · half a banana · a small glass of milk	Two slices · one banana · a large glass of milk	A plain yoghurt
Thursday	Wholemeal bread sandwich with mild cheese, cooked ham and tomato, and grapes	A bread roll the size of their palm · a small handful of grapes cut lengthways	A bread roll one and a half palms in size · a handful of grapes	A piece of fruit
Friday	Plain yoghurt with homemade unsweetened apple compote and cinnamon, and toast with tomato and olive oil	One yoghurt · two tablespoons of compote · one slice	One or two yoghurts · three or four tablespoons of compote · two slices	Wholemeal breadsticks and fruit
Saturday	Wholemeal toast with avocado and kiwi, and a glass of milk	One slice · a quarter of an avocado · half a yellow kiwi · a small glass of milk	Two slices · half an avocado · one kiwi · a large glass of milk	Yoghurt with ground nuts
Sunday	Plain omelette filled with cheese, mushrooms or spinach on wholemeal toast, with fruit and milk	One egg · one slice · a piece of fruit the size of their fist · a small glass of milk	One or two eggs · two slices · a piece of fruit · a large glass of milk	A piece of fruit

If there is no fruit at breakfast one day, serve it mid-morning or for dessert. What matters is the overall pattern across the day.

How much should a child eat for breakfast at each age?

The most practical approach is to measure using the child’s own hand, which grows with them. This lets you adjust the portion as they get older.

• Grains. Bread the size of their palm, or as many flakes or oats as fit in their fist.
• Fruit. One piece the size of their fist, or what fits in their open hand if serving berries or grapes.
• Dairy. A glass or a yoghurt; for ages 3 to 6, a small glass is usually enough. Up to three servings throughout the day, preferably plain and unsweetened.
• Fat. About the size of the tip of their thumb, as oil, peanut butter or avocado.

These are starting points. Some days children are very hungry and other days less so, and that is normal. They do not have to finish everything on their plate.

Weekly shopping list

Calculated for one child for seven days, including the mid-morning snack. If there are two or more children, multiply the quantities of fresh produce.

Fruit and vegetables

• 250 g strawberries and one punnet of blueberries
• 3 bananas, 3 apples for the compote and 2 kiwis (yellow ones to start with)
• One small bunch of grapes
• 4 or 5 pieces of seasonal fruit for the mid-morning snack
• 1 avocado, 2 tomatoes and a handful of mushrooms or spinach

Dairy and eggs

• 2 litres of whole milk
• 6 plain, unsweetened yoghurts
• One small wedge of mild cheese or a tub of fresh cheese
• 2 eggs

Bread and grains

• One loaf of wholemeal bread (slice and freeze) and 2 wholemeal rolls
• Oat flakes and a small packet of cornflakes with no added sugar
• Wholemeal breadsticks

Cooked meats

• 50 g top-quality cooked ham

Pantry

• 100% peanut butter (with no added sugar or oils)
• 100 g walnuts or almonds, raw or roasted without salt, to grind
• Extra virgin olive oil, cinnamon and unsweetened pure cocoa powder

Why this breakfast works

It brings together what a child needs to have energy until mid-morning. Dairy provides protein and calcium, while whole grains provide lasting energy and fibre that helps them feel full. Fruit adds vitamins and water. Healthy fats make the meal tastier and more filling. You do not need to include all four every day.

Is breakfast essential? A review of sixteen studies in children and adolescents found no appreciable change in weight when breakfast was skipped [1]. It did find that eating breakfast was associated with a better overall diet, with fewer sugary drinks and less added sugar [1]. At Alimmenta, we recommend that children eat breakfast at a time that works best for them, unless it makes them feel unwell or does not fit the family routine. Avoid forcing them. To see how breakfast fits with the other meals, look at the weekly meal plan for children aged 3 to 12.

What should I do if my child does not want breakfast?

This is one of the questions we hear most often in consultations, and it is rarely a health problem. Many children wake up without feeling hungry, especially if they had a late dinner or have to get up in a hurry. Forcing them usually makes things worse.

• Split breakfast in two. Offer a glass of milk or a yoghurt at home, then toast or fruit mid-morning.
• Review dinner and bedtime. A large, late dinner can reduce their appetite in the morning.
• Make it easy to eat. Offer fruit in small pieces, finger foods or something to drink if they do not want to chew.
• No rewards or punishments. Offer food, sit with them and take the plate away without comment if they do not want any more.

If they also eat little during the rest of the day or you notice a change in their eating habits, discuss it with their paediatrician.

Juice, biscuits and sweetened cocoa every day?

Better to have them occasionally. The World Health Organization recommends that free sugars make up no more than 10% of daily energy intake, and ideally no more than 5% [2]. This includes added sugar in biscuits, cereals and cocoa, as well as the sugar in fruit juice and honey [2].

Juice, even when freshly squeezed, loses the fruit’s fibre and is less filling. There are age-specific limits for juice. None before the first birthday. After that, no more than about 120 ml a day from ages 1 to 3, 120 to 180 ml from ages 4 to 6, and 240 ml from ages 7 to 18 [3]. For drinks, choose water or milk.

Biscuits are a problem when they are eaten out of habit, rather than when someone has one occasionally. Save them for a treat.

Sweetened cocoa is best reduced gradually. Mix it half and half with pure cocoa for a couple of weeks, then keep reducing the sweetened cocoa. The palate gets used to it, and cinnamon can add flavour.

What mistakes do we see in consultations?

Three things come up repeatedly when we review a family’s mornings in consultations.

• Trusting the packaging. Biscuits “with cereals”, cartoon-branded cereals or yoghurts “for children” are still sweet products for occasional treats. The ingredient list is what matters.
• Wanting a different breakfast every day. It is fine to repeat the same healthy breakfast all week. Variety helps prevent boredom.
• Leaving fruit until last. By then, they may no longer be hungry. Put it on the table from the start, cut into pieces they can pick up by hand.

If there are allergies, a rush or breakfast away from home

Do not offer whole nuts before age 5 [4]. Until then, serve them ground or as a spread. For children under 5, grapes should be peeled, deseeded and cut lengthways [4]. Whole grapes can be swallowed without chewing and block the airway.

If your child has a cow’s milk protein allergy, replace dairy with a calcium-fortified soy drink, following their paediatrician’s or allergist’s advice. Bear in mind that soy is also an allergen. If they have breakfast on the way or at school, Thursday’s sandwich and whole fruit travel best.