Parents rejoice! September is here, and the little ones are finally back to school. They've spent all your money, given you endless back-chat and treated you like a cab driver but, finally, the education system is here to save you.

Despite all that, we owe it to our children to give them the best start in life, and this includes a healthy breakfast most days of the week.

It's an easy option to grab the chocolate covered puffs to avoid any confrontation with bleary-eyed little monsters first thing.

But with such a high proportion of sugar in many of these products, you may as well send them off to school with a chocolate bar to eat on the way. Cereals are often just sweets that need milk.

Even some seemingly healthy mueslis and granolas are ridiculously high in sugar and fat.

Try adding a little jam or honey to porridge to entice the young ones. The slow release carbohydrates will provide energy over a sustained period. Soft boiled eggs take around 4 minutes to cook and are great fun with wholemeal soldiers. Lack of time is not a valid excuse.

When shopping, tell the kids they can have any cereal that contains less than five grams of sugar per 100 grams - that'll keep them busy. Also involve them in the process of making breakfast rather than being passive observers.

If they are hooked on the sweet stuff, mix up their usual cereal with a low sugar one as a compromise. You must cut them some slack as it was you that bought the stuff in the first place but it's never too late to take control and rewire old habits.