Start Your Day with a Family Breakfast

With two working parents and two young children in my active family, we don't always get the chance to sit around the dinner table together and reconnect as a family. Yet we know how important sharing a meal is, so we do things a little differently. Though our evening schedules tend to conflict, we always start our day off with a family breakfast. With good food and good company, it's a great way to start the day.

Are you looking for a way to squeeze in some extra togetherness time for your crew? Start your day with a family breakfast, and you too can be reaping the rewards:

1. Ensure healthy eating

As a mom, I care about what my kids are eating, and that they're choosing something nutritious before our busy day begins. But if left to their own devices, well, let's just say things get a little crazy in the kitchen. When we start our day eating breakfast as a family, I can make sure the kids are choosing something good to eat and good for them, like the heart-healthy Quaker Instant Oatmeal .

2. Develop closeness and traditions

If it's true that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, why not spend it with the ones you love? In our family, it's tradition to have special breakfasts to celebrate the arrival - and departure - of visitors, holiday mornings, and festive occasions. We sometimes have "picnic breakfasts" on a blanket on the living room floor, family breakfasts in bed, and camping breakfasts over a fire pit. These special ways we connect and bond as a family over breakfast are traditions we hope to pass on to our kids.

3. Start the day off right

With our busy schedules and two young kids, it's easy to feel rushed in the morning. If we don't start the day with a family breakfast, we often miss important details and news that need to be shared. When we take the time to gather around the table together, our mornings are less harried, we're more organized, in-touch with each other's daily agendas, and the day goes a lot smoother.

4. Avoid later time conflicts

Since my husband's work schedule differs from mine, we're not often home at the same time to share dinner together. Throw parent-teacher conferences, meetings, kid activities, and other events in the mix, and it's a wonder we ever see each other! Thankfully, starting our day with a family breakfast means we have some time together as a group each day, despite our later time conflicts.

5. Breakfast is delicious

What further reason is needed? No matter what your taste preference, everyone has something delicious that they love to eat for breakfast. For many of us, it's the tastiest meal of the day (and often eaten throughout the day too).

So if you're tired of the harried, running-out-the-door mornings, or if you're looking for a place to squeeze in some extra family bonding time, look no further than the breakfast table. Getting up a few extra minutes early in the morning can reap tons of benefits to you and your family, from ensuring healthy eating habits to developing special family traditions, to making each day run as smoothly as possible. And it doesn't hurt that it tastes great too.

Content by Becca Swanson .