Morning Traditions for Parents and Children
Quality Time at Breakfast Helps Families Start the Day Right
Sep 21, 2009
Working and stay-at-home parents alike manage lengthy to-do lists full of chores and responsibilities. Sometimes these duties can seem overwhelming to both parents and children. Parents can help mitigate the stress of a busy day by sharing a few minutes alone with their children each morning.
In her book Sharing Family Time: Simple Ways to Make the Most of Busy Days [The Stonesong Press, 1996], social psychologist Susan K. Perry, Ph.D. suggests parents incorporate a simple morning tradition into their daily routine. Freeing up even a few extra minutes for their children, Perry writes, helps families get a more positive start on the day.
How to Start the Day With a Morning Tradition
One of the best ways to tackle the day is to get organized the night before. “Everyone lays out clothes for the next day,” Perry suggests. “Breakfast preparations are made. Backpacks and briefcases are filled. Some families get up a few minutes earlier to have a more relaxed morning.”
Here are Perry’s other suggestions for a good-start day:
Make a Family Toast
If breakfast is the only meal the entire family regularly eats together, raise a toast to this special occasion. Every family member lifts a glass of juice or milk and clinks their glasses together gently, taking turns at saying something to brighten everyone else’s day.
Read and Eat
Keep a stack of books at the breakfast table and read for 10 to 15 minutes a day while the kids eat. Nursery rhymes and picture books are well-suited for toddlers and preschoolers, while short stories and chapter books appeal to older children and tweens. Consider these classics: Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie books, J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series and Beverly Cleary’s books about the adventures of Henry Huggins and Ramona Quimby.
Have the Children Pack Their Lunches
Some parents assign the task of packing lunch to their children while they prepare breakfast for the family. Not only does this encourage independence and responsibility, but it also gives parents and children an opportunity to engage in conversation while working. Keep a box of crayons and markers in the kitchen and encourage younger children to decorate a lunch bag every day in some personal way.
Spend One-on-One Time with Kids
If some family members sleep later than others, breakfast can provide time for parents to spend a few minutes alone with their children. Perry writes of a mother who regularly eats breakfast with her son while her husband sleeps. Conversation topics include the upcoming day and when they’ll see each other again. “This time is especially important because of the limited time she has with her son during the week,” Perry writes.
Become a Pancake Artist on the Weekends
Even parents who only eat breakfast once a week with their children can start a tradition their kids will remember for a lifetime – pancakes! Perry suggests parents use a spoon to pour pancake batter into animal designs or their children’s initials. Other successful breakfast artisans use cookie cutters to shape French toast.
Begin Each Day in a Positive Way
Morning rituals establish a set time for parents and children to spend quality time together and start the day in a positive way. No matter how busy parents get, when they take the time every day to spend a few extra minutes with their children, kids notice. Parents need only choose one good-start tradition in order to make a difference in their children’s lives.
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