Eat Breakfast

PARENTS CAN HELP make a child's transition from summer freedom to school ritual a healthy one. Here are tips from some of the health coordinators for the region's schools:* Make children eat breakfast, says Carol Dunlavey, health services coordinator for Howard County schools. Kids who don't eat breakfast "have low blood sugar and don't learn as well as students who do eat," she says. Breakfast doesn't have to consist of the traditional eggs and bacon. "It can be something very simple, like raisins and peanuts."

The American breakfast is getting more healthful, but fewer Americans are bothering to eat it.A study conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that the classic American breakfast of bacon, eggs, whole milk, white toast and butter is becoming rare. Taking its place is a breakfast of whole-grain breads and high-fiber, ready-to-eat cereals.But the same study showed that 25 percent of adults don't eat breakfast at all, compared with 14 percent in 1961.

YOU HATE "HEALTH." Your idea of a workout is watching a special two-hour episode of "MacGyver." Tofu looks to you like a bathroom caulking compound. And fiber is what keeps sweaters together.But, hey, you read the newspaper. It has probably occurred to you that it might be a good idea to avoid some of the nasty consequences of being too sedentary or eating too much of the wrong kind of food.Nobody wants heart surgery. Maybe you would like to make a change or two -- nothing drastic.For the defiantly unhealthy, we offer the following 10 tips culled from interviews with experts in medicine, nutrition and exercise.

Dublin, Ireland -- You can travel to Ireland and not visit the Cliffs of Moher or Bunratty Castle, but you can't not eat breakfast. The Emerald Isle has turned into a nation of bed-and-breakfasts, with the emphasis on the morning meal: eggs, bacon, sausage, grilled tomatoes, homemade breads, cold cereal, fresh fruit and juice, at the very least. The accommodations may be modest, and when you consult the guidebooks you quickly learn to be wary of B&B descriptions like "comfortable" rather than "spacious" and "luxurious."

I have several adult friends who have returned to school this fall, while maintaining a full-time job and managing family responsibilities. Talk about busy!Often, time crunch throws a knock-out punch to regular eating, sleeping and exercise routines. What a paradox. Healthy habits maintain vitality, energy, alertness, stamina and freedom from illness, all essential for carrying such a heavy load.Following are some hot tips for balancing the basics while you focus on your new priorities.$ Plan to eat well Eating well will control your weight, help prevent illness and keeyou alert and energized all day. Here's how to do it, even with your busy schedule.

No one wants to be just average. So make it a point this holiday season not to gain the national average 5 to 7 pounds of unnecessary body fat. Instead, take this challenge. Work at maintaining your current weight while indulging in all your holiday favorites.A number of studies done by Janet Polivy, Ph.D. show you'll do better at maintaining your weight if you don't diet. She concluded that, for dieters, eating a forbidden food (a delicious Christmas cookie?) can trigger out-of-control eating, probably because they think they've "blown it."

Three kinds of people celebrate Thanksgiving.The first kind sees it as a celebration unrelated to nutrition. They plan their menu and never count the cost. They may be folks who never think about nutrition anyway, or they may be pretty careful most of the time, but enjoy a food-centered holiday when the time is right.People in Group One enjoy their dinner, especially if they gather with like-minded family and friends. They glory in the taste, texture and color of foods without ever mentioning calories or fat.The second group sees Thanksgiving as a time to celebrate, but enjoys modifying the classic meal to meet chosen or health-imposed restrictions.

In a county dotted with dairy farms and a huge egg-laying operation, it should be no surprise that yet another Carroll school has won the statewide Breakfast Quest contest.Mechanicsville Elementary School in Gamber celebrated its award yesterday with a visit from state and local officials, and an appearance by "That Milk Thing," the blue fur-suited mascot of the dairy industry.It is the second county school to win in the past four years. Manchester Elementary won the designation in 1994.The award is for creative ways students and teachers find to educate children and families about the importance of a nutritious breakfast.

Develop your story-telling techniques at the Westminster Library Saturday. You might learn how to keep an audience spellbound with scintillating sagas. The free workshop, which begins at 9:30 a.m., will help adults enliven their stories for large and small groups with use ofvoice, gestures and props.If you're a little shy about being solo in the limelight, sign up for the library's Puppetry Workshop at 1:30 p.m. The program is designed especially for adults who work with children.Learn to create, construct and manipulate simple puppets and uncomplicated staging.

NO GOOD parent would willingly send a child to bed with an empty stomach. But start the school day without breakfast?It happens more than many of us would like to think. In some homes, especially in parts of Baltimore, the chief culprit is poverty. But in many others, the rat race is to blame.Shirley S. Kane, a food services and nutrition specialist for Baltimore City Public Schools, admits that even she sometimes skips breakfast, though nutrition is her job. Imagine how often that happens to families less aware of its importance, or less able to provide the food.