Chef Combo's Fantastic Adventures

Nutrition Tips

Hungry Children Can't Concentrate
Children who eat breakfast perform better in school than breakfast skippers. Breakfast eaters have more energy, greater concentration and better muscle coordination in the morning. They also score higher on tests, are less likely to cause discipline problems and are less likely to visit the school nurses with complaints of headaches and stomachaches.

• To make sure students are more ready to learn, encourage them to eat breakfast every morning.
• If children are unable to fit breakfast at home into their morning routine, make sure they take advantage school breakfast if it's available in your school. Like school lunch, school breakfast is meant for all children, regardless of income level.

Help Children Develop a Positive Attitude Toward Food
The eating habits that children establish in childhood are likely to be the ones they carry into adulthood. Helping them develop a positive attitude toward eating - rather than a fear of food - is key to establishing healthy eating habits. Keep these nutrition education tips in mind:

• Teach children that there are no "good" or "bad" foods.
• Even foods low in nutrients, high in calories and/or high in fat or sodium can fit into a healthy diet.
• Instead of looking at individual foods or meals in isolation, help children look at their diets over several meals or several days.