Don’t Let Your Child Skip the Most Important Meal of the Day

There’s something you can do that will make it easier for your child to learn, concentrate and behave. Your child will be healthier and will feel better, too. And you don’t have to spend extra money or see a specialist to give your child this added boost. Simply stock your refrigerator and kitchen cabinets with healthy foods and make sure your child eats a nutritional breakfast everyday.

“Families are so busy today that it’s easy to let breakfast fall by the wayside, especially if kids complain that they aren’t hungry,” says Miriam Pappo, MS, RD, CDN, clinical nutrition manager for the Department of Clinical Nutrition at Montefiore Medical Center. “Growing children and teens need a certain amount of calories to feel and function well. When they don’t eat breakfast, they have a harder time concentrating in school. If they don’t like the school lunch, they’re ravenous after school and apt to eat anything available, which may be quick, unhealthy foods. By the time dinner comes around, they aren’t hungry again.”

Ideally, kids should eat a balanced breakfast that contains items from all food groups – carbohydrates, protein, dairy and fats. Whole grain cereals and breads, milk and yogurt, eggs and fruit are good choices for breakfast. If you have picky eaters, Ms. Pappo has some advice.

“Parents should ‘think outside the box – or bowl,’” she says. “Cereal is one of the most popular breakfast foods, but it’s not the only option. Parents can make smoothies with skim or low-fat milk, yogurt and fruit, which are great on the go. Even sandwiches and dinner leftovers can be a healthy alternative to traditional breakfast foods or no breakfast at all.”

Healthy Morning Boost

• Be a good role model. Kids are more likely to eat breakfast every morning if you do.
• Make sure healthy foods are available. Buy cereals and breakfast bars that are high in fiber and low in sugar. Keep lots of fruit on hand.
• Be creative. Add some protein powder to breakfast smoothies. Make a healthy “portable” breakfast – an egg sandwich or yogurt and fruit – that kids can take with them on the bus. Dinner foods at breakfast are just fine. Use your leftovers.
• Get kids involved. Ask kids for suggestions about what healthy foods they’d like to eat in the morning.

Click here for our fun, fast and healthy breakfast recipes.

To learn more about the benefits of a healthy breakfast for kids of all ages, click here to visit our Child Health Library.