Nutrition Ed: Breakfast Boosts Brain Function

Children are sent to school to learn, but many face a stumbling block before the hands on the clock ever reach 9 a.m. Studies show that as many as 12-26 percent of school-age children leave their homes without eating anything!

“Even children with the means to eat a breakfast at home often don’t because their typical morning routine doesn’t allow the time,” stated the Health Policy Guide.

Skipping breakfast is believed to negatively affect:

• Cognitive function, including the ability to memorize information
• Mood and behavior
• Test scores
• School attendance
• Overall health, including weight, bone density, energy levels and growth

 In a perfect world, children would have parents who model healthy behavior, provide nutritious meals and offer steadfast guidance. In reality, families lack sound information about health and nutrition, struggle with time management, lack food preparation skills and have limited budgets or access to fresh unprocessed food.

In fact, by the time youths reach age 12-19, about one in four skips breakfast, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals.” Here are a few other quick facts from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC):

•  Only 39% of children ages 2-17 meet the USDA’s dietary recommendation for fiber
•  About 85% of adolescent females fail to consume enough calcium.
•  The number of overweight kids (age 6-11) has gone up 100% in the last 20 years.
• Almost 78% of high school students fail to eat five or more daily servings of fruits and vegetables.
•  It’s estimated that 33% of American kids born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime, according to the CDC.

While a teacher is not a substitute for an on-the-ball parent or a registered dietician, no one can deny a teacher’s power to influence attitude and behavior. Offering lessons on nutrition and gentle reminders may be all it takes to spur discussions within the home and change habits.

Sending reminders in a classroom newsletter might prompt a positive response, too. Include links to some fun and educational online sites such as the “Healthy Fridge” quiz or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ website Smallstep Kids.  BrainPOP offers an animated kid’s clip on nutrition, too. It’s free and has additional activities. A trial subscription is available for further exploration of the site. ZisBoomBah.com is another interactive site that helps teach children about planning meals.

Not only does a full tummy enhance a child’s ability to pay attention during class and learn new things, but it also provides fuel for active participation on the playground – something that affects social interaction and well-being in addition to fitness.

Big Universe’s publishing partner, Weekly Reader Publishing, has half a dozen picture books about nutrition for readers  in Grade 1 and beyond. Each of these books has a corresponding online quiz. They include:

“Vegetables”

“Bread and Cereal”

“Fruit”

“Meat and Beans”

“Milk and Cheese”

“Oils”

Or read “Fruits,” Level 2 (Bellwether), “Vegetable or Fruit? (ReadingReadingBooks) or “Juice” (ReadingReadingBooks).

For further information about breakfast’s link to education, check out the facts and tips in “Breakfast Benefits” on the FamilyEducation.com website or read the suggestions in “Bringing Health and Nutrition into the Classroom” and “Rise, Shine and Dine.”

Bon appetit!

UPDATE: (Dec. 3, 2010) Big Universe has added a comprehensive nutrition book for kids and their parents titled “YUM: Your Ultimate Manual for Good Nutrition” by Daina Kalnins (Lobster Press).

A is for Appleseed

March 11 is Johnny Appleseed Day. I haven’t thought about this American folk hero in years, but I warmly remember singing about him in second grade and listening intently to the story my teacher read. (See book list below.)

Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan and Rip Van Winkle were three of my favorite folklore characters. Their stories were larger than life, and that appealed to a child of 8.

Mr. Van Winkle’s story was a variation on the time travel theme – an easy remedy for life’s problems. Simply go to sleep and they vanish! Mr. Bunyan lived with gusto. He made flapjacks on such a big griddle that skaters had to strap hunks of bacon to their feet to grease the pan! And, Mr. Appleseed was a tree-hugger prototype, someone who appealed to an outdoorsy girl like me, who had grown up camping and playing for hours outside every day.

“Rip Van Winkle” was a short story written by Washington Irving and published in 1819. The legendary antics of super-human lumberjack Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox are still told today, and many towns in the United States lay claim to him. The origin of these tales is hotly disputed.

John Chapman, the son of a Massachusetts farmer, was born in 1774. His favorite spot on his father’s farm is said to have been the apple orchard. He enjoyed talking to people who passed their farm as they headed west on wagon trains. The more he learned, the more he dreamed of joining them. He eventually set out, heading west with a pot on his head, a walking stick, a book and a bag of apple seeds. As he traveled, he planted seeds and told stories. The resulting trees became the source of delicious apples and legend, and John Chapman became known as “Johnny Appleseed.”

Why not read this enduring story to your children? Tie in additional lessons if you wish. His tale is a great launching pad for discussions about fruits, vegetables and nutrition. A bag of apples of various colors can be used to practice counting and graphing numbers on a chart. Talk about the difference between facts and legend. Discuss his character. Examine his attitude toward nature.

Here are some books to get you started:

• “Johnny Appleseed: The Story of a Legend” – This book was written and illustrated by Will Moses, the great-grandson of folk painter Grandma Moses. It’s intended for ages 5-9. “The virtues his picture biography teaches include sharing, simplicity and kindness to animals,” said Massachusetts elementary school teacher Simon Rodberg in a New York Times review. “This ‘Johnny Appleseed’ is biography as parable, embracing history and tall tales equally, its bright pages packed with country cheer.” (Philomel Books)
• “Johnny Appleseed” by illustrator Steven Kellogg. (Morrow Junior Books) Ages 8-12.
• “Johnny Appleseed” written by award-winning author Carol Ottolenghi and illustrated by C.D. Hullinger. (School Specialty Publishing) Ages 6-10.
•  “The Story of Johnny Appleseed” written and illustrated by Aliki. Ages 5-7.
• “Johnny Appleseed” written in poem form by Reeve Lindbergh and illustrated by Kathy Jakobsen Hallquist. A Redbook Children’s Picture Book Award Winner.
• “Johnny Appleseed” written by Patricia Brennan DeMuth and illustrated by Michael Montgomery. (Grossett & Dunlap) Level 1 Beginners.
• “What’s so Great About…Johnny Appleseed” written Daryl Davis Zarzycki, a second grade teacher in Delaware. (Mitchell Lane Publishers)