The morning scramble is in full swing.
You’ve fuelled yourself up on a cup of coffee – your child is a walking zombie, only awake on paper.
Time is ticking.
You’ve navigated the bathroom clashes, found the shoes, retrieved all the homework and assembled the gym bag.
It’s time for breakfast.
NOT !
It is time to leave….. It is now breakfast TO GO.
The breakfast routine
The breakfast on the go routine, often morphs to NO BREAKFAST.
With time, the body stops sending the “I AM HUNGRY” message early in the morning, so it progresses to ……………
NO THANKS to breakfast.
Your child has become, just like you. A breakfast skipper.
What is the harm in skipping breakfast ?
You’ve done it for years – there is nothing wrong with you.
So does it matter ?
The short answer is YES. Both now and into the future – breakfast skippers tend to be heavier.
Breakfast skippers are skipping a beat
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania analysed the cognitive performance of over a thousand 6 year olds.
The 1269 little ones were categorized as either
- Regular breakfast eaters or
- Breakfast skippers
Breakfast eaters turned out to be SMARTER than breakfast skippers. The study found, breakfast skippers scored on average 5.58 points lower on verbal skills and 4.6 points lower on total IQ.
To build a brain you need to eat
This study did not make any attempt to vet the quality of the breakfast…… protein rich is likely to be a better option.
But the message is clear – a developing brain needs sustenance. Going for hours and hours without any food takes its toll.
Breakfast effect beyond food
The research team believe the breakfast effect, could extend beyond just fuelling up little brains.
Sitting down to breakfast requires some degree of social interaction. SOME – I realize it is possible to shovel down a plate of cereal without saying a word, but 6 year olds don’t grunt, 13 year olds do.
The breakfast banter (friendly or not), provides social stimulation, which is also likely to help brain development.
Breakfast discussions can serve to expand vocabulary and afford opportunities to practice synthesizing and comprehending stories.
Make the time for breakfast
From start to finish, breakfast can be done in 10 minutes.
Make it a priority.
Eating breakfast creates BETTER BODY CHEMISTRY and BETTER BRAIN CHEMISTRY – helping you raise a smarter kid, maybe even a genius.
Further reading
Why a low-fat twinkie is not a health food | Stop grazing it will stop you packing on the pounds | Mooing in on the secrets to exceptionally smart thinking |
Being a Mom is a huge responsibility and knowing how to protect and optimize your family’s health is challenging. Get tips and strategies from the world of science and help your little ones have Better Body Chemistry so they grow up healthy and avoid the lifestyle diseases.
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Did you learn something new or do you have a different perspective ? I’d love to hear from you so post me a comment below