Children not getting breakfast

[robvalue]

I've noticed that on some breakfast cereal boxes, there is a "breakfast club" which provides breakfast for children at school. It claims that 1 in 7 children in England are coming to school without having had breakfast.

Now, it's great that something is being done to feed these poor kids. But what the hell is going on? Surely feeding your children is the number one priority. I do understand that some people will be so financially crippled that things like this can happen, but can that really account for 1 in 7?

You get an awful lot of child benefit in England. Not just child benefit, but loads of other financial assistance, tax credits and so on. If this isn't being spent on food, where is it going?

Am I naive in thinking this is awful parenting? Does poverty really strike this hard?

[ignoramus]

Don't be surprised to find that a not insignificant proportion of these kids belong to middle class families.
The poorer one's tend to concentrate more on well being as providing food is one of their priorities in life.
Also, I must add that the middle class is not very comfortable these days anyway.
It's not like it used to be....

PS, I've watched many docos and the yanky middle class is doing it tough also. ($80,000-$130,000)

[paulpablo]

Maybe 1 in 7 children don't feel like eating breakfast.

When I was young not eating in the morning didn't bother me and sometimes I'd actually feel sick if I did eat because I just didn't feel hungry.

These days I get moody if I don't have breakfast though.

Not that there won't be some cases of poverty but like you said there's a lot of benefits for children these days.

[brewer]

Here ya go. I have several problems with the "facts" in the article. I probably fit their criteria for being "1" when growing up. That being said, no child should go truly hungry. 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/one...ol-2269726

[abaris]

Am I naive in thinking this is awful parenting? Does poverty really strike this hard?

It doesn't necessarily have to do with poverty. I didn't eat breakfast and I came from a well off family. Not because they wouldn't have fed me but because I always had zero appetite when waking up. It always took me a couple of hours to get hungry. It's the same today actually. A couple of coffees is all I take in the morning.

[brewer]

Here is what appears to be the actual study. Note that it was funded by Kellogg's. I'm not impressed.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4457018/

[robvalue]

Thanks for the responses guys. I hadn't considered that the kids might have chosen not to eat.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I was required (I hesitate to say 'forced') to eat breakfast every day when I was a kid. A typical brekkie was rashers, pork sausages, fried egg, black pud, fried tomato and mushrooms, buttered toast and tea.

Wonder me heart didn't explode by age twelve.

Boru

[robvalue]

Hmm, yeah. I don't think missing breakfast was an option for me growing up.

[Crossless2.0]

I'm a bit like abaris. The last thing I want when I first get up is food. Give me some coffee and let me wake up a bit. I'll eat when I'm hungry, which is usually 2-3 hours later.

Of course, as a parent, I completely failed to consider that any of my kids might be like me. My son grew up with daily breakfasts fit for a lumberjack. It was only recently that he confessed that it was a chore for him to choke down the pile of food I set in front of him each day.