Raising Boys

Oats improve schoolkids’ performance September 5, 2005

Undecided whether to feed your children oatmeal or cereal for breakfast? This LA Times article may make choosing what food to put in your child’s diet easier.

The article quoted results of experiments conducted by a group of psychologists on 60 schoolchildren that suggested they learned more and retained knowledge better when fed with Quaker oatmeal made with milk than when they ate Cap’n Crunch cereal with milk for breakfast. The study was funded by Quaker Oats and used both cereal and oat products of the company.

After eating a bowl of oatmeal, boys and girls ages 9 to 11 showed enhanced spatial memory, a skill that helps with drawing and doing puzzles. Spatial memory can help not only with art, but also with geography as well as some technical skills used in math and science. Girls, but not boys, also displayed improved short-term memory after eating oatmeal.

Children ages 6 to 8 listened better after eating oatmeal than after a breakfast of Cap’n Crunch. And, like their older counterparts, they also scored higher on spatial memory. Younger girls also showed improvements in short-term memory similar to that seen in their older counterparts.