September 20th, 2009 by Sarah Newton

1.2m children start their school day with a cigarette or junk food

More than 1.2million children begin the day by eating junk food or smoking cigarettes instead of having a proper breakfast, a survey shows. One in four seven to fourteen-year-olds snack on crisps, chocolate or biscuits before going to school, while one fourteen-year-old in thirty just has a cigarette.
The survey found that many parents gave out ‘breakfast money’ so their children could buy food on the way to school, instead of eating at home. However, a substantial slice of that went on unhealthy snacks.

Children spend £646million a year on biscuits and cake as well as Pepperami meat snacks, pasties and burgers as they travel to classes, the report said. Nutritionist Kathy Cowbrough has warned that children’s performance in the classroom will suffer as a result of their diet as they lose concentration and cause disruption. “How often have we all seen young children not wanting to co-operate with harassed parents, or school children unable to stay alert for valuable lessons at school?” she asks.
“This is because missing a decent breakfast means we can be saying goodbye to up to a quarter of the nutrients and energy we need for the day, making us more tired, irritable and less able to concentrate in the morning

This was so shocking to me; when I read this it reminded me of Sausage Roll Boy, a boy I see nearly every morning. The first morning I saw him in the local shop buying a multipack of massive sausage rolls, I thought, “I wonder if his mum realises that he is buying that for his lunch?” Imagine my shock when he then proceeded to eat them all outside – they were his breakfast. He became known as Sausage Roll Boy and every day he eats something like this, every day looking tired, depressed and a little more angry. I wonder if they are just blaming him for his lack of concentration and his inability to focus well at school? This is so typical of our attitude in this country; we take such a one-sided look at behaviour, rather than taking an holistic look. Parents, it is this simple; if your child eats crap, then guess how they feel all day, guess how they will come home? Food plays a massive role in how we feel, in how we behave and in our attitudes. It is about time we woke up and smelled the coffee, or the pastry in the case of Sausage Roll Boy.

Read 1.2m children start their school day with a cigarette or junk food

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