INTRODUCTION

Assalamualaikum and very good morning to the Principal Sir, teachers and my dear
students. First of all, I would like to say thank you because have invited me and we all very glad
and gathered here to celebrate our school Entrepreneurship Day. At this auspicious occasion, I
am ………………..and today I would like to give a speech about “Why breakfast is the most
important meal of the day?” Have you taken your breakfast this morning?

Have we ever thought why our parents and teachers always insist on having a breakfast
and healthy food? Breakfast is important for children to be healthy physically and
psychologically and mentally. Eating breakfast is actually like breaking fast after sometime after
dinner. Since our energy were lost during sleeping we need to replace all the energy for our daily
routine. Students are at high risk of developing gastroenteritis and other health problems if they
missed their regular breakfast. Empty stomachs may effects their progress in school challenges.
They won’t be able to concentrate which will cause them to be lifeless, sleepy and depressed.

Studies show that breakfast can help especially children to focus and help to improve
their learning performance in school. Senior Lecturer, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics,
Universiti Putra Malaysia, Dr Barakatun Nisak Mohd Yusof, said breakfast will help a person to
start the day actively and replace the lost energy during eight hours sleeping to their brain. Dr.
Barakatun explains, primary school children aged six to 12 years old need a high amount of low
fat, medium- protein and carbohydrate content as well as high levels of vitamins and minerals. In
scientific terms, primary schools girls need 1,200-1,600 calcium / day (kcal / day) while boys
need 1300-1800 kcal / day. Typically, they need to eat about 4-6 times a day. Eating regularly in
a small quantity of food is better than eating a lot at one time. Eating cereals with milk for
breakfast will provide various nutrients such as protein and calcium which are very important for
bone and tooth growth.

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 "In addition, toast and milk, bread and cheese, fried rice or fried noodles fried with less
oils and variety of vegetables added can be served as a breakfast meal. Baked or steamed cookies
such as wet popia are also a good choice. Processed foods with high fat and salt should be
avoided. Most importantly, the dishes should be varieties to ensure children love taking
breakfast for their own goodness.

Breakfast also supplies energy to carry out all day activities actively and productively.
The goodness and the importance taking breakfast are listed out as below:

1) To ensure the body's metabolism is always at optimum resistance

- During sleeping our stomach is empty for about 10 hours so if we skipped our breakfast, our
stomach will be empty for more than 12 hours. The brain will send a signal to lower the body's
metabolism. Eating lunch without breakfast will cause fat in the body because the food is not
burned effectively.

2) To avoiding us from eating excessively

- By taking breakfast we will create an eating routine habit and this will cause us to lose weight.

3) Providing Energy
- Breakfast, will provide us energy for daily activities. Our work will be more productive and
will be more focused on it.

4) Develop our diet throughout the day

- Breakfast affects our daily dietary habits. If we practice taking unhealthy food we will have
unhealthy eating habits and through breakfast we might lose weight. So, don’t forget to take our
morning breakfast okay?

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BENEFITS OF TAKING BREAKFAST

Breakfast is one of the meals we need to take every day. It is unfortunate when
breakfast is taken lightly by some parties. There are various reasons given that it is time
consuming to prepare food early in the morning. Are not they aware of the benefits of taking
breakfast?

Breakfast is important and should be taken every morning. Our body needs a lot of
energy that is derived from the carbohydrate sources of breakfast meals. We will also lose focus
in our work. Skipping breakfast will result in the impression of hunger during lunch. One will
take a large quantities of food and this will lead to obesity.

EFFECTS OF SKIP BREAKFAST

It has been observed that children who do not have breakfast before going to school
have problems such as, headache, drowsiness, stomachache, fatigue, insecurities, irritability,
anxiety, irritability, less happy, nervous, lethargy, etc. Students who missed their breakfast will
faced physical and psychological problems such as having the ability to inhibit the learning
process of children. Eating healthy breakfast will help school children with their overall learning
process. Nowadays, children have to join the extracurricular and sports activities in school. For
such activities, they need energy derived from breakfast. In addition, regular breakfast will also
help them to manage weight, thus reducing the risk of child obesity. Children who do not have
breakfast tend to choose a street snack, which is mostly instant and not healthy and this will lead
to decreasing of concentration when studying in school students who are accustomed to eating
breakfast have been shown to have a better concentration during the course of study, than
students who do not have breakfast. Breakfast also help to improve student’s memory, as they
will be able to remember and retrieve information delivered in school quickly and accurately.
Their problem-solving skills will also be increased.

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 Better test results Research has shown that there is a direct link between breakfast and
test results. Taking breakfast will help students to get a better test score.

Food for breakfast should contain a complete nutrients needed that includes protein,
calcium, vitamin B6, vitamin A, zinc and iron. It is also ensured that breakfast foods should also
contain a bit of sodium, salt and sugar. There are plenty of healthy and easy breakfast recipes to
be served. Fruits should be part of every child's food. Fresh fruits like oranges, oranges, bananas,
grapes, papaya, mangoes, pears, apples, kiwifruit, etc. are good fruit choices among breakfast
meals. Fruits can be served with a cup of yogurt and cereal. Meanwhile choose a cereal that
contains high fiber like oatmeal which is served warm. Creating vegetable omelettes served with
low-fat milk or orange juice can be a good idea for breakfast. Children can also eat wheat waffles
served with ricotta cheese, peanut butter and fruits. In addition, traditional breakfast recipes are
also well presented. Rice with a meal complete with eggs, vegetables or fish can also be served
as a healthy breakfast. Eating eggs during breakfast is also a good menu. Impressing the
importance of eating breakfast to children will not only help them during school and till college,
but also in their future lives as adults. They will also instil this good habit to their children, or
grandchildren.

METHODS

In the early years of development, our stomach and appetite are small, but have the
need for nutrients and food intake increases. You have to ensure that your physical growth will
be provided by the right foods and cultivating healthy eating habits.

- Always 3K mind
Always ensure that the diversity, balance and simplicity of the diet are spicy every day.

- Variety
The food should be varieties nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals and
fat to keep your child healthy and energetic.

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- Balance
Provide a balanced mix of foods containing rice, cereals or noodles; fruits and vegetables; meat,
fish, chicken and eggs; and milk and dairy products. Always reduce salt, fat and sugar.

-Simplicity
It is important to maintain a healthy eating habits such as eating at the right time and not eating
excessively. Since breakfast supplies energy, make sure the spouse is taking breakfast every
morning. Children who take breakfast every morning are more intelligent and fit, can give more
focus, and have better memory. In between you can provide them with cereals and milk or
cooked eggs crumbled with toast.

- Dinner with family is fun

One of the best ways to encourage the person to practice healthy eating habits is to eat with
family members. As a result, eating time is not just the time to eat alone, but it can also bring
family ties together and give you the opportunity to focus on the kids, ask their day trips and
educate them about the benefits of food.

There are many ways you can encourage your spouse to eat, but you must not force
your child to eat. Do not 'bribe' them with toys or sweets. To encourage the fond of eating, you
need to cook delicious food so children will enjoy during eating time.

WAYS TO ENCOURAGE CHILDREN TO EAT

1) Introduce new foods

Prepare a new or different food for every meal so that they learned to appreciate all kinds of
foods. If your child is reluctant to try new foods, introduce these new foods with their favorite
foods. Ask them to eat when they are hungry. During weekend, give them a chance to choose
their own meal for a family dinner.

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2) Make the food interesting with their appetite
Here's the time to be creative. Try different dishes every day. When you prepare the dish, try to
cut bread or vegetables with various shapes, decorate a bowl of noodles with a piece of
vegetables and meat, or paint a smile with a curry on rice.

3) Give them opportunity to help you

For parents, your child will be more interested in eating if they were given the opportunity to
help you in the kitchen. Give a safe and easy task with their small hands like stirring the
ingredients, arranging dishes at the dinner table or carrying dirty dishes for washing.

4) Bring them for shopping of kitchen utensils

Bring the children together when you go shopping for kitchen utensils. Show different types of
foods, and teach them about health. You can also encourage the spouse to choose the main dish
by giving them choices and asked him to choose one for examples, if they do not like any one of
them, you choose yourself and explain why. Children choosing their own food, will be more
interested in eating.

The tips and approaches above will help you to create a healthy eating habits in your
children, thus contributing them to healthy life. Additionally, you can always provide an
appetizing and healthy meal for your children. Malaysian children are always aware of health
and nutrition, and healthy eating habits can build a solid foundation to ensure health and well-
being throughout life.

CONCLUSION

Parents are similarly look like a mirror to their children as their behavior will reflects their
children’s attitudes. While children are similarly like a young tress as they need to be fertilized
and trimmed carefully so that the young trees will grow in a better way. As the word says, things
are easier to talk than done. We have to do rather than just talk. Yes I was actually agree with
the statement that children is like a white cloth and parents are responsible on how to shape and
decorate their children attitudes so that they can practices all those good values. A good parents

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will actually taking care of their children in a good way as their children is one of the precious
and valuable gift from god for us to taking care. Last but not least, children was actually learn a
lot by observing who’s close to them which then discover his personal style, what they like and
want to do. Thank You.

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 Reference

Albert Jess K. 2016. Human Communication in Society. Upper Saddle River Pearson.

Dietitians Association of Australia. 2009. Breakfast.

Kennell, B. 2015. Healthy food trends drive new products.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032716311077

https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/most-important-meal#1