Like other parents out there, you’re trying to find ways to connect with your kids. Breakfast gives you the perfect opportunity to do this, provided you know how to seize it. The following are five ways you can connect with your kids while they’re having breakfast.
1. Waking Early
To connect with your kids, you need time. To have enough time to sit down and talk to your kids, you need to figure out a way to get food preparation out of the way. You want to make it a point to wake up earlier than your kids. Get the food ready before everyone wakes up.
If you have a “Keep Warm” function on your oven, then use this function to your advantage. By the time your kids wake up, you can have all the food on the table, including your own. This should give you enough time to eat with your kids and connect with them. You don’t have to worry about finally sitting down to eat and watching your kids walk away because they finished eating already.
2. Make it Quick
The next idea to consider is a no-cook breakfast. Now, a lot of parents know this trick and it’s the reason cereals sell like crazy at the supermarket. The bad thing is most of these cereals are packed with sugar.
No parent wants to feed their kids that. Well, there are other alternatives to cereal, which are still quick to eat like muesli. If you choose to feed muesli to your kids, you may want to consider buying wholesale muesli in bulk so that you don’t run out quickly. Remember this mix can be used like cold cereal or inside yogurt if that’s what your kids want.
3. Make it a Special Breakfast
Another thing to try with your kids is making breakfast special every day. Maybe one week you’ll make different types of waffles each day. This creates anticipation, and you get to talk about the waffle creations you make. Treat each new recipe like a conversation piece.
Ask each kid what they thought about the waffle. They can rate the waffle and compare it to other waffles you’ve made during the week. It’s something fun to do, and you get to expand your culinary repertoire. Of course, the best part is your kids are going to look forward to breakfast and to giving their opinions on your food.
4. Plan Ahead
Sometimes, it’s almost impossible to wake up early because you work at night or went to sleep later than usual. You still want to figure out a way to connect with your kids, and you can do this if you plan. If you know you won’t wake up early enough (or you simply don’t want to) but you also want to make something that requires some time, then consider making your meal at night.
You can freeze or refrigerate these food items and reheat them the next morning. Most recipes have specific instructions on how to reheat them. Some are best reheated in the oven, while others are just fine in the microwave. A little reheating gives you more than enough time with your kids so that you can talk about the dreams they have or their plans for the day.
5. Involving Them
Perhaps one of the scariest things to consider is having your kids help you out with breakfast. This is an effective way to teach your kids life skills, and you get to connect by teaching them your kitchen tricks; it’s also crazy because the thought of having all your kids cooking with you may seem overwhelming.
It’s scary because you’ll be giving your kids kitchen tools, and you don’t know if you’ll be paying attention to everything. What you could do is give each child one day to help you cook. You can control things better with one child. You could also stick to simple recipes. Of course, it would be a good idea to have your kids choose the breakfast they want each morning to help them feel like they’re involved.
These are just some ways you can connect with your children during breakfast. Use the ones that best work for you, and start to use this time to create stronger family bonds.
