I have been doing alittle bit of experimenting. I have noticed, when DS has eggs and toast he focuses easier than if he has cereal. Even if it is the HFS kind with no sugar.

Are your children affected by the foods they eat? If they are, what kinds of food do you give them in the morning?

My kids are definitely better off if they ingest some protein in the morning. Come to think of it...I function much better if I eat protein as well! I always try to have boiled eggs in the fridge for them to grab.

I always give ds at least one egg for breakfast everyday. He can have whatever else he wants as well, but I do want him to have an egg because the protein seems to keep his moods more even. Sometimes I will give him oatmeal with some peanut butter mixed in, but he really likes eggs best.

Yes!!!! If she eats anything with artificial coloring/flavors she's pretty much gone. ;)

Dd has trouble eating anything first thing in the morning, which is the exact opposite of me (I looove breakfast, and eat huge amounts, including supper leftovers). The biggest deal for her is to eat SOMETHING, since if I don't remind her she'll forget to eat until noon by which time she's a zombie; and drink SOMETHING since our brains dehydrate overnight.

She occasionally chooses something like CocoaPuffs for breakfast (gee, thanks for buying those, dh, I so much appreciate filling our cupboards with junk), gets all whacky, and we discuss how maybe the food choices affected her. I try to let her make her own choices (she's 9), and just discuss pros and cons of various choices with her. Lately she's been on a Vanilla Silk binge, drinking glass after glass of this stuff...she's also been struggling with her schoolwork. I suggested she cut back a bit on the Vanilla Silk, and the schoolwork is suddenly easier. Sort of makes me wonder if she's reacting to the soymilk.

Really, this whole breakfast issue is another reason we homeschool -- I can't imagine getting her up and getting nutritious food into her by the time the school bus gets to our house.

(5yo dd gets up, immediately eats toast with almond butter and drinks a sippy cup of orange juice. These must be served in the same way they have been every morning for over 3 years now, with her seated in the same chair facing the same way, the toast cut the same way, etc. Try messing with this routine and the world may stop spinning on its axis.)

Originally posted by librarymama
She occasionally chooses something like CocoaPuffs for breakfast (gee, thanks for buying those, dh, I so much appreciate filling our cupboards with junk),

Mine isn't the only one, thank goodness! It's nice to have him go to the store for me, but in the longrun, the trade-off really isn't worth it when he comes home with Fruit Loops, Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Puffs and Sugar Smacks. He thinks he's doing me a favor because they are on sale?!?!?!?!?!?! I told him that the nutritious cereal that I normally buy at Trader Joe's costs a fraction of what the crap cereal in the store costs, and is comparable in price and usually less, even when the junk cereal is on sale. Oh well...he really is trying to be helpful :rolleyes:

Actually, there are TONS of studies that have documented the extremely positive effects of a high-protein diet on kids' ability to learn. A few years back a huge study was published in which they replaced whatever the kids were eating with a protein breakfast in which the only carbs were fruit or fruit juice.

Then they gave the kids another protein-centered snack at 10am.

They made no changes to the school lunch.

Behavior improved dramatically, teachers gushed about how focused their students were, and grades went up.

In this house I have NO problem getting Ben and Milo to eat protein for breakfast -- we lovingly refer to them as our atkins children because given spaghetti with meat sauce they will pick out the bits of meat and leave the rest.

It's much harder with Max who doesn't like eggs (I don't push that. I don't like them much either.) and doesn't like most kinds of meat. Maybe I should start making him bean and cheese burritos for breakfast :)

Originally posted by PoetMom

It's much harder with Max who doesn't like eggs (I don't push that. I don't like them much either.) and doesn't like most kinds of meat. Maybe I should start making him bean and cheese burritos for breakfast :)

That's why I like leftovers so much for breakfast. Also, I get frozen burritos (some healthfood brand made mostly of beans and veggies), pop one in the microwave, cover with grated organic cheese, sit down to eat this for breakfast and MY KIDS STEAL IT FROM ME.

I read a book entitled Crazymakers (I think) in which the author studied the effect of various foods on kids. She did a study in a high school in which she gave the kids a nutrition drink in the morning...the kids chugged it down with a Coke or somesuch on the side...and their scores went up dramatically. No other changes were made in their diets. Her point was that tiny changes (like even making sure the kids get a multivitamin) can make a tremendous difference. The students learned better and their attitudes towards life were much more positive.

Of course, individual metabolism makes a huge difference. I cannot function on a high-carb breakfast, but dh prefers carbs for breakfast. OTOH, at night I do well with a high-carb bedtime snack, but protein keeps me awake; dh is exactly the opposite. I think it's a mistake to make sweeping statements that everyone does better with X amount of protein...metabolism varies too much from person to person.

*I* have to have protein at every meal or I get headaches. I often include a protein like almond or peanut butter for snack as well. I've also noticed my 2 yr gets mean/angry when he hasn't eaten well and my 4 yr has complete meltdowns when he's hungry or hasn't had a good meal. My 9yr tends to whine more when he's had cereal as apposed to malt-o-meal. My 6yr dd seams to only need bread products to function. This child could live on french toast and waffles :rolleyes:

Originally posted by PoetMom

It's much harder with Max who doesn't like eggs (I don't push that. I don't like them much either.) and doesn't like most kinds of meat. Maybe I should start making him bean and cheese burritos for breakfast :) I just looked and an egg has 6g of protein and my small curd cottage cheese has 13g per 1/2c and and ounce of cheddar cheese has 7g. My kids like cottage cheese with pineapple for breakfast with some toast and a glass of milk or juice or water here's a link to a site that has protein values http://www.annecollins.com/protein_diet