It seems obvious, but it would appear many parents forget that the most important meal of the day is breakfast.

I work in a childcare centre, looking after pre-schoolers. It never ceases to amaze me how many parents don’t bother to feed their children a proper breakfast before literally dumping them at the centre on the way to work.

As a result, they come in cranky and less than alert. The day starts with tears and often ends in tears, too.

If they do feed them, it’s probably at a 24-hours fast food joint. Little thought is given to the child’s nutritional needs.

Little wonder many of the children have atrocious eating habits.

Worse, I believe their mental, physical and even emotional development is slowed considerably.

Today’s over-indulgent parents – I firmly believe they over-indulge to offset the lack of time they spend with their kids – don’t take enough care with their children’s nutrition.

Today’s media-oriented world throws up thousands of sales messages to a willing and receptive, if not naïve, audience each hour. Such messages sell the “sizzle” because they know that attracts. Just look at the many commercials on TV, especially those for the fast food franchises.

Parents, in turn, find the lure of convenience a little too difficult to resist. The result: a fast food culture that has spawned a generation of physically and mentally lethargic, not to mention obese, children.

It’s time parents got back to basics.

Wake up a little earlier. Fix your child a healthy, nutritious breakfast before sending him or her to school. The result will be a alert, positive child who just can’t wait to face the day.