A lack of appetite in the morning or not enough time are common reasons why children do not eat breakfast. However, this has a significant impact on the ability to perform of the little ones during their exciting day at school or kindergarten.
There is a reason why breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day. A healthy breakfast for children is especially important.
Find out why it is so important for children to eat breakfast.
Why children need breakfast
While we sleep at night, our energy stores are depleted. In the morning, they need to be replenished so that we can start the day full of energy. Breakfast therefore serves as an important basis for an energetic day.
If you go without breakfast, you will quickly notice how your energy levels drop during the morning. In the case of children, this is noticeable at school when they can no longer pay full attention.
As the performance curve makes clear, the energy level does rise a little in the morning without breakfast, but it remains relatively low throughout the day .
Children who eat a meal in the morning are not only able to perform better, but also show a peak in performance in the afternoon. This energy boost in the second half of the day does not occur if children skip breakfast.
VERIVAL breakfast for children – discover it now!
Breakfast ensures better concentration
Breakfast is particularly important for schoolchildren, because if you don't give your body energy in the morning, you can expect a drop in performance. This can be seen, for example, in attention span and concentration at school.
Pupils who do not eat breakfast often experience concentration problems as early as mid-morning. They find it difficult to follow lessons attentively and are quickly distracted.
Children who eat breakfast are fitter
But breakfast doesn't just affect children's mental performance, it also has an impact on their physical health. According to a study by ETH Zurich, children who eat breakfast regularly perform better in terms of motor skills. This was determined on the basis of their motor skills in sports.
In addition, the researchers found that eating breakfast in the morning is associated with a healthy BMI. The BMI calculator for children shows significantly lower values for schoolchildren who eat in the morning.
In the long term, an increased BMI is bad for the health of our little ones, because overweight children tend to have excessively high BMI values as adults too . This in turn increases the risk of various cardiovascular diseases or type 2 diabetes.
My child doesn't like breakfast
Getting up early, getting ready and getting the kids to school on time before going to work yourself. The daily morning routine with children can be quite stressful and needs to be well coordinated.
If the children then refuse to eat breakfast, many parents' nerves are put to the test. That's why we've put together some tips on how you can motivate your little ones to eat breakfast:
Child-friendly breakfast
In principle, the same applies to children at breakfast time as to adults. It should contain wholegrain cereals, fresh and seasonal fruit and vegetables, dairy products or vegetable protein and plenty of fluids. It should also contain as little sugar as possible, because sugar causes blood sugar and energy levels to fluctuate.
But to motivate children to eat breakfast, the food must first and foremost taste good. That's why we at VERIVAL have come up with something very special: together with nutrition experts, we have developed a delicious breakfast range especially for our youngest consumers.
We use the best organic whole grain cereals as the main ingredient to satisfy both large and small appetites. What's more, our VERIVAL children's breakfast products contain up to 50% less sugar than conventional breakfast cereals.
Click here for the healthy children's cereals from VERIVAL.
Find a breakfast routine together
Children are more likely to eat breakfast if they themselves have a say in what goes on their plate. This is not to say that your little ones should now plan their breakfast completely independently. But to still involve them in the breakfast routine, you should offer them alternatives to choose from. Do they prefer muesli, granola (crunchy muesli) or porridge? Apple pieces or banana as a topping? A glass of fruit juice or tea?
It's also important that you eat breakfast yourself, because children learn from their role models and adopt the habits of the people they care about.
Don't force children to eat breakfast
If your child absolutely doesn't want to eat breakfast in the morning and even the best tips are ineffective, then there's only one thing for it: acceptance. Forcing children to eat is often counterproductive.
Many children get hungry on their own when they are at school or in kindergarten, so it's important to be prepared. That's why you should pack a delicious and healthy breakfast for your little ones.
Overnight oats are one of the most popular breakfast dishes for on the go. These are porridge that is prepared the night before and develops its delicious flavor during the night. The next morning, all you need to do is add your kids' favorite toppings. Prepared in a handy takeaway container, it's a healthy and delicious breakfast to-go in no time, that even little foodies will love.
Basic Overnight Oats Recipe – no added sugar
The basic recipe for overnight oats is super simple – you only need two ingredients.
Preparation time: 2 min.
Total time: 2 hrs
Servings: 1 serving
Calories: 150 kcal
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp rolled oats (approx. 45 g rolled oats) or Verival Overnight Oats
- 80 ml milk, water or a plant-based alternative (e.g. soy milk)
- Toppings of your choice: berries (blueberries, raspberries, etc.), nuts, nut butter, dried or fresh fruit, bananas, apples, grated coconut, etc.
Preparation
- Put the water, milk or a plant-based alternative in a glass with the oats and stir well.
- Put the mixture in the fridge overnight or for at least two hours.
- Then stir well again and enjoy.
- You can refine your overnight oats with toppings of your choice as needed.
Tip
Tip: We recommend refining your overnight oats recipe with honey, cinnamon, turmeric, agave syrup or maple syrup and adding fruits, nuts and seeds. Occasionally, a few grated chocolate chips are okay as a sweet refinement. If you use gluten-free oats, this meal is also a great option for people with gluten intolerance.
Nutritional information
Calories: 150 kcal
