What Kids Around The World Eat for Breakfast

Posted by Brent Furdyk on September 15, 2016

While cold cereal and milk are wake-up staples throughout most of the world, there are some distinct differences in what children eat for breakfast depending on where in the world they happen to be. Here are some of the typical breakfast foods a kid would find on the table in 10 different nations.

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Vietnam

Pho may be an exotic favourite here in Canada, but in its native Vietam, pho is what's for breakfast. From an early age, Vietnamese children eat this tasty concoction of noodles and broth for their morning meal. Other breakfast items include bun (which isn't a bun at all but the Vietnamese term for a type of rice vermicelli), sticky rice (called Xoi) and Cháo, a type of Congee-style rice porridge. Try this recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/vietnamese-beef-pho/12787/" target="_blank">Vietnamese Beef Pho</a>.
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Iran

Breakfast on Iranian tables includes flatbreads like lavash and noon sangak (which, loosely translated, means "stone bread"). Flattened dough is cooked over hot pebbles and stones in a hot oven, and is typically served with butter, jam and feta-style cheese, washed down with a piping-hot cup of Persian tea.
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Turkey

A Turkish child's typical breakfast is all over the map, and can include everything from olives to orange juice to sliced tomatoes to hard-boiled eggs. Cheese is a common breakfast food in Turkey, with children learning at an early age to enjoy such local favourites as crumbly, feta-esque ezine peyniri.
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Brazil

Like their North American counterparts, Brazillian kids will commonly enjoy a bowl of dry cereal — corn flakes is a tried-and-true favourite — as well as a sweet bread called Bisnaguinha, which is usually served with a mild cream cheese called requeijão.
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The Netherlands

North American moms might balk, but in The Netherlands kids usually start the day with a glass of milk and a slice of bread topped with butter and a thick layer of sugary chocolate sprinkles. These sprinkles — called hagelslag (‘which translates to ‘hailstorm’’), are a breakfast-table staple that's become the country's most popular bread topping. Is it any wonder Dutch kids are on board with this menu plan? According to a national tourism website, the Dutch eat 750,000 slices of sprinkle-topped bread each day.
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Britain

British kids grow up with a healthy appreciation (to say nothing of a healthy appetite) for the traditional English breakfast of bangers (pork sausages), baked beans, eggs and toast. Get the recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/bangers-and-mash/15057/" target="_blank">Ina Garten's recipe for Bangers and Mash</a>.
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Malawi

In the African nation of Malawi, a child's breakfast usually includes a lot of corn, including a corn-based porridge called phala and a sweet, cornbread-style cake known as chikondamoyo.
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Iceland

Given the less-than-balmy climate, it shouldn't be surprising that Icelandic kids begin their mornings with a healthy, hearty bowl of hafragrautur, an oatmeal porridge served hot. Hafragrautur is usually enjoyed with brown sugar, maple syrup, butter, fruit or surmjolk (a yogurt-like sour milk). Because of the scarcity of sunlight, Icelandic mothers will typically ensure children receive a daily dose of vitamin D by making them gulp down a spoonful of cod liver oil.
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Italy

Whether you're a kid or a grown-up, Italian breakfasts stray to the sweeter side of the taste spectrum. One common breakfast item found on most Italian tables is cornetti, a delectably sweet croissant-like pastry that children devour because, well, wouldn't you?
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Japan

For Japanese children, a typical breakfast could consist of of such foods as a rolled omelet, grilled salmon, miso soup and a type of rice porridge called okayu.
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France

A French kid's day will typically begin with tartine — a thick slab of a baguette — served open-faced and topped with a dollop of jam or preserves. Crepes are also a popular breakfast item for French children, as is a mug of warm hot chocolate to wash it all down. Brent Furdyk is a freelance writer in Vancouver.
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