Fifty-six per cent of Irish parents admit that their children skip meals and the likelihood is much higher among teenagers, a new survey by Kellogg’s has found, with over two thirds of parents with a child in secondary school admitting the problem as against 46 per cent of parents of primary school children.
Most alarming is that almost half of parents agreed that breakfast is the most likely meal to be skipped, followed by lunch (37 per cent ) and dinner (18 per cent ).
The Kellogg’s Sorted 4 School Survey also reveals that nearly all Irish parents (96 per cent ) recognise the importance of breakfast for school-going children and make a special effort to encourage their child to eat breakfast every day before they leave for school.
The main reason parents of primary school children gave for their children missing breakfast is that their child is a fussy eater (56 per cent ). In contrast, more than half (55 per cent ) of teenagers who skipped meals said it was because they are usually too busy.
“It’s clear that parents have a desire for the family to start the day well, but that’s just not happening in many Irish households,” nutritionist Paula Mee said of the findings. “It's surprising because there’s not much preparation required for breakfast compared to lunch or dinner. It can be very simple yet nutritious and requires only a few minutes. Easy things like setting the table the night before, can be a visible reminder for a teenager of the need to refuel the brain and body before leaving for school the following morning. These results show us that, while parents recognise and are committed to the importance of this meal, they still struggle to ensure that kids eat breakfast every day.”
It does appear, however, that teenagers listen to their parents more than we think, with three fifths (60 per cent ) saying that they sometimes eat breakfast as a result of their parents ‘pestering’ them to do so.
“It’s gratifying to know that at least some of what we say appears to filter through, even during those teenage years,” said RTE News anchor Sharon Ní Bheoláin, who helped launch the findings of the survey. “As a mother and former teacher I know the importance of young people starting their day with a healthy breakfast. These statistics show that perseverance does pay off”.
Breakfast cereal is clearly the first choice for primary school children, with 75 per cent of parents claiming that their primary school child eats breakfast cereal most often for breakfast. The next most popular choice was toast (11 per cent ), followed by porridge (seven per cent ), while 48 per cent of teenagers said that they eat cereal for breakfast most often, followed by toast (26 per cent ).
Not surprising perhaps in today’s busy society, only 12 per cent of parents said their family eats breakfast together every day, with almost two thirds (59 per cent ) of teenagers saying that they rarely eat breakfast with their families.
“The results from this survey really highlight the differences in eating habits between primary and secondary school children, with teenagers far more likely to skip breakfast,” said Louise Sullivan of Kellogg’s. “However we have seen that a few words of advice and encouragement from parents can have a really positive impact on their children’s attitude towards their diet.”
