What is the ideal breakfast for a child?
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Whether your child is a big eater or a small one, breakfast fuels the energy to start the day off right. But finding the time to cook them a healthy breakfast is a real challenge. Cereals, dairy, fruit, what to put on the menu?
The sleep is deep. When we sleep, we expend energy. And the longer you sleep, the more likely you are to wake up hungry. If your son had dinner around 7-8 pm, at 7 am it is as if she had fasted for half a day (12 hours). Therefore, it is essential to recharge your batteries with this first meal of the day to limit the famous morning snack.
What is a balanced breakfast?
First, protein and fiber are particularly important. This combination will help your child feel full and keep her blood sugar levels stable, so she can focus better and have more energy. These nutrients are especially found in low-fat yogurt, nuts, eggs, and cheeses. As for fiber, you can bet on fruits, vegetables and whole grains such as oats.
The goal of a good breakfast: avoid foods high in sugar. If you need to sweeten plain yogurt, for example, you can mix in pieces of fruit instead of powdered sugar. Also be careful with fruit juices, which young children tend to consume without limits. Here are some practical tips for preparing a balanced breakfast:
Bread or other cereal product: provides energy for a long period of time;
Milk or dairy products: source of calcium and animal protein;
A fresh fruit: a source of vitamins, minerals and fibers;
Butter and jam.
The industrial cereal bowl, a healthy breakfast?
The morning cereal is a poor choice. "The treatment they have undergone makes them very quickly absorbable by the body", specifies Laurence Haurat, a nutritional psychologist. "Also, they are not very satiating and contain too much sugar. And children never eat 30 g as recommended on the package but much more."
What if I had eaten too much for dinner?
Children can act out of imitation and eat improperly because they look at their parents. But an overly large dinner is sometimes the cause of poor appetite in the morning.
Try checking your composition. First, remember that if your child eats meat at noon, you don't have to offer it on the menu at night. Especially since proteins are more difficult to digest before going to sleep.
"The child is quite ritualized in the diet," explains Laurence Haurat. Like adults, he eats the same thing all the time and it all depends on what his parents bring to the table at the beginning. Diversifying the proposals some mornings can open your taste buds.
So do not hesitate to offer him foods that make him happy without falling into too fat and too sweet ...
What if the child is too stressed?
Go ahead and make him eat stress-relieving foods during meals.
"At night, bet on starchy foods, at noon, on meat, especially pork because it contains vitamin B1, a good stress reliever, and at 4 in the afternoon, give it a piece of chocolate and some nuts because they contain magnesium with anti-stress properties ", indicates Laurence Haurat.
"It may be necessary, if it is a real stress, to take him to consult a pediatrician or child psychiatrist because the stress can come from a trauma or a trauma that has gone unnoticed", explains the psychologist.
My son does not want to eat anything, no matter what he does
If it takes your child at least two hours before he can swallow something, don't rush him. He should not be forced to eat if he is not hungry. It is necessary to respect his cadence. Some biological rhythms are not set in the "one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner" model.
Tips for a successful breakfast
Ask your child's opinion
He is probably more inclined to eat healthy foods when he can choose what he likes. The same goes for your child. When young children are allowed to participate in meal preparation, they are likely to eat more balanced meals. Ask your child what they would like to eat for breakfast from healthy options and ask them for help with something simple. Not only does this habit increase your chances of having a healthy breakfast, it also helps you develop healthy eating habits throughout your life.
Plan the night before
If you have time, before you get ready for bed, set the table, measure out the dry ingredients, and have all the tools you need on your counter. In this way you only have to enter your kitchen and immediately prepare what you need, saving you precious minutes.
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