Q. My child won't eat breakfast. What do I do?

A. Studies have shown that children who don't eat breakfast have trouble concentrating and do not perform at their best at school during morning lessons. So it's worthwhile trying to get something into them in the morning.

Breakfast doesn't need to be difficult – make it simple with things like:

• A bowl of wholegrain cereal with milk OR
• A tub of yoghurt, fruit or natural with a little honey OR
• A glass of milk, plain or with Milo or Actavite mixed in OR
• A banana or piece of fresh fruit.

If your child doesn't like to eat at home in the morning, perhaps they'll happily eat a sandwich or crispbread with cheese or peanut butter on the way to school.

Ultimately it's worth trying to understand WHY they don't want to eat. For instance:

• Are they tired and sleepy and just not 'awake enough' to face food?
• Did they have too big a dinner last night? Or ate too late?
• Are they in a hurry to get to school and want to skip the meal all together?
• Are they trying to lose weight and think that skipping breakfast will help (it usually doesn't!)

All these things affect their hunger and desire for food in the morning. Remember that healthy kids generally wake up with an appetite which is normal and natural - and should be satisfied with breakfast.