A bowl of cereal in front of the TV with Harry Potter is childrens’ favourite way to start the day

• Nearly half of children in Wales either watch TV or play games on a phone or console while having their breakfast, according to a survey commissioned by the NSPCC and Lidl.

• Children from across Britain responded to the survey and were also asked about their dream breakfast guest, with Harry Potter ranked as their favourite.

• Until the end of July, Lidl will be donating 10p to the leading child protection charity through the sale of specially branded boxes of cereal.

MORE than a third of children in Wales (36 per cent) watch TV while having their breakfast, while 10 per cent play games on a phone or games console, joint research commissioned by the NSPCC and Lidl has found.

A YouGov survey also found that a bowl of cereal is the overwhelming favourite food first thing in the morning among children in Wales, with 73 per cent of respondents saying this is how they usually start their day.

Just three per cent of children in Wales responding to the survey said they had a traditional cooked breakfast – among the lowest of any part of Great Britain surveyed.

The survey asked more than 1,000 British schoolchildren aged between six and 15 who went to school about their breakfast habits.

It also recorded the respondents’ dream breakfast guest which included Welsh sporting stars Gareth Bale and the Wales rugby team.

However, the most popular breakfast companion across Britain was Harry Potter* followed by American singer Ariana Grande.

Between Thursday 30 May and Wednesday 31 July, Lidl will be donating 10p from the sale of each box of special NSPCC-branded cereal, raising £125,000 for the children’s charity as part of a three-year partnership aiming to raise £3 million.

The cereals are Bitesize Wheat Shreds, Corn Flakes, Wholegrain Wheat Bixies, Special Flakes Red Fruit, and Rice Snaps.

The special boxes will go into hundreds of thousands of homes, raising awareness of the NSPCC’s ‘Speak Out, Stay Safe’ school service designed to keep children safe from abuse.

The packets will also include fun activities for children with Buddy, the mascot of the service.

Mike McGarth, the NSPCC’s head of partnerships, said:

“The enduring appeal of Harry Potter is revealed once again, with children of all ages wanting to share a bowl of cereal with the master magician.

“If Harry can’t make it, we hope families are informed and entertained by the special boxes of Lidl cereal where they can find out about the NSPCC’s ‘Speak Out, Stay Safe’ service along with fun games and activities.”

Georgina Hall, from Lidl, added: “We’re very proud to be supporting the ‘Speak Out, Stay Safe’ service via this promotion and hope that our NSPCC cereal packets provide children across the country with a fun activity to do while they enjoy their Lidl breakfast.”