When I read that article last week I was surprised to hear the child got breakfast in school. I had never heard of that before. This means they probably eat lunch at school too? Where is family time?

If you can't bother to get up with your child in the morning, make them breakfast, comb their hair etc, you shouldn't have had children in the first place.

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Another really sad effect of this is that, while mom is still in bed, the girls leave the house caked in makeup or dressed like whores. I've seen 5th graders who look like they are going to night clubs. Its absolutely disgusting. And sad. My school district had fee breakfast and lunch, and unfortunately for these kiddos, it might be the ONLY meal they eat in a day. So, do you let the kids try to learn while they are hungry, or feed them and we get THESE side effects?

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Mornings just seem to be universally tough for families.

I think a bigger reason than breakfast being available is that parents do not get their children to bed on time, and don't get themselves to bed on time, and everyone has a hard time getting up in the morning. This leads to stressful rushing around, things not getting done, parents yelling, children crying, etc.

Parents let their children stay up to late because they work and wouldn't see them otherwise, because they have sports or other activities that get them home late, or they just don't have control over getting their children to bed.

We are all sleep deprived in this country...adults and children alike.

I'm certainly not a perfect mom, but I do think one of the best things I have done as a parent is get my children to bed on time and ensure they get enough sleep. Then in the mornings, we get up early enough that we don't have to rush and I actually prepare a breakfast every day. There is rarely a cold cereal morning before school.

By the way, free breakfast in our school is for all children regardless of income. The school actually encourages it because the more that utilizes the program, the more $$ they get and it helps subsidize other food costs.

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I think this is a generalization on parenting. I know many families that allow their children to get breakfast at school, be it free or paid and they are very involved in a child's life. To suggest that a parent is "uninvolved" based on a low income is as ridiculous as saying that a parent that is "involved" is one that is well off or wealthy.

It's a dangerous generalization to suggest that because a family can pay for breakfast, or make breakfast at home, it means that they are involved in their child's life. Because it is no more true than one who can't pay or doesn't make breakfast. Bad parents will exist regardless of age, income or race. It's sad to see generalizations made that will put parents against each other even further than they already are.

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It's always hard with government programs to separate the Cant's from the Won'ts. (People who can't do something and need help as opposed to people who now because there is a gov. program won't) That's why it's almost always better to keep these programs in private hands as opposed to the government's. As for school breakfasts, it's hard to come up with a solution. Some people are just going to take advantage of it. But losing it completely seems too drastic.

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While I won't comment on the free breakfast enabling parents to skimp on their duties because I really don't have that much experience with it, I will answer the real question. Government programs are, without question, an enabler for bad family situations. Are they the cause? No, but they do make it easier to feed a system of families believing that they should be given everything without doing anything, which leads to people starting families when they shouldn't, etc. Now, I am generalizing and I know there are some really wonderful people to come out of situations like this, even if it follows the 80/20 rule, it is that 20% that really mucks things up. The government should not be who tells us how to raise a family; nor should we look to the government for handouts or guidance on the topic. Family should start at home and not with a bunch of elected officials. Anyway, I have digressed quite enough, it just really pushes my buttons when I even remotely think about all the problems we are trying to fix via government programs/officials that need to be fixed at home first.

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Why don't we come out and say some parents are trash?

When I was a kid, my mom had to be at work at 9 and she took the bus. So we had to get ourselves off to school (we were "walkers"). However, my mom gave us breakfast and made sure we were presentable and packed lunches before she left, even if that meant she had to run to the bus stop. (There were 4 of us when I was in primary school.) To hear how people will use any excuse to not even get out of bed for their kids is sickening.

What are these people doing with their food stamps if they aren't feeding their kids? That's even more sickening.

I know around here, many of the schools have breakfast for everyone because they don't want to stigmatize the low-income kids. They take up classroom time for this and end up throwing huge amounts of uneaten food and non-recyclable garbage away. The food choices are not as healthy as cheap cereal and are probably promoting obesity. Meanwhile, bummy parents are still getting the same amount of food stamps they would get if they actually had to feed their children (imagine it!). Funny thing is that before they had free breakfasts in school, kids at all economic levels showed higher achievement and the cost of educating them was lower. Most kids were getting their Cheerios at home; for the few who didn't, the state should have punished the parents and pushed them in the right direction, not taken away their responsibility.

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I must agree with Nikki. I think this is a generalization and unfortunately the bad sticks out more than the good. My mother had to work. She was usually out the house before I even got up for school, but we all knew we had to brush our teeth, comb our hair, and look presentable when we left the house. It was not about trying to have breakfast it was about we are a reflection of our parents and we got home before her too. So we had to call to let her know we were home, if we didn't call she was calling and if we didn't answer we were in big trouble when she got home. Although, my mom worked we still had bed time. We needed to be in bed at a certain time in order to wake up and get everything done. Today I have a 12-year old boy, who does eat breakfast at school. He goes to bed at a decent hour so he can wake up get dressed, brush his hair, and teeth. There has been times where I noticed he has left the house w/o brushing his teeth, I noticed this in our conversations after school, his breath is horrible and his teeth aren't as white as they should be. This is not because I'm not an active parent in his life, this is because for some strange reason he feels he doesn't need to brush his teeth everyday, regardless of what his parents say or does (our talking paid off cause his hygiene is much better now) Free breakfast is not the cause in every situation. There are bad parents out there, but don't let that take away the fact that the program actually does help. other families.

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Good topic, Rachel. The first time I saw the school send home a breakfast menu I was surprised there even was such a thing.

At our schools here breakfast costs $1 and reduced breakfast-for those who qualify-is 30 cents. The funny thing is, most days the "hot" breakfast is choice of cold cereal, juice and milk-items most people have in the house anyway. Once a week the school will also have a bagel or eggs. I understand the school may want to open its doors early for parents who have to drop off their kids before class starts, in order to make it to work on time. In this case, children should be fed prior to being dropped off or the parents should pack a breakfast. We are required to send two snacks to school every day anyway, so what's the problem with packing an extra one for breakfast?

I truly think the program is a waste of money and allows parents to be lazy, lazy, lazy! For my four kids, it takes me approximately 5 minutes to cook a pot of oatmeal (even faster for instant), 2 minutes to get cold cereal and juice ready, 2 minutes for toast, 40 seconds to microwave an egg-the list goes on. Get out of bed five minutes earlier and breakfast should be no problem! On mornings when parents are pressed for time, they could send a granola bar and piece of fruit with their child to eat on the way to school.

Bottom line, if school breakfast wasn't available, parents would be "forced" to give their kids a wholesome breakfast themselves-imagine that!!

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I believe that maybe some of the parents are slacking and falling back on free breakfast, but I think the program is needed for those who really cant afford breakfast.
I have 3 kids, 2 in school. I am a heavy heavy sleeper. It is a struggle to get up in the mornings between 3 kids, a full & part time job just to make ends meet. I am guilty of always buying pop tarts so that my kids can get breakfast on the particularly hard days. I try as hard as I can to get up and make breakfast. The days I do get up on time and make breakfast they wont eat the healthy food that I make. They wont eat eggs, french toast(unless its from a frozen box), oatmeal. The one thing that has saved me is PANCAKES. They have saved many of mornings, I make one big batch, cook them up & freeze them. The pancakes are good for the week. unfortunately it's also a crutch because it a food my 8 yr old son can just pop in the microwave for 30 seconds on his own.
Some days I find it really hard to get up in time to get them ready for school so that they're on time. Needless to say I get in trouble a lot for them being late. But I do get up and get them ready. I do have a habit of rushing and skipping their morning teeth brushing trying to be on time. My kids though know that I will deal with the teachers and principals when we are late. They know not to leave the house without me. We do live 2-3 blocks away from school but I do not let them walk alone when they do walk to school either. It shocks me, about the 6 yr old boy driving to get to school on time. I have heard more & more stories of things like that happening as of late. But I can't condemn the mother with out knowing the whole of their situation.

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If the parents aren't getting up to check and make sure they are properly dressed and decently groomed, I would bet they weren't getting up and making breakfast before the school breakfast program became available. At least now those kids have a chance to eat before school starts.

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"I think the program is needed for those who really cant afford breakfast" - and who would this be? I thought that was what the food stamp program was for.

Come on, you know these families can afford a box of Cheerios and a gallon of milk.

The free breakfast program was created for kids whose parents won't prioritize their children's health and education over drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, hangovers, and BS excuses.

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My daughter's preschool provides morning snack, a hot lunch, and afternoon snack, but not breakfast. She usually eats at home before we leave, but sometimes (i.e.: when we are running late) she takes a yogurt with her, or some cereal or crackers, or a banana, but regardless, she always gets fed in the morning. The private school she will attend when she goes to kindergarten provides breakfast in the morning for the "before school" children (you know, the ones that have to come to school at 7 a.m.), but it's about a buck fifty or something. Hot lunch is extra, or they can (OMG) bring their own lunch (a strange concept for some parents). If they are in "after school care" (i.o.w.: latchkey kids), they are provided with a snack, but it is included in the after school care fee you pay. I know that some parents make their kids fend for themselves, and I think that's horrible when that child is between 4 and 12 years old....after 12 or 13, they can make their lunches (because, let's face it, we will never get it right when they are that age lol), and get themselves a bowl of cereal. And yes, I would love to cook for my kid every morning, instead of just Sat and Sun morning, but the fact is, I work full time, and I am tired....but for God's sake, I'm not too tired to get my butt out of bed, get her changed out of p.j.'s, brush her hair and teeth, and give her some kind of food for breakfast! If you weren't prepared for that, you shouldn't have had kids.

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It is not a "low income welfare mothers issue", its a bad parenting issue. My son goes to a pricey $14,000 a year private schools and there are kids there showing up in their bmw's and are messy, dirty and have not had breakfast and their parents forget their lunch. My son's Pre K teachers have shared their lunch with one particular child at least 4-5 times....they offer breakfast and many parents buy it because their kids want to eat with their friends, there are children being dropped off at 7 AM. I know my son needs at least 30 minutes in the AM before he'll eat breakfast.

How about we stop judging parents, talking about their food stamps and assuming that only the poor are bad parents, being poor does not make you a bad parent (my housekeeper's daughter works full time as well as her husband, but their hours have been cut because of the economy and they are struggling and therefor qualifies for food stamps and got a whopping $248 this month for a family of four...who can do all their shopping for that amount?). Rachel talks about the cost of the free breakfast program and many complain, but how much do we spend per month in Iraq? I would rather feed children with that money.

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