Are you Giving Your Child a Good Breakfast?

This post was sponsored by Rama.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day yet many of us skip it. I admit I didn’t always have a nutritious breakfast and sometimes I skipped breakfast altogether because of my crazy schedule.

Right now life is crazy with 3 kids.

At my last checkup, My doctor shouted me for this because I am breastfeeding 2 kids! Having a good breakfast is extremely important especially for breastfeeding moms.

Breastfeeding moms need all the energy and nutrients they can get to help produce more milk especially if you are feeding on demand.

Skipping breakfast is a big no-no!

Ever since the Rama Good Breakfast event, I’ve tried harder to make sure everyone at home has a well-balanced breakfast, especially the kids.

We’ve been having more fruit and egg in the morning. I can already see a difference – I have more energy to tackle the mornings and work!

What exactly is a “good breakfast”?

A good breakfast contains more than just a slice of toast. It should consist of a variety of foods, for example, milk, whole grains, lean meats or meat alternates, and fruits and vegetables.

During winter, my kids loving having porridge in the morning. So I am making sure they have porridge, fruit and a cup of tea.

I wanted to find out if that is enough for breakfast so I decided to do the breakfast check on the Rama website.

My results included important information which I would like to share with you:

Tea with milk is good for hydration and helps give your child nutrients. Milk is also a good source of calcium which helps with bone development.

Porridge/Pap, as a carbohydrate, contributes to the energy your child needs to learn, play and grow. A breakfast with Porridge/Pap plus food from other food groups, will give your child a nutritional advantage and a great early start.

Rama is a good fat spread with 9 vitamins and Omega 3 needed for your child’s growth and development. Adding Rama to your child’s meal not only provides necessary nutrients, it also gives great taste and variety to meals making meals more appealing.

Fruits are a source of minerals, vitamins and fibre necessary for optimal growth and development and are a great compliment to meals. Eating a variety of fruits in season can be one of the best habits you can impart on your child. Breakfast is a great time to start.

You can do the breakfast check too! Click here.

Did you know?

A Good Breakfast provides a child between 15% and 25% of the recommended daily energy and nutrients they need each day. That means that a Good Breakfast is the fuel to any fruitful day.

Rama is on a mission to make a nutritious breakfast at home an everyday reality for all South African school children.

One of the three primary goals of Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan, is to ‘help people take action to improve their health and well-being’, not just by providing quality food products that are both nutritious and appealing, but also by promoting healthy nutrition habits amongst consumers which I think is so important in South Africa right now.

Studies compiled in the scientific white paper revealed that school age children who regularly skip breakfast are not likely to concentrate in class, thus affecting school performance. Studies also show that 86% of children reported that eating breakfast before school helped them to concentrate better and 89% said that it gave them energy for the rest of the day.

In response, Rama announced that it will tackle the issue of improving breakfast consumption of South African children to assist them in leading healthier lives and improving their school performance.

Rama is addressing the issue in two ways – through a schools programme that teaches kids the importance of a good breakfast every day and through a digital programme,

The Breakfast Check, is available through USSD, Facebook Messenger and the Rama.co.za website and aims to teach mothers the value of a good breakfast every day and get them to consider their daily breakfast choices with care.

Rama’s Good Breakfast programme will teach children what constitutes a good breakfast and then make a good breakfast a daily habit through a 21-day behaviour change programme.

Rama also recently announced that rapper and radio and TV personality ProVerb would be the Good Breakfast ambassador and has written a song, The Breakfast Beat, which will be the campaign anthem.