Breakfast jump-starts young brains.

"It's time for a breakfast revival," says Doris Derelian, president of The American Dietetic Association, who maintains that it is the easiest first step to improving the nutritional status of America's school children. "That early morning meal is also a window of opportunity for parents who want to nurture their child's development," she contends. Children who eat breakfast perform better in school. it is emerging as the new family mealtime as dinner has given way to long work hours and busy after-school schedules. Business meetings, sports training, and exercise programs are occupying more and more time on individuals, schedules, but parents who are looking for ways to regain control of their family life can claim breakfast as a time to be together with their offspring.

Around the breakfast table, family members can offer words of advice and support to one another for the tasks at hand - a test, an unresolved disagreement with a friend, an athletic event. Youngsters learn about the realities of adult life when they hear how Mom is struggling with a new computer program or that Dad has to sell his boss on continuing a project,

Breakfast jump-starts the brain and keeps adults and children alert throughout the morning. After eight to 10 hours without food, the body essentially is a cold furnace, wafting to be stoked, Derelian points out. Youngsters, who have...

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