Every morning, students are faced with the same dilemma: breakfast at home or breakfast at school? Once comparing the pros and cons of both sides, the clear winner is homemade breakfasts.

“Homemade breakfasts offer better quality, more variety and a cheaper price point than school meals,” sophomore Dylan Gates said.

A family breakfast is a great opportunity to spend time with your family, which is especially valuable for high school students because the majority of a student’s day outside of school is filled with extracurriculars, sports and homework.

On the other hand, students who eat breakfast at school reason that having breakfast during their break allows them to sleep in and partake in a quick and easy premade meal. Also, in some cases, parents/guardians do not have the time to prepare a breakfast every morning. Maybe the idea of just waking up and going to school is satisfying to the minds of students. But, I believe the mindset behind those who eat breakfast at school lies in the fact that school breakfasts may not be the best, but they get the job done.

The key issue with eating breakfast at school is that one needs to sit through an hour-and-twenty-minute-long period on an empty stomach.

According to Jaimie Seaton from The Washington Post, “Being hungry has an enormous impact on a student’s ability to learn.”

Although one period may seem manageable to some, an empty stomach definitely does not help in-class performance. I believe that schools should label breaktime meals as snacks rather than breakfasts because the name implies that it is the norm to eat breakfast at school. This is a problem because students will be more inclined to eat their first meal of the day later than it should be.

If you enjoy the food provided during break, it is completely fine to eat the meal.

But, ultimately, I would recommend eating breakfast in the comfort of your own home, as long as your circumstances allow it. Even if it means waking up fifteen minutes earlier, choosing to eat a homemade breakfast is more practical and enjoyable. Eat a nice meal with the rest of your family and start your day off right. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and you should treat it as such.