Children at Laura Criddle's Day Care Home eagerly anticipate the breakfast menu.

"They'll ask me, 'What are we having today?'" Criddle said. Fresh fruit is always in youthful demand. "Are we having green grapes or red grapes?" she intoned, her voice finding the enthusiastic resonance of preschoolers.

The satisfaction of breakfast is a lesson that most people learn first-hand as children and re-acquaint themselves with several times throughout life.

First-time moms and dads quickly recognize that for their children there is a direct link between stomach and attitude.

Teachers see the connection every day.

"If kids have nice, full tummies and are rested, they're ready to learn," said Dr. Barbara Kohlfeld, principal at May Greene Elementary School. May Greene and Washington elementaries are the two schools within the Cape public school system that offer breakfast programs.

Though parents know the importance of a smart start each day, in busy households it isn't easy to find the time to prepare a balanced, healthy breakfast. More and more, schools and day care homes and facilities are finding ways to help parents get children off to a healthy start each morning.

First, Criddle makes sure husband Brian and 8-year-old daughter Chelsea begin their day on a healthy note. "We're all there about 7, talking, in the kitchen, all together. It's a good family time," she said.

At a little after 8 a.m., it's breakfast, phase two.

Even when the children have breakfast at home, they often enjoy eating again when they get to her house, Criddle noted. It's just part of the daily routine.

"Some might just want milk or fruit or a pancake, others might want seconds on pancakes," she said. "By the time we're done, then we're all at the same point and ready for the morning. It makes the morning go a lot nicer."

Breakfast is Criddle's 4-year-old son Camden's favorite meal. "It's not uncommon for him to eat breakfast with his dad, then eat again with the day care," Criddle said. "He wants to be part of the group."

Criddle keeps three 2-year-old boys and a 5-month-old girl in her licensed-day-care Cape Girardeau home. Also at home with Camden is the Criddles' 20-month-old daughter, Carlee.

For older kids, too, breakfast spent with family and friends makes for a great start of the day.

"The kids are very enthusiastic about coming in and sitting down and eating breakfast with their friends," Kohlfeld said. "It really sets the stage for the day."

The School Breakfast Program made its debut in Cape Girardeau public schools at May Greene in 1991. Washington School began offering breakfast for students the following year, said Lisa Elfrink, director of school food services in Cape public schools.

"We anticipate sometime in the future we will probably add Jefferson and perhaps Franklin," Elfrink said. "The holdup is the busing, we just don't have adequate busing to get children there in time to participate in the program."

By state mandate, any school with 40 percent or more needy children must implement a breakfast program unless they choose to take a waiver, Elfrink explained. However, school breakfast programs are proving popular throughout the state in schools or districts regardless of economic factors, she noted.

Elfrink views the program as an added service to parents. "It gives them the advantage of being able to send their kids to school and know that they're getting that nutritious breakfast."

Participation, Elfrink said, is high, but she would like for it to be higher. Teachers, she said, are supportive of the breakfast program: "We hear comments from teachers that the kids are much more attentive, their test scores are higher, their behavior is better."

In the breakfast programs at the two schools, a paying students pays 75 cents a day for breakfast.

A mini-breakfast is available on a cash basis for students at Cape Central High School.

The schools offer a variety of breakfast options.

At Criddle's Day Care Home, homemade banana nut bread and French toast are among the children's favorite breakfasts.

Variety -- even as simple as a different topping for the pancakes -- helps keep interest high, Criddle advised. She's a believer in early exposure to healthy eating habits, noting, "It develops their food patterns for later in life."

CREATIVE RECIPES FOR CHILDREN'S BREAKFASTS

Parents know that creativity can motivate children, so to get school-age children to eat in the morning they can let the kids embark on new eating adventures.

A National Dairy Council breakfast recipe brochure, "Smart Starts: Breakfast Adventures for Kids," features recipes aimed to spark young imaginations.

For a copy of the brochure, send 25 cents and a business-size, self-addressed, stamped envelope to: National Dairy Council, Smart Starts Breakfast Recipes, 10255 W. Higgins Rd., Suite 900, Rosemont, Ill. 60018.

Banana Rockets

(4 servings)

1/2 cup vanilla or plain yogurt

1 Tablespoon peanut butter

2 teaspoons sugar

2 cups banana-flavored wheat/oat flake cereal, crushed to 1 cup, OR 1 cup low-fat granola

4 small bananas

Combine yogurt, peanut butter and sugar in a small bowl. Cut four large squares of plastic wrap. Put 1/4 cup cereal on each square.

Peel banana. Insert craft stick (or wooden frozen novelty stick) in one end of each banana.

Spread each banana with yogurt mixture and lay on cereal; turn to coat evenly and wrap each banana in the plastic wrap. Twist ends to hold. Freeze or refrigerate until ready to eat.

Town Square Open-Faced Sandwiches

(4 servings)

4 slices whole wheat or oatmeal bread, toasted

8 teaspoons peach or strawberry preserves, or applesauce

2 slices turkey ham, cut in half

1 can (8 oz.) pineapple slices in juice, drained (4 slices)

4 slices (3.4 oz. each) Monterey Jack cheese

Maple-flavored syrup or fruit preserves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a cooling rack and set in a jelly-roll pan.

Spread each slice of toasted bread with 2 tsp. preserves. Top each slice with 1/2 slice turkey ham, a slice of pineapple and a slice of cheese.

Place sandwiches on rack in pan and bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serve with syrup or preserves.