What about Breakfast?
What About Breakfast?
If your car ran out of gas, how well do you think it would run?
Only 1 in 5 children come to school after having had a nutritionally adequate breakfast. Yet breakfast provides the first nutrition the body has had in 10-12 hours . If a child comes to school without any breakfast, this means that the body will be without food for a 15-17 hour stretch! Food is the body's fuel! How well do you think your child will perform without fuel?
How important is breakfast?
Those of us who work with children in a school situation could answer this quickly and emphatically-
VERY IMPORTANT!
It is often easy to identify the child who hasn't had breakfast. He or she is usually slow to get started, cranky, difficult to motivate and generally negative in attitude. All of these form barriers to learning! Frequently these children develop mid-morning stomach aches and headaches causing them to spend valuable class time in the nurse's office.
What can you do to help?
Parents who work away from home can plan ahead and have things on hand which children can prepare quickly and easily on their own. Frozen waffles and french toast which can be popped in the toaster, cold cereal and individual packages of instant hot cereals are just a few ideas of what is available. Having fruit juice and milk on hand in the refrigerator, when added to the above, makes a quick and nourishing meal.
Parents who work at home can establish a rising time which gives children ample opportunity to eat before they leave for school. If your child is difficult to rise in the morning and often runs late, have breakfast ready to "grab and go"!
If it is still too difficult to find the time for your child to eat at home, consider trying the breakfasts provided at school! The kitchen provides warm and cold options. The options are healthier now than they have been in the past and reasonably priced! Try it! Your child may like this option the best of all!
The most important thing to remember is to fuel the body and the brain!