Children Who Have No Breakfast

Abstract

Considers the importance of breakfast in relation to maintaining concentration at school and optimum growth, as well as in protecting against coronary heart disease in the future. Provides a description of a survey of five‐to eight‐year‐olds in seven inner‐city low income schools in Southampton where 5 per cent of children were found to have no breakfast. Only 20 per cent of children had a satisfactory breakfast in terms of protein and energy requirements – the most common satisfactory breakfast being cereal with milk plus a milk drink.

Hydration and Cognitive Function in Children

“…One study published in 1994 found that one-third of British school-aged children had nothing to drink prior to the beginning of the school day, reflecting a fluid fast of over 12 hours. 15 Since then, several programs have been instituted in the United Kingdom to promote adequate water intake in schoolchildren. 16,17 Research suggests that, especially at the beginning of the season, young athletes are at particular risk for dehydration due to lack of acclimatization to weather conditions or suddenly increased activity levels.…”

‘Draw, write and tell’: A literature review and methodological development on the ‘draw and write’ research method

“…The method is appropriate for a broad range of ages and abilities, with the potential for children to adapt the style of drawing, or the drawing/writing balance, to suit their personal communication preferences. In addition, 'draw and write' has proved to be effective in facilitating participation for those who do not speak English (Box and Landman, 1994), or who have disabilities (Pridmore, 1996). In general, 'draw and write' is regarded by researchers as providing an acceptable and enjoyable means of participation for many children (Bendelow et al, 1996;Bradding and Horstman, 1999).…”

“…It has been noted that 'the emphasis has been methodological techniques and practical and ethical issues at the expense of epistemological and analytical concerns' (Backett-Milburn and McKie, 1999). Within the literature some researchers address the problem of analysis (Horstman et al, 2008), but in many cases the analytical process is implied rather than explicit, or there is ambiguity regarding whether the art, or text, or both has been used (Box and Landman, 1994;Byrne, 1999;Mulvihill et al, 2000). It seems likely that analysis of 'draw and write' data is problematic for many researchers because it involves scrutinising artwork (Backett-Milburn and McKie, 1999).…”

“…These studies have often interpreted the data in a 'face value' manner, usually identifying content purely in terms of objects and people. In addition, some researchers have made major assumptions regarding, for instance, whether children are 'exaggerating' (Box and Landman, 1994). Using a 'face value' approach, without interview data or text, also significantly reduces, or even eliminates, the degree to which emotions might be deduced from children's work (Horstman et al, 2008).…”

“…There is also diversity in the participants' ages, with some research spanning the entire primary school age range (Franck et al, 2008) and others concentrating on several specific year groups (McWhirter et al, 2000), or a single age group (Pridmore and Bendelow, 1995). Research among healthy children in school and at home has often looked at attitudes to sun safety (McWhirter et al, 2000;Newton-Bishop et al, 1996), perceptions of cancer and cancer prevention (Bendelow et al, 1996;Oakley et al, 1995), healthy lifestyles (Gabhainn and Kelleher, 2002;MacGregor et al, 1998), diet (Box and Landman, 1994;Caraher et al, 2004;Hendry, 1995) and exercise (Mulvihill et al, 2000). Studies have been conducted in hospitals, and at home, exploring the experiences of children receiving cancer treatment or other medical care (Franck et al, 2008;Horstman et al, 2008;Horstman and Bradding, 2002).…”