Studies conducted have proven that children who eat a healthy breakfast do better in school than those who either skip breakfast or fill up on sugary foods each day. Eating breakfast not only helps encourage proper growth and well being in kids, but will enable them to achieve better grades and all round performance.

Why is that so many children fail to get a good breakfast before school? Very often busy families fall prey to the clock and simply run out of time before they must rush off to start their day. It's not just the kids who are skipping the most important meal of the day, but adults as well. Although with our fast paced lives it's tempting to do without breakfast or pop in a sugary toaster pastry and go, there are ways to make the morning dash easier and leave time to offer your kids and yourselves a healthy breakfast each day. Here are some morning scheduling tips that may help.

1. Layout your kid's clothing for the next day before you go to bed and make certain that their shoes are easily accessible. I don't know how much time has been lost with the frantic wail of ?where's my shoe??

2. Make sure your kids finish all their homework and have everything ready to go in their book bags the night before.

3. If you find you don't have enough time to get everything ready and breakfast made in the mornings, even with careful planning, then perhaps you simply need to get up 15-20 minutes earlier each day.

4. Keep the kids off the computer/video games and turn off the television. It's impossible to get a kid moving when he's distracted by the boob tube or a game. Time spent playing can be better used eating a nice healthy breakfast.

5. Make positive breakfast food shopping choices at the grocery store. Buy healthy fruits and grains so that you always have a good option available for the kids to eat in the morning.

6. Big and little kids can make their own breakfast. Remember to leave their healthy cereal out so it's easy for them to get to. You may consider filling a plastic bowl with a lid or a zipper bag with the right amount of cereal for them so all that's left is adding the milk the next day.

7. Many good breakfast foods can be prepared in the microwave, usually within 5 minutes. Look for healthy, microwavable breakfast foods at your local store. Let the kids cook their own food in the microwave by showing them exactly how long the timer should be set.

8. Now, if you have no issue with this final tip, then by all means use it to help get the day going and still get some breakfast in the kids before they go off to school: Let them eat in the car. I know many parents have a steadfast rule against eating in the car, but if it comes down to either missing breakfast and changing a rule, then I'd opt for an easy to eat finger food that they can eat on the way.

What are some easy, yet healthy breakfast choices for kids? There's always the obvious egg of course, but why not make an egg and cheese breakfast burrito? Or how about a nice healthy muffin that you can make ahead and freeze for several days. Kids love bagels, and there are many different flavors to choose from. My kids love toast, so we offer them cinnamon toast, jelly toast and toast with peanut butter. These can be eaten on the go as well with limited mess. Toaster waffles are now available in organic and wheat varieties, so have them on hand; also a good on the go breakfast idea. Remember to keep the traveling fruits like grapes, apples and bananas in the kitchen as well.

Do some planning ahead, and let your kids help you look for ways to make the morning routine easier. The next time they say they don't? have time for breakfast; remind your kids that they'll feel so much better throughout the day if they eat something healthy. It doesn't have to be a major production, just a healthy alternative. Follow some of the tips above and start the day off on the right foot with a healthy breakfast.