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I have the toughest time getting my four-year-old to eat breakfast. He will say he wants pancakes or cereal or whatever and an hour later it is still sitting on the table. He usually won't eat much of anything until around 10:30a.m. His dad also likes to skip breakfast. I think it's in the genes. I do try to push him to eat something in the morning, but it can be challenging. We've all heard breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Here's the latest from ABC News on the topic:
Studies show that between 12 and 34 per cent of children don't eat breakfast every day - with teenagers being the most likely to skip the morning meal. But new research from the University of Minnesota reveals that breakfast is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Doctors followed more than 2200 adolescents for 5 years, asking them about their eating habits at the beginning and end of the study.
Results showed teenagers who regularly ate breakfast actually consumed fewer daily calories and ate less fat than those who skipped breakfast. They also tended to practice other healthy behaviors, such as getting more exercise and not smoking or drinking alcohol.
As a result of all these healthy choices, breakfast-eating teens gained weight over the course of the study. Researchers say that skipping breakfast is never a good weight-loss strategy - instead, teenagers who want to look fit should eat regular, balanced meals and get at least 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity each day.
This article was published in Pediatrics by researchers from the University of Minnesota.
Do your kids eat breakfast? What can you get them to eat when you're in a hurry to get to school?
-NewsAnchorMom Jen
2 comments:
When our youngest son was 2, we started telling him that he needed to take as many bites as he was old (so at 2 he took 2 bites, 3 was 3 bites, etc.) We told him he did not have a choice and had to take those "age bites" or he would have to sit until he did.
It worked really well for us in a number of ways. For breakfast, he would take a few bites and ended up taking way more than what we had enforced. For food he said he did not like (but had never tried) the "age bites" allowed him time to actually taste the food. 9 times out of 10 he ended up deciding to eat the rest of what ever it was because he liked it.
Stephanie,
I do like your idea and will try it this week with my four-year-old. I have a feeling it's too late, but you never know!
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