“Eat good, Feel Good”
In today’s article, we will be looking at the effects a poor diet can have on your child’s performance in school, and how beneficial it can be to kickstart their day with a healthy, nutritious breakfast.
Ensuring your child gets enough of the right nutrients can be key to them maximising their potential in the classroom.
We have also given our Top 3 Snack Replacements for the cupboards at home.
Sugary cereal for breakfast? Chicken nuggets for dinner? Of course, these options would be a child’s ideal meal of choice. But we need to ask the questions: Do these foods fuel your child with energy for the day? Do they provide your child with the right vitamins and nutrients to lead a healthy lifestyle?
There are many studies to show that what your child consumes daily can have a significant impact on their performance in school. Children need a variety of vitamins and nutrients to support their levels of activity throughout the school day and help them develop.
Understandably, for many parents, mornings are often a race against the clock! From a missing book to a late alarm, we know those mornings can sometimes be h-e-c-t-i-c. However, amidst the chaos, we should always ensure children begin every day with a healthy and nutritious breakfast. And it can be made quickly and easy too!
Foods such as eggs, fruit, yoghurt, and porridge are all perfect alternatives to that bowl of Coco Pops or Frosted Shreddies they may desire.
Since these foods are rich in carbohydrates, they are slowly digested and will therefore provide your child with enough energy to last until lunchtime. As a result, this will enable increased focus in the classroom as their brain will be well-fuelled from the glucose provided.
At our Urmston Primary School – Wraparound Care, we place a lot of emphasis on the importance of a good diet, and we provide many of the healthy options listed above at our breakfast club.
For more information about the foods we offer, please head to the following page of our website – https://www.schoolofplay.org.uk/breakfast-and-after-school-clubs/
If you would like to make any suggestions on our food menu, feel free to get in touch on info@schoolofplay.org.uk
Better choices at home
We understand there has to be an element of balance in everyone’s diet, so it is important we don’t completely deprive our children of the treats they enjoy.
There is a lot of simple changes you can make when choosing the snacks to buy for your children and they may not even taste the difference.
Below we have provided a list of our Top 3 Replacement Snacks you might want to consider.
- Sweet Freedom Chocolate Spread
The ideal replacement for the very popular Nutella and with half the number of calories and significantly lower sugar content it is a great alternative. It also tastes just as good!
Cost: £2-3 per 220g pot
Where you can buy this: Tesco, Iceland, Amazon
2) Oppo Ice Cream
Regular ice cream is usually packed with sugar and calories and can be very easy to overeat. A great alternative to this would be low-calorie Oppo Ice Cream or similar products. Again, with less than half the number of calories (356 kcal per 470ml tub) and much lower sugar content compared with other regular ice cream products, this is a better option as a treat for your child.
Cost: £3 – £5 per tub
Where you can buy this: Sainsbury’s, Tesco
3) Extra Light Laughing Cow Cheese Triangles
With only 20 calories per serving, these are a great alternative to butter or other spreads your child may enjoy, and their packaging means they are perfect for portion control.
Cost: £1.40 for 8 triangles
Where you can buy this? Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Co-Op
