You Can’t be a Super Student Without Breakfast!

Can your student be super without breakfast? It may be possible, but starting the day with breakfast in their tummy makes it a whole lot easier! Kids need to fuel up each morning to get their bodies ready to succeed.

If your student has never eaten breakfast at school, National School Breakfast Week is the perfect time to give it try. Celebrated March 7^th through the 11^th this year, many schools across the state are celebrating with fun promotions at breakfast.

Participation in the National School Breakfast Program is something you can feel good about. Not only can it improve student behavior and enhance learning environments, but improved attendance and decreased tardiness have also been associated with school breakfast participation.

School breakfast not only gets your child to school on time, but helps get them ready to learn by ensuring he or she won’t go to class hungry. Studies have shown children perform better when they aren’t hungry, and it makes sense. Think about it. When you are hungry, thoughts of food and eating consume your mind. No wonder studies have also shown that children who skip breakfast have slower memory recall!

Math scores also show an increase when hungry kids eat breakfast, and it may be easier for a child to sit still and pay attention when breakfast is provided.

Fun fact: Students who eat school breakfast have been shown to have, on average, 17.5% higher math scores on standardized tests.

Breakfast isn’t all about learning, it improves nutrition and health, too! Students that eat school breakfast are more likely to have diets adequate in important vitamins and minerals like calcium, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Eating breakfast, rather than skipping it, helps maintain a healthy weight (true for Moms, too!).

School breakfast is based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015’s healthy eating patterns and requires servings of whole grains, fruit and fat-free or low-fat milk. The Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 increased the portion of fruit that is required at breakfast. Fruit provides vitamin A, vitamin C and fiber. Fruit juice may also be served.  HHFKA also requires serving whole grains in school meals. All Americans are encouraged to make half their grain servings whole grain.

Protein is also an important component of breakfast. Milk, yogurt and cheese all make excellent breakfast foods and provide a good protein boost for the morning’s activities. Dairy foods also provide calcium, which is needed for growing bones.

Curious what a healthy breakfast might look like? Here are a few examples:

• Breakfast cereal with low-fat or fat-free milk and glass of juice
• Scrambled eggs, toast, low-fat or fat-free milk and banana (hard boiled eggs can be prepared ahead of time for a quicker breakfast option)
• Yogurt parfait with strawberries and granola
• Oatmeal topped with low-fat or fat-free milk, raisins and walnuts
• Granola bar, an orange and a glass of low-fat or fat-free milk
• French toast sticks, mandarin orange segments and a glass of low-fat or fat-free milk
• Yogurt smoothie with milk, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries

Besides receiving a healthy breakfast at school, students will also have extra social time with their friends. It gives you a little break from making something for them.  For those that need a little more ‘wake up’ time before feeling hungry, school breakfast is a perfect fit!

Help your student get off to a great start each day by having breakfast. Start today, during National School Breakfast Week. You can feel good about them eating at school. It is hard to be your best without breakfast!