School starts at 7:30 in the morning almost everyday. Most teens get up an hour before class starts. In that hour they’re expected to eat breakfast, get themselves ready and get to class on time. It takes most 15-30 minutes getting ready, so that is only half an hour left before they have to be in class. Breakfast only takes a couple of minutes to make and eat, but a lot of students just don’t find the time to fit it in. The issue is that a morning commute for a student is 5-20 minutes. Let’s assume that breakfast takes them ten minutes to eat; that is exactly an hour between waking up and getting to class. 

Kellog’s conducted a study on whether or not kids are eating breakfast. As kids are getting older, they are not eating breakfast. Because of the fact that the older kids get, the less time that they have. Seventy-seven percent of elementary students eat breakfast. That number falls to 50% in middle school, and finally gets as low as 36% once they are reaching high school.

“I would like to, but I just don’t have time in the morning.” Junior, Noah Wilkes, said about why he doesn’t eat breakfast in the morning.

Only three of the twenty interviewed students regularly ate breakfast. And, those three aren’t eating a necessarily healthy and well-rounded breakfast. A piece of toast or a fruit will be all they eat in the morning before they are rushing out the door. 

That apple or toast will have to tide them over until lunch, so about five hours until they can eat again. That’s not healthy for growing teenagers. Vending machines are available between breakfast and lunch, but not every student has money to get something before lunch. 

Don’t skip out on breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the deal for a reason, so stop skipping it. Even if it’s just a quick breakfast, it still helps keep up energy until a proper meal is available.

Sources 

“Sleep in Adolescents.” Nationwide Children’s Hospital, https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/specialties/sleep-disorder-center/sleep-in-adolescents.

Scott, Elizabeth. “Top 10 Stress Management Techniques for Students.” Verywell Mind, Verywell Mind, 17 July 2019, https://www.verywellmind.com/top-school-stress-relievers-for-students-3145179.