School mornings are a busy time in any household. Suddenly there are a million things to attend to - from packing school lunches to finding matching socks. With the clock ticking, breakfast either tends to get forgotten or is a quick patty from the canteen. 

It is a proven fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and as Dr. Anoma Chandrasekera advises,
 

“If a child consistently skips breakfast or if it is not a balanced diet, he or she will miss out on necessary nutrients needed to effectively function throughout the day. It has also been found that those children who do not eat their breakfast are more likely to be overweight owing to snacking on sweets and fatty foods. They tend to perform poorly since they lack concentration and have short attention spans due to the lack of proper nutrients. This in the end leads to lower test scores and even cases of absenteeism. Therefore breakfast is critical to school performance”. 

The solution to this problem is not just to have any sort of breakfast. Sugary breakfast cereals are quite unhealthy. Focus on the right sorts of food that will give your child the energy and sustenance needed to function properly throughout the day. Choosing breakfast foods that are rich in whole grains, fibre, and protein while being low in added sugar will boost kids' attention spans, concentration, and memory.

What can parents do?

Sometimes, with long distances to travel and traffic to be avoided, there is little time for proper sit-down breakfasts. So parents have to be wise in what they prepare for their children. 

Dr. Chandrasekera says that the breakfast “must provide energy, fat, protein, calcium, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamins in the B group”. 

Here are a few tips to getting breakfast right!  

• Always have your pantry packed with quick go-to healthy options. For e.g. whole grain cereal foods, yogurts, smoothies etc.
• Do as much preparation the night before, so there is minimal cooking in the morning
• Wake up earlier. Make breakfast time part of the routine, much like time spent getting ready for school
• Always get the children involved. If a child is given an option of helping to prepare his/her own breakfast there is more of a chance that they will eat it. 

Breakfast options

Dr. Anoma Chandrasekera, as a nutritionist offers the following options as acceptable breakfast solutions that will give our children a healthy start to their school day. 

• Make sure your child’s breakfast includes a glass of milk - hot or cold. Include other dairy products such as yoghurt, curd, cheese to add variety
• Include protein rich foods such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, pulses and peanut butter
• Include whole grain cereal foods and food products
• Keep bowl of fresh fruits (guava, banana), roasted peanuts for grabbing
• Add variety with different boiled tubers and roots such as manioc, potatoes, sweet potatoes and other roots 
• Prepare mixed dishes such as chickpeas, noodles, rice or string hoppers with a vegetable/meat mix
• Homemade fruit juices with low sugar 
• Milk rice with mung or cowpea
• Pittu with grated carrots, leaks and cabbages and boiled chicken
• Boiled corn and butter 

We all want our children to have positive days at school and starting the day off with a good breakfast is the key to this. 

Written by Mayuri Jayasinghe based on an interview with Anoma Chandrasekara, Vice President of the Nutrition Society of Sri Lanka