The benefits of breakfast

Your mom was right – breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And now that you’re a mom, it is time for you to get your kids to eat breakfast, too. Skipping breakfast not only saps your children’s energy, it puts them at risk of making poor food choices and overeating later in the day. In addition, hungry kids have trouble concentrating and don’t perform academically or on the playground as well as kids who start the day with a morning meal. Here are the benefits to getting your kids to the breakfast table.

Spend time together as a family

When your family has a jam-packed schedule, breakfast may be the only meal you have time to eat together. Quality family time at daybreak gives your family the opportunity to share news, ask questions, plan family adventures, and enjoy a sit-down meal as a family. If your mornings are hectic, streamline the morning meal by making quick and simple breakfasts and by encouraging your kids to help.

Let breakfast be a fun learning experience

If you have trouble getting your kids to the table, make breakfast more interesting. Cook with them one morning a week to develop their cooking skills. Teach them about different foods and from where the foods originate. Let them be creative with oatmeal, pancake and waffle toppings. Have them tell you the shapes of different fruits or oddly shaped pancakes. Ask them to count the number of squares in their toaster waffle or guess how many minutes it took to toast it. Breakfast can be food for thought and body!

Start the day bright-eyed and well-fed

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it refuels the body after a long night’s sleep. Research has shown that kids who eat breakfast have more energy and perform better academically and on the playground. Kids who skip breakfast are more likely to be cranky and tired throughout the morning and more prone to eating junk food or overeating later in the day. Feeding your kids a morning meal can perk them up, sharpen their thoughts and senses, improve their moods, and help keep them full until lunch.

Beat fatigue

Breakfast gives your kids a morning energy boost and also helps keep their energy up throughout the day. If your kids tend to play hard or study hard, breakfast is even more essential in improving their physical and mental endurance. And its no secret that tired, hungry kids are not happy kids, so help deter family, sibling, or peer conflict by sending your kids out well-nourished.

Improve your family’s overall health

The most important meal of the day can improve the health of your children. As compared to breakfast-skippers, kids who eat breakfast tend to weigh less, are at lower risk of getting diabetes or weight-related diseases, and are more likely to make healthy lifestyle choices. Even better, if you teach your kids that eating breakfast is important, they will grow up and pass it on to their families later in life.