Grow Up Well Nourished -- Eat Breakfast
Mornings are usually pretty hectic, but it's important to make breakfast a priority. In addition to giving your child the energy she needs to start each day focused and ready to learn, a morning meal offers her many health and development benefits that will follow her through to adulthood.
By eating breakfast regularly, your child will develop better:
- Concentration
- Problem-solving skills
- Eye-hand coordination
Such skills lead to better performance in school and promote a lifelong love of learning. Plus, breakfast eaters tend to eat healthier overall, and these eating patterns usually continue into adulthood, protecting your child from heart disease and other serious health problems down the road.
RealAge Projection: Getting into the habit of eating breakfast every day will benefit kids for years to come. If they keep this habit up in adulthood, they'll stay 39 when they should be turning 40.
What to Eat
Luckily, breakfast doesn't have to be fancy to be powerful. In fact, there's growing evidence that a bowl of good old-fashioned oatmeal may be one of the key components in a healthy breakfast.
Several recent studies showed that eating oatmeal for breakfast aided memory and attention span. Scientists think this effect can be linked to the whole grain, high-fiber, and protein in oatmeal that, because it digests slowly, supplies the brain with a steady stream of energy.
Whether your child's cereal is hot or cold, you'll always want to check the fiber, fat, and sugar content per serving. It's best if sugar or corn syrup is not among the first three ingredients in cereal or other breakfast foods. And, ideally, your child's cereal should provide at least 3 grams of fiber per serving.
Hint: If your child's favorite cereal is low on fiber, sprinkle a couple tablespoons of unprocessed wheat bran on it or mix in another cereal that's high in fiber.
