Breakfast is probably the most important meal of the day for your child because it’s the first meal he or she will eat after going without food for 8-12 hours. Kids who eat breakfast tend to be healthier overall and are more likely to participate in physical activities. Skipping breakfast can make kids feel tired, restless, and irritable. A child’s mood and energy can drop midmorning if he or she doesn’t at least eat a small meal. Breakfast kick-starts the body’s metabolism. This process converts the fuel in food to energy, which in turn gets the body to begin to burn calories. This can help keep a child’s weight in check. Research has found that children, who don’t eat breakfast, eat more calories during the day and are more likely to become overweight than those who don’t.

It is very important to pick the right kinds of foods for breakfast to get all its benefits. Kids who choose healthy breakfast foods consume fiber, calcium, and other important nutrients that can help boost attention, concentration, and memory. Healthy breakfast foods are rich in whole grains, fiber, low fat protein, and low in sugar.

Healthy Breakfast Ideas for You and Your Kids

• Whole-grain cereal topped with fruit and a cup of yogurt
• Whole-grain waffles topped with peanut butter, fruit, or ricotta cheese
• Whole-wheat pita stuffed with sliced hard-cooked eggs
• Hot cereal topped with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, or cloves
• Peanut butter on a bagel with fresh fruit (banana or apple wedges) and low-fat milk
• Breakfast smoothie (milk, fruit, and teaspoon of bran, whirled in a blender)
• Vegetable omelet with a bran muffin and orange juice
• Bran muffin and yogurt with berries
• Hummus on whole-wheat toast and milk
• Lean turkey on a toasted English muffin and vegetable juice
• Heated leftover rice with chopped apples, nuts, and cinnamon, plus fruit juice
• Cream cheese and fresh fruit, such as sliced strawberries, on bread or a     bagel
• Shredded cheese on a whole-wheat tortilla, folded in half and micro-waved for 20 seconds and topped with salsa

(Information was obtained from www.sbanutrition.com, www.kidshealth.org, and www.webmd.com.)