How to level up your kids' nutrition amid the pandemic
For most families, mornings are still a race against the clock to make it to either the Google Classrooms or Zoom meets on time and all too often, skip breakfast in a rush.
Sadly, this habit can have a negative impact on you and your child’s overall health and well-being.
In a recent media roundtable discussion titled “#MiloBreakfastEveryday: How to Level Up your Kids’ Nutrition from Home,” Milo shared data-driven and research-based insights on the importance of having a nutritious breakfast.
“Getting your kids to eat breakfast every day may seem like an endless battle, but remember that breakfast is worth fighting for,” stressed Charisma Sy, Nestle Philippines corporate nutritionist. “Breakfast provides a big chunk of your child’s energy and nutrient supply for the day, which can actually help him/her perform better in school.”
According to Sy, just because kids are mostly at home now doesn’t mean they don’t need as much energy as before.
“Well, they do,” Sy stressed. “In fact, they do require the same, if not even more energy now with their days loaded with more schoolwork and household chores. And so, a nutritious breakfast certainly helps.”
Children’s behavior and diet in the time of the pandemic
To better understand children’s behavior and diet amid the pandemic, a consumer study was conducted by Milo last year. Here are some of the key findings:
• Children are mentally stressed, what with Zoom fatigue, modules and synchronous confusion. So most parents do what they can to make their kids happy, focused and alert.
• Lockdown energy. Due to lockdowns, kids feel that they’re held captive at home. To escape reality and pass time, they turn to gadgets and social media.
• Limited space and physical activity. Kids also sleep later and wake up later than they used to.
•Kids still find time for breakfast. Despite the pandemic, kids don’t skip breakfast. “They still have breakfast at home, a little bit later in the day though, since they wake up late,” noted Chris Ang, Milo Philippines group brand manager. “But still, the modules, the play, the chores all demand energy from our kids. At Nestle Philippines, we have this responsibility to continue nourishing these children by providing them with the energy they need — with a glass of Milo,” Ang added.
For example, by taking a glass of Milo with pandesal, you get to “energize the nutritional profile of breakfast by increasing energy, protein, doubling the vitamin B complex, more than doubling iron, and quintupling the calcium content that one gets from just pandesal,” noted Ang.
So eating consistently every morning is an investment that has profound benefits in the short and long run. Moreover, adding a nutritious beverage like Milo can significantly increase the meal’s energy, B-vitamins, vitamin C, iron and calcium.
Says Ang, “In preparing breakfast, one crucial ingredient alone can’t make a nutritious meal. By adding a cup of Milo to the most important meal of the day, we’re adding that winning energy that kids need to win the day.”
Ang ended his talk with a quote from NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul Jabbar: “One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.”
Get your kids into the breakfast habit
Breakfast literally means “breaking the fast.” When we sleep, we still use up energy and nutrient stores, and breakfast is the perfect time to replenish them.
“Breakfast provides approximately 20 to 35 percent of your daily energy needs,” noted Sy. “We need energy to fuel our bodies to perform well physically and mentally.”
By starting with a nutritious breakfast, parents are more assured that their kids are able to meet their daily needs and are more geared up for a champion day ahead.
Living proof of the benefits of a winning breakfast is Jamie Lim who bagged the gold during the 2019 SEA games in the Philippines. She also graduated summa cum laude in UP Diliman and is a member of the Philippine National Karate Team.
On how she manages to be the best of both the academic and sports worlds, Lim shared: “I give my 100 percent in everything that I do. I wake up every morning with a champion mindset and I stick to my routines, one of which is having a winning breakfast — always with Milo’s nourishing energy.”
The breakfast of champions
For 50 years, Milo has provided nourishing energy to Filipino children by encouraging them to “champ” start their day with a nutritious breakfast.
“As a brand that has, for 50 years, helped nourish generations of Filipino kids with the winning energy and the iconic ‘Chocomaltee’ taste that only Milo can provide, it is only right that we continue our vision to helping kids be the best they can be,” Ang added. “Nagbago man ang panahon, tuloy pa rin ang pagiging champion. We encourage kids and parents to start their day the champion way with a Milo breakfast every day.”
The new normal is difficult to navigate and this is true for both parents and kids, but everything is possible with a champion mindset, and a winning breakfast habit.
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Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nVk-beKLnI to learn more about the Milo Breakfast Habit.
