According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 13% of school-age kids skip breakfast in the morning. This jumps to 27% for middle and high schoolers. Certainly any breakfast is better than none, but if you want your child to start the day with a breakfast that truly nourishes their body and mind, pediatric nutritionists have a few tips, including information about how a kid’s nutrient needs change as they enter middle school and high school.

The Nutrients That Should Be Included In Breakfast

In general, there are four main nutrient groups to focus on when figuring out what your child should eat for breakfast. “Carbohydrates, protein, fiber and healthy fats are important nutrients to get at breakfast,” said registered dietitian Tok-Hui Yeap, a certified pediatric nutrition specialist. She explained that these four core components will give children the energy they need to function and focus at school.

Alicia “Chacha” Miller, a registered dietitian specializing in pediatric nutrition, offered similar guidelines. She explained that carbohydrates and protein are important for providing the brain and body with energy, and healthy fats help keep blood sugar levels steady. You know how kids will be bouncing off the walls one second and need a nap the next? Keeping blood sugar levels steady helps prevent that. Like Yeap, Miller said fiber at breakfast is important, too. Fiber supports gut health and keeps the digestive system functioning, helps keep blood sugar levels steady, and keeps hunger pangs away longer than a breakfast that doesn’t have fiber.

If you aren’t sure how much of these four key nutrients your child needs, MyPlate.gov can serve as a helpful resource, breaking down nutrient needs by life stage (such as preschoolers, kids, teens and young adults) and showing what meeting these needs looks like.

Sara Quinteros, another registered dietitian with a specialty in pediatric nutrition, told HuffPost that when kids enter middle school, they become hungrier because of the rate at which they’re growing. She said a lot of middle schoolers gravitate toward carb-heavy foods. While carbs are an important nutrient, she said, it’s important that those kids are getting enough protein too, as it helps support their growth and satiate their hunger.

“Middle school-age children tend to have higher caloric, protein and calcium needs to prepare them for puberty,” Yeap added.

All this same advice applies to when kids enter high school, according to all three dietitians. “High school and middle school nutrition needs are very similar. No additional special changes need to be made except for iron needs are higher due to rapid growth,” Yeap said. Some foods high in iron that can be integrated into breakfast include dark leafy greens, nuts, seeds and whole-grain toast.

OK, so kids need carbs, protein, fiber and healthy fats at breakfast. But what does it look like to cover all these bases in a morning meal your kids will actually eat? Below are some examples:

• Toast with peanut butter: Quinteros said that adding a spoonful of peanut butter can up the nutrient value in their breakfast. Peanut butter has all four core nutrients in abundance: protein, carbs, healthy fats and fiber.

• Avocado toast and eggs: All three dietitians are big fans of incorporating eggs into breakfast because they’re a gold mine of nutrients, including protein and healthy fats. Avocado has these nutrients too, plus fiber. For the toast, Quinteros recommended using whole-grain bread, which is higher in fiber and other nutrients but added that white bread is fortified with nutrients, so if that’s what your kids prefer to eat, don’t sweat it.

• Breakfast quesadilla: Another egg-centric breakfast, recommended by Miller, is a breakfast quesadilla made with a tortilla, which provides carbohydrates. Up the fiber by adding a side of fruit.
• Omelet with spinach and cheese: Remember Yeap’s recommendation of increasing the iron in your child’s meal when they reach high school? She shared that one way to do this is by adding spinach to an omelet. The cheese provides good calcium and vitamin D.
  
• Yogurt, granola and fruit: If your child has a sweet tooth, yogurt with granola and fruit (a breakfast idea from Yeap) is a more nutrient-rich way for them to start the day than a sugary cereal. Choose a plain yogurt instead of one with added sugar; adding the granola and fruit is a healthier way to sweeten it up and both are full of fiber.
  
• Overnight oats with sauteed apple slices: This breakfast idea from Miller has carbs, protein and fiber from the oats (fortified oats typically have omega-3 fatty acids too) and extra fiber from the apples.