Some mothers face daily difficulty in preparing a healthy breakfast for their children, especially during school hours. However, it is important to understand the importance of breakfast and its impact on a child's health. Practical studies have proven that breakfast is what gives a child energy and vitality, and that children who eat a typical breakfast every day are the most productive and focused during the school day.
A healthy breakfast for children also helps develop their mental and physical abilities and makes them more active. Therefore, preparing a healthy breakfast for children before school or during the school day is a key step to ensuring their healthy growth and increased concentration.
The Importance of a Healthy Breakfast for Children at School
Breakfast is more than just a meal; it is the primary fuel that provides a child with the daily momentum and energy to start a new school day with activity, energy, and vitality. It helps supply the brain with glucose, the body's source of energy, which increases children's concentration during the school day and reduces distraction, which positively impacts their results and test scores.
A healthy breakfast also helps children improve their academic performance and mood, reducing the likelihood of feeling tired or exhausted. It also helps meet their nutritional needs during the school day and prevents hunger and the need for unhealthy snacks.
Ingredients for a Typical Healthy Breakfast for Children
To prepare a healthy breakfast for children, it must contain several beneficial nutritional elements that contribute to supporting physical health and improving mental performance. These ingredients include:
- Proteins, which help build muscle, are found in eggs, chicken, red meat, and fish.
- Healthy fats play an important role in maintaining brain health and stimulating children's thinking centers. Healthy fats are found in olive oil, nuts, and avocados.
- A source of carbohydrates, such as bread, rice, and oatmeal, are important sources that provide the body with the energy needed to perform school activities and tasks.
- Some fruits and Vegetables' bright colors help attract children's attention to food, and they are highly nutritious, containing many minerals and vitamins beneficial to the child's body.
In addition, breakfast contains liquid ingredients that help motivate children to eat, such as:
- Dairy products contain calcium, which is essential for healthy bones and teeth and muscle contraction.
- Healthy fluids such as water and homemade natural juices to hydrate the body and protect it from dehydration.
Healthy Lunchbox Ideas for School
Here are some healthy breakfast ideas for kids that are packed with nutritional value:
Oatmeal Banana Bread
This meal is one of the best meals that contain nutritional components beneficial to children's health.
Ingredients:
- Half a cup of oatmeal.
- Half a banana.
- One and a half cups of milk.
- One cup of natural yogurt.
Apple Cake
This recipe supports heart health, acts as an antioxidant, and improves digestion.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs.
- 2-3 peeled and chopped apples.
- 2 cups flour.
- 1/2 cup honey.
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature.
- 1/2 teaspoon each (salt, vanilla, baking powder).
- 1/2 cup milk.
Quick and Healthy Meals for School children
You can prepare some quick meals or healthy snacks with a healthy breakfast for your children. This helps fill hunger pangs for the rest of the school day and provides them with more energy.
Fruit Slices with Yogurt
This is a protein- and calcium-rich meal that helps relieve constipation and promote digestive health. It can be prepared with:
- Add a cup of sugar-free natural yogurt, then slice some of your child's favorite fruits, such as strawberry, banana, or apple slices. Stir the mixture and place it in your child's school lunchbox.
Peanut Butter Sandwich
This is easy and quick to prepare, and is a source of protein, fiber, and healthy fats that help improve brain function. How to prepare it:
- It's best to use whole-grain bread, such as wheat or corn, but oat bread can also be used.
- Add a suitable amount of natural or unprocessed peanut butter, free of vegetable oils.
Foods to Avoid in Healthy Breakfasts for Children
Some foods should be avoided when preparing a healthy breakfast for children, such as:
- Sugars and sweets: Such as juice and processed foods, which contain added sugars and refined carbohydrates, can lead to a dip in energy in the middle of the school day.
- Fried foods: Such as donuts, French fries, and breaded meats, contain saturated fats that increase the risk of heart or vascular disease.
Ways to Get Your Child to Eat a Healthy Breakfast
Some children refuse to eat food, especially healthy breakfasts for picky eaters, because they contain vegetables that they don't like. This is a common occurrence among children, especially those under 5 years old. Here are some ways to overcome your child's refusal to eat breakfast.
- Daily meals should be varied so that children don't get bored.
- Present food in a unique way that engages children in eating it, such as colorful vegetables cut into shapes like a rabbit or a heart. This helps attract children's attention and encourages them to eat breakfast.
The Role of Parents in Instilling the Habit of a Healthy Breakfast in Children
Mothers and fathers play an important role in encouraging children to eat a healthy breakfast from an early age. This can be achieved by:
- Setting a good example for their children by regularly eating a healthy breakfast to encourage them to eat it.
- Talk to their children and explain the benefits of a healthy breakfast to them and its importance for developing their physical health and improving their concentration.
- Involving their children in preparing breakfast and preparing different types of breakfast.
- Organize a morning family routine and wake up early to eat leisurely.
The Harmful Effects of Not Eating a Healthy Breakfast for Children
Skipping breakfast or serving it in an unhealthy way negatively affects children and reduces their daily activity. This results in:
- Poor concentration due to a lack of glucose, the brain's fuel, which leads to impaired memory.
- Feelings of lethargy and fatigue.
- Weight gain due to unhealthy eating, which can lead to obesity.
- Weakened immunity.
- Digestive disorders.
Summary of the Importance of a Healthy Breakfast for Children
Eating a healthy breakfast before school or during the school day is the most important meal of the day for children. When prepared in a healthy way and containing proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats, it helps children develop physically and mentally.
On the other hand, you should avoid eating unhealthy and processed snacks that contain unhealthy colors, fried foods, and soft drinks.