Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A healthy breakfast each morning improves concentration and focus, boosts your mood and immune system, and assists in weight management, among several other benefits. However, despite these great benefits, breakfast is still the meal many tend to skip! This is also seen with your children. This is illustrated by studies and surveys, which show that about 43% of students don’t eat breakfast before school. For many kids, eating breakfast can be quite a chore they would like to avoid. However, this does them more good than harm. With that said, here are six effective tips to encourage your children to eat breakfast daily to avoid stressful mornings and ensure their optimal health.
- Include breakfast in their daily routine
Routines are important in ensuring you and your family carry out daily activities. A morning routine gives your children a sense of responsibility, independence, and focus. Additionally, the predictability and familiarity of a routine make your child more confident and secure, as they are well-prepared for the activities. Therefore, to get your child to eat breakfast each morning, it is advisable to make the right adjustments to ensure that your kids can include this activity in their routines. For instance, you can consider setting their sleeping and waking times to ensure you’re not disrupting sleep to get them to eat breakfast— doing that would only lead to more problems. You can also consider exercising as a family before breakfast each morning to stimulate their appetite for food. Or perhaps, you should consider making breakfast a family activity to further encourage your children.
- Limit the amount of food they eat before bed
A common complaint parents hear when trying to get their little ones to eat breakfast is that they are already full! This can be problematic because it isn’t quite right. Although your child may feel satisfied when they wake up, it can cause daily issues. For example, your child may become hungry later in the morning, causing them to lose focus in class. Fortunately, you can resolve or prevent this issue by limiting the food your child consumes the night before. When your child has had a lot to eat the night before, their appetite in the morning isn’t so big. Therefore, limiting the amount of food you let your child eat before bed is advisable. You can do this by ensuring your children eat their dinner well before bedtime. You should also consider limiting their after-dinner snacks to avoid them from overeating, making it difficult to eat their breakfast.
- Lead by example
The truth is children are very impressionable and curious. It means that they watch you a lot, picking up on the habits you do knowingly and unknowingly! That being said, when you’re encouraging your child to develop the habit of eating breakfast, you would need to do it by example. The truth is, if you are skipping your breakfast, your child may interpret that to be a good decision to make. Therefore, be sure to make time for breakfast as well. You don’t need to make a fanciful breakfast to show your children its importance. For instance, a nice bowl of cereal or oats can get you running throughout the day. If you are pressed for time, you can plan your breakfast in advance or look for efficient solutions such as Sage coffee machines. These home barista machines come with preset timers for a quality cup of coffee on-demand. Finally, whenever possible, try to have breakfast with your children to further set an example, and encourage them to develop the habit of eating breakfast each morning.
- Create a menu plan with your child
Although a routine is great, eating the same thing for breakfast wouldn’t have your child enthused about this meal of the day. This makes the whole idea of breakfast unappealing, causing them to skip it whenever possible! You need to think outside the box when encouraging your child to eat breakfast. Giving your children an array of healthy breakfast options makes them more excited about breakfast. These options include more traditional breakfast meals such as oats, toast, or breakfast cereals. Pancakes, fruit salads, and smoothies can also make things more exciting. Besides creating a creative breakfast menu, you should also consider involving your children in the process. This ensures your child can include various meals that would excite them about sitting down for breakfast. You can also get them involved by running the menu by them or asking them to make their own menu, of which you would both make the needed changes. Additionally, creating the menu with your children makes them feel like part of the process, encouraging them even more to eat breakfast every day.
- Get rid of distractions
So many things are happening in the morning, from getting ready to go to work or school to trying to catch up on the latest news or just being entertained on your phones or TVs. All these activities can be distracting and often create an obstacle for your children. Such distraction also affects your child’s inability to eat breakfast each morning. When eating distractedly, your child isn’t mindful of what they eat. This may cause them to overeat, making them uncomfortable throughout the day. It would also cause them to associate breakfast with this feeling of unease, causing them to want to skip it every morning. These distractions may also be from enjoying their means and being mindful of what they eat. You can get rid of such distractions by preventing your children from eating behind screens. You should also make breakfast time for the family to bond, which is a more profitable and healthy way to spend time as you eat. Lastly, you should also avoid leaving and encouraging toys in areas where they would have their meals.
- Allow enough time
The lack of time is the common excuse many households give to explain their lack of eating breakfast each morning. The last thing you, or your child, want is for your child to rush through a bowl of cereal each morning! An effective way of doing so is by making more time for your breakfast. One effective way of doing this is by setting earlier sleep and waking times. If your child goes to bed early and wakes up early, they have ample time to get a lot done in the mornings before they head out, such as eating breakfast. Another way to allow your children enough time to eat is by preparing the night before. Instead of making breakfast from scratch in the morning, prepare beforehand, like cutting vegetables or setting up the table. The portions you serve should also be considered when allowing your children sufficient time to eat breakfast. As a parent, when you think of the health benefits of breakfast, naturally, you may want your child to take a good helping. However, sometimes these portions may be too large for your child. Not only are such portions overwhelming, but they would also require your child to spend more time clearing their plate. This, in turn, turns off your child’s appetite and can lead to them avoiding breakfast. Therefore, you should consider serving portions that would still give your child the nutrients and ensure they can eat their meals in a reasonable time.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially for growing children. Therefore, it is vital to encourage your children to eat a healthy plate of breakfast each morning. This is easier said than done. However, by implementing the tips mentioned above, you should see improvements and effectively get your child to enjoy the benefits of breakfast each morning.
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