Breakfast is an essential part of each day. It sets the tone and gives you the energy to get through until lunch. Breakfast is even more critical for a child who needs to focus and burn energy during the day at school. However, a common concern and frustration with parents is that their child doesn’t finish their breakfast.
8 parenting tips to help you get your kids to finish breakfast.
1. Create a healthy relationship with food.
Don’t use food as a punishment or reward. It should not be used as a manipulator to create a healthy relationship with food. Don't threaten to send your child to bed without food if your child behaves poorly. Avoid using treats to bribe your child to behave properly. These actions send a mixed signal and confuse food's role.
2. Have higher expectations.
Many parents assume their children won’t like a particular food and react based on this assumption. Children can pick up on this adverse reaction and might start thinking they don’t like the food when, in fact, they haven’t tried it yet.
3. Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep.
Mornings can be rushed and stressful on a good night’s sleep. When a child (or adult) doesn’t sleep well, their appetite can be affected, or they may just be too tired to shovel food in their mouth. An earlier bedtime may be all your child needs to enjoy and finish an entire breakfast.
4. Entice their senses.
Serve both hot and cold foods or use spices or other flavorful ingredients to make your child’s mouth water in anticipation. Arrange their food in a fun way. Use foods that add a splash of color, like blueberries or strawberries. Use the breakfast meal to awaken your child’s senses.
5. Be more open about “breakfast time”.
Just because you’ve always sat at the dining room table between 7 am and 7:30 am doesn’t mean that breakfast can’t be consumed on the picnic-style floor at random intervals throughout the morning. Although it might seem hectic, loosening the “breakfast time” parameters might lessen the stress surrounding the meal and allow your child to relax and want to clean his plate.
6. Serve your child smaller portions.
Rather than giving your child huge helpings of food, cut down the portions. Your child can always ask for another serving. This also gives your child a realistic idea of what “finishing your plate” means and furthers developing a healthy relationship with food. Learning to stuff ourselves is an unhealthy habit we'd rather avoid.
7. Allow your child to finish breakfast later.
Wrap up whatever your child doesn’t finish and put it on a low shelf in the fridge. When your child is hungry again, they can help themselves. If you have to go somewhere right after breakfast, you can bring the leftover food in a lunchbox so your child can eat on the run. This way, you take the chore out of finishing breakfast, and your child still gets the nutrition.
8. Get your child involved in all the steps of breakfast.
Allow your child to make some food decisions while grocery shopping. Let them watch and help you prepare the food. This will make breakfast a more engaging activity and encourage them to enjoy their efforts.
Above all, try not to get mad or frustrated at your child if they don’t want to finish breakfast. Sometimes, children get too excited to sit still and eat, or they might undergo developmental changes or a slight illness affecting their appetite. The less stress you put around food when your child is young will also ensure that your child develops a healthy relationship with food as they get older. Get started by adding your wishes and theirs to the family’s universal wish list, such as Wishfinity.