Health experts fear for parents skipping breakfast, but it’s easy to make time for

TIME-poor parents passing on their morning meal are putting their health at risk, experts have warned. But there are a number of simple ways to ensure a healthy start each morning.

EXCLUSIVE

PARENTS are putting their health at risk by regularly skipping breakfast in the daily chaos of getting their kids out the door.

News Corp Australia can reveal new research that shows only half of parents are eating breakfast every day, with the other half skipping breakfast at least once a week and 29 per cent skipping breakfast most days.

A total of 37 per cent of parents spend less than five minutes each weekday sitting down to eat breakfast and 10 per cent are so busy they eat standing up all the time.

Many parents are distracted in the mornings and eat their breakfast while packing lunch boxes (32 per cent), scrolling social media (28 per cent), watching TV (45 per cent) or getting dressed (21 per cent).

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Parents are putting their health at risk by regularly skipping breakfast in the daily chaos of getting their kids out the door. Picture: iStock

As many as one in five parents say breakfast is being eaten while family members are getting dressed and 11 per cent while commuting to work or school.

A total of 80 per cent of parents agree mornings are more chaotic than evenings and 64 per cent admit that in the morning chaos they sometimes forget to pack essential items for their kids.

The figures are from an survey conducted by You Gov Galaxy on behalf of Pauls in May this year of more than 1000 Australian parents of children aged 5 to 17 years old.

Miriam Raleigh, paediatric dietitian and founder of Child Nutrition, said it was important that children saw their parents eating breakfast to model good food behaviours.

“I see many children who do not eat breakfast which causes their parents a lot of stress,” she said.

“In many of these cases, at least one parent also does not eat breakfast, or as this study has found, they might eat breakfast on the run or while attending to other tasks.”

Block out 10 minutes in your diary each morning to eat breakfast together as a family. Picture: iStock

Ms Raleigh said breakfast did not need to be a fancy affair.

“But it should ideally include some sort of carbohydrate, like bread, cereal, rice, milk etc, protein, such as eggs, baked beans, cheese, milk or yoghurt, as well as something colourful like a few berries or chopped up fruit.”

Alys Gagnon, executive director of The Parenthood, said it was a struggle for many parents in the morning with the daily pace of 2018 life.

“Speaking personally, I ate breakfast twice last week and that was on Saturday and Sunday,” Ms Gagnon, mum-of-two, said.

“Parents skipping breakfast is just another example of how mums and dads put the needs of their kids first at the expense of their own. This isn’t always healthy.”

Breakfast should include some sort of carbohydrate, protein, and something colourful such as berries or fruit, dietitian Miriam Raleigh said.

Natasha Murray, Accredited Practising Dietitian, said it was difficult to know how the data on parents compared to the general population because there was very few studies on the topic.

“There is limited data about breakfast eating habits in adult Australians, but research has shown that up to 40 per cent of young women skip breakfast at least once a week, and up to 15 per cent of Australian adolescents regularly skip breakfast,” Ms Murray said.

Brianna Casey, CEO of Foodbank Australia, which this year revealed one in five Australian children were regularly going without food said in some cases parents were skipping breakfast because they did not have enough food in the cupboard.

“We need to acknowledge that one of the reasons breakfast is being skipped in family homes is that there simply isn’t food in the cupboard or fridge to provide for the family” she said.

“Meal-skipping is something we’re seeing all too regularly in food insecure households, especially when it comes to breakfast.”

Jodi Anasta, mum to four-year-old Aleeia, said she was guilty of not sitting down to eat breakfast. Picture: Supplied

Jodi Anasta, actor and single mum to four-year-old Aleeia said she often found the morning rush hard and was guilty of not sitting down to eat breakfast.

Ms Anasta, along with Pauls are today launching the #breakfastwithpauls campaign which aims to raise money for Foodbank to ensure no family goes without breakfast.

For every image shared using the #BreakfastWithPauls hashtag on social media Pauls will donate $1 to Foodbank Australia.

“It’s heartbreaking to know there are Australians who are struggling to put food on the table each day or regularly skipping meals which is why organisations like Foodbank are so important,” Ms Anasta said.

WAYS YOU CAN MAKE TIME FOR BREAKFAST

■ Block out 10 minutes in your diary each morning to eat breakfast together as a family. Set your alarm 10-minutes earlier if you need to.

■ Give your kids (if they are old enough) some of the work you are doing for them to free up more time together as a family. Maybe they can pack their lunch boxes into their bags or make sure all their shoes and clothes are ready the night before.

■ Back to basics. Remember breakfast doesn’t need to be a fancy affair. Just some toast, yoghurt or cereal will do on really busy mornings. Eating with your kids at breakfast shows them that you are fuelling your body for the day and taking care of yourself.

■ Try to prepare something the night before (like Bircher muesli or a smoothie and keep it in the fridge. Set out your bowl, spoon and cereal on the bench before bedtime so you’re ready to go in the morning.