Every morning Kewal’s mom finds her son’s breakfast dish being licked clean by the family dog. Needless to say, the family dog enjoys a scrumptious breakfast of two chapatis and the vegetable preparation of the day, while Kewal enjoys his cream biscuits and Frooti. His poor mother is at her wits end, trying to get Kewal to not skimp out on his breakfast, but Kewal being a kid, does just that!
Why should Kewal not skimp out on his breakfast?
You might not know, but breakfast is the most important meal of the day. In fact breakfast is breaking the night long fast that we impose on our body, when we retire for bed at nights. And since many kids sleep more than us adults they end up holding a longer fast than us, which makes breakfast so much more important for them. The body needs to be re-fueled after an 8-9 hour long fast, which makes breakfast that much more important for kids.
With over 30 years of credible research pointing towards the health benefits of breakfast, we are going to try our level best to convince Kewal to get on his munchies early in the day and leave the biscuits and Frooti’s for snack times.
So let’s tell Kewal about the 5 things he’ll be missing out on if continues skimping on his breakfast:
A good breakfast will lead to better marks: Research has shown an increase in the brain power of children who consume breakfast regularly. To ensure a further boost, it would be a good idea to serve a breakfast high in whole grains, fiber and protein to your child, as this will not only boost his mental abilities but also his physical ability making him excel in co-curricular activities, sports and music.
In a study published in 1998, in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine it was found that children who breakfast regularly had better scores in math’s and higher IQ levels. Plus studies have shown that kids who have the first meal of the day are more alert in class and this automatically translates to good grades in class.
A good breakfast will prevent fat children: It’s true! Children who eat a wholesome breakfast kick start their metabolism which starts burning calories, thereby preventing them from getting fat. Plus children who skip breakfast are bound to be hungry before lunchtime and thus will end up consuming junk food or normal food in larger quantities as compared to those children who had their morning breakfast. This means that the children who skipped are actually consuming much more calories throughout the day, plus research has proven that children who have their breakfast regularly tend to be overall healthy eaters i.e. they are bound to make healthier choices when it comes to eating.
More over setting a good breakfast habit in childhood itself will streamline you child’s eating and meal patterns, thus helping him avoid childhood obesity which is a recurring condition.
A good breakfast will help them grow up into healthy adults:
Children who eat breakfast regularly have a better chance at growing up into healthy, fit and strong adults. This is primarily because of the whole-grains, fibers, proteins and carbohydrates along with the calcium that is much needed during the growing years.
Plus if kids are given a balanced breakfast which includes fruits they get the required anti-oxidants and fiber which boosts their immune system, keeping them away from serious diseases that can make them ill and threaten their long term health. Research has shown that children who have their breakfast regularly have lower blood cholesterol as compared to their non-breakfast-eating little counterparts!
A good breakfast ensures a happy, well behaved kid: Having their morning breakfast ensures that the child’s stomach is full and he won’t start becoming irritable or feel tired and restless due to the lack of sugar and protein in his system, which is the case with kids who prefer skipping breakfast. A full stomach also ensures that kids can concentrate better while in class and even perform better in sports and co-curricular activities as their energy levels remain up throughout the day.
Well, now that Kewal knows about these reasons we are sure that the family dog will have to revert back to his doggie biscuits, while our Kewal enjoys his daily morning breakfasts!
