athomeontheprairie Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 My ds2 wakes up hungry (and grumpy!) every morning we argue about food. About which bowl he wants, about what cereal or bread or eggs, about whether he has milk or juice. I don't care what bowl, he is free to choose. he'll choose a cereal then complain about it. it's as though he so hungry and tired and that he's grumpy. and everything is wrong, even when it is his choice. is this part of just being two? there a way to get him happy in the morning? I really hate waking up to an incredibly grumpy, argumentative boy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 If it's low blood sugar making him grumpy, I'd probably have the child eat a banana or something right away when he gets up, something he can serve himself and isn't waiting on anyone else. Then maybe the mood will improve in time for breakfast. This is my solution for the children whining in my bed that they're sooooo hungry if I haven't gotten up yet -- go eat a banana and let me be! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indian summer Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Maybe before he wakes put a small healthy snack by his bed? Then maybe he won't be so cranky at breakfast??? I really don't know, just throwing that out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 My son used to be so grumpy when he woke up. We'd hand him a small glass of orange juice and we could see his mood change immediately. Try getting something into him right when he gets up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 My ds2 wakes up hungry (and grumpy!) every morning we argue about food. About which bowl he wants, about what cereal or bread or eggs, about whether he has milk or juice. I don't care what bowl, he is free to choose. he'll choose a cereal then complain about it. it's as though he so hungry and tired and that he's grumpy. and everything is wrong, even when it is his choice. is this part of just being two? there a way to get him happy in the morning? I really hate waking up to an incredibly grumpy, argumentative boy Just off the top of my head... I'd make a menu together WITH him and set the table WITH him the night before. Then at bedtime, I'd review the menu casually, "and tomorrow is Friday! So it's Pancake Day!" Good luck. Oh, and maybe a small protein snack before bed. We'd do cheese with...tortillas, pretzels, crackers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Cup of milk immediately (like greet him with it in his room) then tackle food. Maybe you're offering too many choices? Try not offering any and see if it's better. Sometimes the options are overwhelming. And sometimes, yes, it's just being two. Plus temperament. My oldest would argue with a brick wall, starting around 2.5. She is a beast with low blood sugar. I will hand her a small spoonful of PB with a couple of chocolate chips and tell her to eat it if she wants to live to see 11. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoseInABook Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Add me to the list that tells the kids to grab a piece of fruit ASAP while I'm working on steel cut oats or eggs/bacon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineinthesand9 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Our 3-year-old twins do the same thing...so you're not alone! :) They must be growing, growing, growing so fast that we can't pump them full of food fast enough. I do what other posters have mentioned--an immediate banana (or other fruit) right away with juice/milk, and then follow up with the substantial stuff. Protein helps! (Also, dh and I are big fans of narrowing choices with our kiddos, as also previously mentioned.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abba12 Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 I allow my children choices and I am a big proponent of giving a toddler two or three limited options, to allow them to choose from those pre-determined 'choices'. I don't like being too overcontrolling and I like to try and encourage my kids to form opinions and determine what they would like. But that does NOT happen at breakfast time! :) The kids never get to 'choose' plates and bowls here, we either have assigned ones, or they are all shared and I just grab two. They don't get to pick their drink at breakfast, I pick the drink and whether it will be a special one or not. They don't get to pick what they have for breakfast. If I decide to give them cereal and they're in a good mood I might let them pick which cereal. Same with toast, they can choose jam/vegemite/etc IF they are in a good mood, but generally I pick breakfast, and what I put out goes. If DD1 is adamant she does not want something, I MIGHT let her have another option determined by me (she does not want a banana, ok, then she can have a museli bar, no choosing from the entire cupboard, just a museli bar, and she is not allowed to refuse the museli bar, there's no further options, at that point it's either banana or museli bar) My kids are generally good with decisions, but decision overload happens really quickly first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, so having no choices, or a maximum of one choice, actually keeps them happier. We have had a few mornings of refusing to eat breakfast (and I have also determined genuine dislikes from fussyness so I no longer choose options which are actually disliked) which can be troublesome, but by sticking to my guns and not allowing them to find other food until the next mealtime (which I might make a little earlier than normal for everyones sanity!) we find it's rarely an issue. When it does happen, more often than not they do return to the table to eat their still-waiting breakfast within an hour or so (I don't clear breakfast away unless it's going to go bad quickly, to allow for them to accept the food and come back to eat it which probably happens two of every three times. When it doesn't happen it is usually a sign of a genuine dislike) They are allowed to request a specific item, nicely, which I may or may not choose to give them. But there's no umming and ahhing and refusing what's presented while they look over all the options in the cupboard. If they know what they want I might let them have it, otherwise breakfast is up to me. Obviously I'm only talking about little ones here. They will get the freedom to choose their own breakfast when they're old enough to make their own breakfast. If I have to make it, I get to choose it. I really am not a mean, controlling authoritarian mummy, I promise! It's just breakfast where I'm this strict lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 I'd move all of his choices to the night before. Let him set out that bowl before bedtime, or after dinner . . . whenever he isn't grumpy and hungry. My son finally got old enough to recognize when he's too flustered to make a choice. He'd get that stressed look when I offered choices, and I'd ask "Do you want me to just bring you something?" Most of the time he said "Yes." He also got old enough to join me for a morning cup of tea. We have tea the first thing, then think about food a little later when we're both fully alert. Neither of us are fans of food the minute we wake up. I'm not advising caffeinating your toddler, but a smoothie may improve everyone's morning. You can essemble several and have a freezer stash so you just need to dump and blend in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Like others, I try to get food into my "hungry morning" kids right off- as soon as they sit down, they have a glass of (chocolate...) milk and fruit of some kind. This gives me time to then cook oatmeal or eggs, or slice up cheese and crackers as well. I don't do choices at meal times, I don't want 3 kids eating different things. :-) They help me make dinner menus and get to dress themselves, but I won't be a short order cook! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevergiveup Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Not food related, but we wore out Disney's Wake-up tape. It had really good songs on it--it couldn't help but put one in a good mood. I loved that tape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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