Female Speaker: Meet three-year old Milanna. She's an energetic, spunky little ball of fire. From bike riding to chalk drawing, to taking care of her pets, Millana's day is packed with fun activities any three-year old would love.
Paula Crisanti: Good job.
Female Speaker: But in order for Milanna to get the energy she needs to take her through her entire day, she must start her morning off with a complete breakfast.
Paula Crisanti: Oatmeal's one of her favorite breakfast aside from scrambled eggs and toast, she likes her oatmeal. And I always make sure there's a fruit and a juice and always milk.
Female Speaker: By choosing foods she knows her daughter enjoys, Paula can rest assure Milanna will start her day off right.
Paula Crisanti: When I feed Milanna balanced breakfast, I find that she is much more cooperative with me, she has positive energy, a really nice energy that gets her through the morning until snack time or lunch time and she's reasonable.
Female Speaker: As an elementary school teacher, Paula has seen the negative effects sending a child to school without a complete breakfast can have.
Paula Crisanti: When I have kids that come into my classroom with a sugar breakfast, which would be a bag of chips or some sweets because it's the fastest thing to run out of the house with, they will just, they crash by the time they get into their desk.
Female Speaker: And Paula's personal experience is no surprise to many researchers. Studies have shown, missing a complete breakfast can decrease your child's attention span and ability to concentrate while eating a meal in the morning can boost your child's grades, her spirits, and even her level of creativity.
Dr. Linda Reid: We see that from studies that children's brains do grow and develop more rapidly and more effectively when they are engaged in creative play and learning activities.
Female Speaker: So how can you begin to instill the habit of eating breakfast in your child? First, make learning about breakfast fun. Paula and her husband incorporate learning about good nutrition into Milanna's playtime through make believe. This gives Milanna the opportunity to ask questions about food and eating right.
Even a household pet can become a fun tool to teach good nutrition. Second, try and make breakfast quality time the entire family can enjoy sitting down for breakfast together, can become an important bonding time for parents and children. Next, try and incorporate foods and beverages into your child's breakfast that you know they love, like milk and colorful all-natural fruit juices. But remember when it comes to fruit juice there are limits.
Dr. William Cochran: You can go ahead and replace up to half of your fruit servings as a form of fruit juice but real fruit has benefits too in terms of having fiber and some other nutrients and its beneficial.
Female Speaker: And finally, remind you child that a complete breakfast will give her the energy she needs to do all the things she enjoys. Did you know that adolescents who exercise 20 minutes a day, three times per week, have less depression and anxiety. They also show improvement in self-esteem, cognitive function, and academic performance. So, how can you help motivate your children to add exercise to their lives. Number one Sports count, encourage your child to join a team sport after school. Number two, Set realistic goals, setting goals to your child can achieve, will create a sense of accomplishment and motivate her to continue her exercise program. Number three, mix it up, give your child choices when it comes to different activities, so she doesn't become bored of the same old routine and Number four, have fun.
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