Breakfast clubs: Starting the day in a positive way

Breakfast clubs are widely promoted as having a beneficial impact on children’s behavior at the start of the school day, which can be conducive to their learning within the classroom. However, the few available studies that have considered the impact of breakfast club attendance on children’s behavior have yielded mixed results and no studies to date have directly observed children’s behavior within the breakfast club setting. Using a combination of real-time observation and filmed breakfast club footage, the aims of the current study were to: (1) devise a set of observational criteria appropriate for use in the breakfast club setting; (2) investigate the occurrence of both positive and negative behaviors. A sample of 30 children aged between 3 and 11 years were recruited from 3, opportunistically sampled primary school breakfast clubs in the North East of England, UK. The behaviors they displayed within the breakfast club setting on two separate days were observed and coded for subsequent analysis. Results of the investigation showed that children’s behavior could be classified into three positive and three negative behavioral categories. Using these categories to code children’s behavior as they engaged in breakfast club showed that children displayed more positive than negative behaviors within the breakfast club setting and this was the case regardless of the type of activity (i.e., quiet or boisterous) children were involved in. Findings are discussed in relation to breakfast club policy, implementation, and evaluation

P2_6 The Breakfast Club

This paper investigates the sonic boom generated by crunchy foods. Specifically, the force required to tip over an empty cereal box 0.1 m from a person’s mouth is calculated to be 8.37x10^-10 N. It would take the force of 29 million people crunching in unison to generate the required 2.45x10^-2 N to tip over the box

An Exploration of the Role of Pre-School Breakfast Clubs in Supporting Early Childhood Development and Building Parent-Practitioner Relationships

The scope of this study is located within the Early Childhood Care and Education sector. The study aims to investigate the role of pre-school breakfast clubs in relation to their effectiveness as a health promotion strategy, the ways in which attending such a club may support early childhood development and build solid parent-practitioner relationships also. Furthermore the study intends to discover the outlook of participants regarding the importance of good nutrition - breakfast specifically - for young children, and the possible barriers that may inhibit parents from providing children with their breakfast regularly. Participants who took part in the study hailed from three different groups, all of whom were involved in a pre-school breakfast club to some degree. Data was collected using qualitative methodology from parents, practitioners and children who availed of the breakfast club. The research methodology included semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The methodology is complementary, meaning that the results of data collection allow the researcher to gain a more holistic view of emergent themes. The results garnered from data collection paint a positive overview of the pre-school breakfast club and nutrition within the Early Childhood Care and Education sector in general. The breakfast club experience itself fosters plenty of opportunities for children to develop their social skills, language skills, learn about good nutrition and sample a range of new and different breakfasts. Additionally the results of the study illustrate the prevalence of strong parent-practitioner relationships. In general good nutrition is perceived by participants as being of paramount importance, especially for young children. Thus the breakfast club is an effective support strategy for childhood development and family support. However, the results of the study illustrate the resistance of a number of parents to participate in their child’s breakfast club. This should be reconsidered, as it is thought to be good practice to invite parents into the breakfast club to eat with their child

Beyond The Breakfast Club: The Influence of Breakfast Type on Cognition

The glycemic index (“GI”) of a food refers to the magnitude with which the food elevates an individual’s blood glucose levels, and this value can be used to calculate the glycemic load (“GL”) of a specific portion of food. Some evidence suggests that blood glucose levels may play a key role in self-control. Emerging research suggests that consuming low GI or GL breakfasts may enhance memory performance and result in greater levels of positive affect compared to high GI or GL breakfasts. Participants in the present study were randomly assigned to consume either a low GI/GL breakfast or a high GI/medium GL breakfast. Later in the morning, participants completed a memory task, a Stroop task to assess self-control, and a PANAS questionnaire to assess mood. Breakfast condition did not influence memory performance or self-control; however, participants who consumed the high GI/medium GL breakfast indicated significantly higher levels of positive affect than those who consumed the low GI/GL breakfast. Effects of semester on self-control performance and positive affect were observed and are discussed. While contrary to previous research, the present study suggests no comparative cognitive benefit of a low GI breakfast and that a high GI breakfast, when consumed according to serving size recommendations, may not be detrimental to cognitive functions

Primary Schools Free Breakfast Initiative (guidance)

"This guidance provides advice for maintained primary schools and Local Authorities in Wales on operating the Primary Schools Free Breakfast Initiative. The guidance gives details of: Why provide breakfast, Employment issues, Regulations, Food items and portion sizes, Health and Safety Risk Assessment, Promoting oral/dental health." - summary

Healthier breakfast clubs

This resource was originally developed and produced by the Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland as part of the School food: top marks programme. "This healthier breakfast club guidance offers advice and support for your school whether you are planning to set up a breakfast club that promotes healthier eating, or wanting to change the emphasis of an existing club to promote healthier eating." - introduction