Columnist Nozaina: Like adults, kids may have a difficult time getting up earlier in the morning. As a parent, you may find it harder to get your kid to eat breakfast in the morning. Breakfast is considered the most essential meal of the day. Aim to eat a healthy breakfast daily. Children who eat breakfast, maintain a healthy body weight, eat healthier overall, and engage in physical activity. It is a parent’s duty to help kids build healthy eating habits, including eating a nutritious breakfast. It can make a foundation for eating right.
Breakfast has several benefits. Besides being fuel for your body, breakfast also provides essential nutrients. Kids who eat breakfast regularly are more likely to meet their overall nutritional needs. According to studies, children who eat breakfast tend to drink more milk, consume less saturated fat, and eat more fruits than those who do not eat breakfast. When children miss breakfast, they generally miss key nutrients in that first meal, such as protein, iron, and calcium.
Start your day with a healthy meal. Breakfast helps to fight obesity. Research revealed that people who do not eat breakfast are more likely to become obese than those who eat breakfast daily. Breakfast plays a significant role in regulating the number of calories burned throughout the day, appetite, and hormone levels.
Children who eat breakfast perform well in school. They have better test scores, improved focus and memory, and are less likely to be late or absent. Schools that have breakfast programs report fewer behavioral problems.
How can I make breakfast a habit?
Approximately 30% of children in elementary school attend school at least one day a week without breakfast, 15% of school-age children do not eat breakfast at all, and 20% go to school without breakfast twice a week. Children are more likely to skip breakfast as they get older. Girls are more likely to skip breakfast than boys. Children are not the only ones going without breakfast in the morning. Parents must be good role models. Parents who eat breakfast with their kids can cut the probability of skipping breakfast by two-thirds.
Families often cite some reasons for skipping breakfast, such as time constraints, expenses, and lack of morning hunger. Indeed, families are facing challenges that make sitting down to eat a daily breakfast difficult. But parents must realize the beneficial effect of breakfast on children’s health. Here are some tips to help make a breakfast habit.
Develop a morning time-saver, such as preparing a task checklist for every kid, so the morning routine runs more efficiently. As an alternative to rushing in the morning, pick up the outfits, take a bath and shower, set out lunch money or prepare lunches, and pull out items required for breakfast the night before. It requires a few minutes for preparation and will allow more time for breakfast.
You can freeze ahead, cook ahead, or use a crock-pot for breakfast. If you like to cook breakfast but don’t have enough time in the morning, there are many foods that you can prepare in advance. Cook-ahead ideas include blueberry, banana, or other fruit and whole-grain bread and muffins, as well as egg casseroles and French toast. You can prepare and freeze things such as egg and cheese English muffin sandwiches, pancakes, waffles, or breakfast burritos. Ideas for crock-pot overnight are hot cereals, fruit, granola, and potato and egg casseroles. The school breakfast programs help to increase the regular consumption of healthful breakfast among school-aged children. It is required that school breakfast contain no more than 30% of calories from fat and provide at least one-third of the daily recommended amount of key nutrients. Some kids may qualify for free breakfast or reduced price.
Healthy breakfast ideas for kids
When choosing cereals and bread, always choose those made from whole grains. Whole grains include brown rice, barley, oatmeal, whole cornmeal, millets, whole rye, buckwheat, and whole wheat, among others. Some food packages display whole-grain symbols, which indicate the grams of whole grain per serving. Eight grams per serving is considered a good source, and sixteen grams is an excellent source. Read the labels. If there’s no symbol, then pick the foods listing whole grains.
Kids need around 20-30 grams of fiber daily. At least five grams of fiber must be included in breakfast. Fiber not only prevents constipation and promotes regularity but also helps to prevent heart disease and cancer later in life.
A glass of low-fat, fat-free milk or yogurt is a great addition to breakfast. Most school-age children need 3 servings of yogurt or milk daily. Yogurt, milk-based drinks, smoothies, or shakes are good options for breakfast.
Peanut butter, nuts, eggs, beans, and hummus are great protein options. Lean ham or turkey is a better meat option. Make your breakfast colorful. Adding a vegetable or fruit to each breakfast is a great way. The Food Pyramid recommends 3 to 5 cups of vegetables and fruits daily. 100 percent juice is an effective way to reach that goal, but it must be limited to 12 ounces per day for children over 7 years. 6 ounces per day for children under 6 years.
Eating breakfast out is typically a less healthy and more expensive option. But when eating out, choose egg sandwiches on whole-grain bread or bagels, English muffins with peanut butter, or bagels with low-fat cream cheese. Avoid breakfast biscuits, pastries, and croissants, which are loaded with artery-clogging fat.
According to studies, children who have a nutritious breakfast have better diet and exercise. Kids are sponges; if they see their parents are not doing something, or doing something, they tend to follow in their ways. Parents must teach their children that exercise, breakfast, and getting enough sleep are essential for a healthy life. These habits enable children to perform well in school, participate in sports, and cope with stress. Make sure kids start their day with a good breakfast, as important as their homework.