I remember when I was growing up that I often would skip breakfast unless my mom fixed me something that I wanted to eat. I really wish that she would have forced me to eat a healthy breakfast each morning because I think it would have made a huge difference in my overall long term health. I have always struggled with my weight as an adult and I try to make sure I eat breakfast on a regular basis. Today I wanted to share some tips from Kimberly Grimms, on how to get your kids to enjoy breakfast as a family and to encourage them to be active.
No, your mother was not kidding when she said breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If you think she is, maybe you can turn to your trusted friend called Google. Try typing the word “breakfast” and it will yield more than 200 million results essentially telling us why breakfast is important, especially for kids, and why skipping it is harmful.
A healthy breakfast energizes a child, makes them stronger, and even smarter. However, a lot of kids (and parents) still take this for granted. According to the survey of the group Breakfast First, one in every five kids aged 6 to 18 do not eat breakfast. A similar report by the University of Florida found that up to 30% of children ages 8 to 13 skip breakfasts. The number becomes more alarming as the kid approaches the teen and adolescent years when they wrongly perceive skipping breakfast as a way to lose weight. This is why the USDA started the School Breakfast to provide nutritional breakfasts to students at around 90,000 participating schools. For the school year 2011-2012, over 12.5 million ate school breakfast every day.
For a holistic development, reinforce healthy meals with the much-needed playtime. Aside from the fun workout, playing allows a kid to improve his social and motor skills. Encourage your kids to put down that gadget and hit the playground and discover what good old fun is all about.
“Break the Fast”
Breakfast is becoming less and less popular among school kids. There are multitudes of reason why it has become a habit for kids to go to school hungry: they are not hungry yet, they overslept and running late, they don’t like what’s on the table, etc.
The reasons that kids and teens make up to skip the morning meal are no match to its countless benefits. Breakfast is essentially what it is — it breaks the fast. In the morning, after you have gone without food and water for some eight hours, your metabolism slows down and your body is drained of energy. By eating breakfast, you wake your metabolism up and get your child’s engine humming throughout the day. According to the University of Health Services, breakfast should supply you with 25% of your daily energy and nutrients. Furthermore, a related study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says that people who eat high-protein breakfast are less likely to consume sweets and fatty foods during the day. This is the reason why health experts recommend eating breakfast for those who want to lose weight.
Image Credit – Pinterest
Mood and Math
We don’t want our children feeling grouchy while in school. Mornings are not easy and we often hear people say “I’m not a morning person.” You can improve the overall mood by making it habit to eat breakfast. A study by the BBC News World Edition found that 26% of those surveyed experienced large improvements in mood after eating breakfast.
The importance of eating before school every day is also highlighted in a study by the group “No Kid Hungry.” It found that those who eat breakfast attend an average 1.5 more days per year. They also perform better in academics especially in Math. It found that kids who eat breakfast average 17.5% higher in math test scores. With better attendance and higher test scores, they are 20% more likely to graduate high school.
Comments
3 responses to “Breakfast and Playtime are Kids’ Coffee”
Breakfast is SO important! I make sure the kids eat something healthy in the morning and continue throughout the day. It saddens me when I hear kids do not eat breakfast or eat just a granola bar…. that’s not enough! The brain needs food.
I agree kids play less outside, even my own. My kids & I still do not feel comfortable in our new neighborhood.
All the best!
XO
My daughter used to not like to eat right away in the morning but she learned to very quickly when she started school because itherwise she got hungry. My son still needs to learn that but in preschool he gets a morning snack which helps since he doesn’t like to eat much.
I have never been a breakfast eater, but neither is my Mom so me not eating in the morning did not bother her in the least. In the weekends my Dad used to cook up a big breakfast-talk steak and eggs. But he was usually off to work during the week. Yes I have had a weight problem most of my life-maybe this was part of the reason.