Unfortunately, 1 in 7 children in the UK and Ireland go to school without breakfast every single day. This has a very negative effect on their education and makes the child’s life a lot harder.
A hungry child finds it difficult to concentrate at school making them restless and fidgety, which can be distracting for their classmates. A child without breakfast is more vulnerable to illness meaning they might not be able to go to school at all and regular absences will leave gaps in their education which could effect them later in life.
Breakfast really does make a whole lot of difference for a young child.
The campaign currently trying to conquer this issue is Kellogg’s Give a Child a Breakfast. Kellogg’s believe that children are going hungry due to rising food costs and the increasing daily pressures faced by their parents. They found that 79% of teachers believe that their pupils are coming to school hungry and think that this figure will rise in the coming year. Kellogg’s give Manchester as an example where they say that up to half of all children do not have enough food, 40% are living below the poverty line and 10% are severely over it.
So what are they doing about it? Kellogg’s aim is to set up and promote breakfast clubs in schools across the country to provide a safe and nurturing environment where children can eat, socialise and prepare for lessons, meaning they start the day alert and ready to learn.
Twitter is playing a massive part in this campaign with #GiveAChildABreakfast. Kellogg’s promised that with every retweet, they would donate a breakfast at one of their clubs. So far, they have donated 1,975,719.
However, the campaign has also received some criticism as some feel that Kellogg’s breakfast cereal is full of sugar and should not be promoted as a healthy option for children. This has triggered a debate over wether is is better to go hungry and risk poor concentration and a low immune system or have a sugary breakfast and risk contributing to childhood obesity.
Some of the related tweets say it all:
@Netmums: ‘Please retweet – For every share tweet or watch…Kelloggs will donate a breakfast on your behalf #GiveAChildABreakfast’
@zoeharcombe: ‘PLEASE do not support this #GiveAChildABreakfast disgrace. Allowing a sugar pusher like Kellogg’s access to our children is evil.’
@DaleHarrison92: ‘get a grip you would rather see a child go on an empty stomach than have a bowl of cereal. Not the work of the devil.’
@rachal_ava: ‘get a life they are helping children that’s all that matters! Someone has got to feed these kids!!”
@zoeharcombe: ‘Um – isn’t that what parents are for?’
Despite people’s opinion, child hunger is clearly a very prevalent problem that needs to be addressed. Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day…this is not just a catch phrase and it accounts for both adults and children, but at least adults can fend for themselves. So let’s try and spread the word and raise awareness because no child should go to school hungry!
The Breakfast Affair 