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by Andrew Scott

The government has rightly decided to implement a programme to provide breakfast to the country's school going population and some are wondering why the government should take this additional responsibility. In this context it is appropriate that we address our minds generally to the importance of having breakfast and what particularly the schoolchildren miss if they repeatedly forego this all important meal for the day.

It is a well known fact that today life is such a rushed experience that children as well as adults miss breakfast which really makes one fit enough to work during the better part of the day. During the leisured past the elders of today as children did have enough time to partake our breakfast in a leisured and calm atmosphere. In Sri Lanka today most people have to rush through their morning activities and they often miss their breakfast totally and it is really pathetic to see the nation's little ones simply gobbling their breakfast, some even in the vans and buses that bring them to their schools.

In contrast when we were children many decades ago we had enough time to have our breakfast (and a good one at that) in a very leisured atmosphere in our homes. During those ample days there was no mad rush as most of the children had only to walk to school and others who came from distant places were boarded in the school hostels. Travelling to school by bus or van was quite rare then and even when one had to travel by bus it was so easy as the buses were not at all crowded.

Times have changed very much now and using public transport is a nightmare today specially in the mornings unless one is very early at a bus halt, thereby neglecting having his breakfast which would give a good start for the day's activities.

We should pity today's schoolchildren some of whom have to be even dragged out of bed at very early hours in order to get a bus to travel to their schools which may be as far away as ten or twenty miles from their homes. From the little child to the adult all have to lead a rushed life today, specially in the morning and as a result most of them have to forego their breakfast at the very risk of their health in later life.

During the past most of the mothers were non-working and they had ample time to devote to their household chores but today due to economic constraints and changed social patterns most of our mothers are working mothers who very often have to travel to distant places to their places of work. So they too have to frantically rush through their morning activities and only a very few working mothers are in a practical position to prepare even their own breakfast as they have to rush from their homes in order to be on time for their office or professional work.

During the days gone by there was an uninterrupted supply of servants to most of our households and these domestic helps too contributed their share in a big way to make our lives relaxed. Today the servants are almost a dead tribe and therefore the household chores have to be done by the housewife themselves, a majority of whom are compelled to work even in distant places in order to supplement their meagre family incomes in these days of high inflation.

Several decades ago breakfast was a much looked forward to daily event which we really enjoyed but today most of us are so busy in the mornings that some have to take their breakfast while travelling in a public or private vehicle. As a result they least enjoy their breakfast and for such people partaking of breakfast is merely a sort of mechanical activity.

Most of the present day schoolchildren are half starved as they enter their school gates without a proper breakfast and the resultant mental strain is also disastrous. One important reason for this is that mothers, specially those who have to set out to work in the morning, are in a terrific hurry and their children are thoroughly neglected, particularly in the mornings.

It is always beneficial to take one's meals in a calm and pleasant atmosphere and breakfast is the most sustaining meal for the day. Taking a satisfying breakfast gives a good start to the day's activities. But how many of us think seriously about the importance that we should attach to our breakfast?

Daily in the mornings we see thousands of students hanging around our bus stands but most of them are without a proper breakfast due to economic reasons or because they have to rush to take a public conveyance to transport them to their schools. Due to their not having a breakfast from their young days the health of these children is badly affected and this in turn will have a bearing on the output of their academic work throughout their school careers and even afterwards.

From time immemorial having a hearty breakfast with all family members gathered together has been a unique Sri Lankan tradition even in the humble villages and it is time we revived this age-old tradition. In the light of these facts it is commendable that the state is taking action to provide the breakfast to the students of our schools. This is a step in the right direction to create a healthy student populace who would be a blessing to our country in the future.

So, don't miss your breakfast.

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