5 Lessons I Learned from Sharing Breakfast with my boy

My boy and I spend a lot of time together. We are good buds. On the weekends, Hubby often has to work and it is just the two of us to find something to occupy our time. One of my boy’s favorite things to do together is have breakfast. I accidentally started this little tradition when we gave away Hubby’s car. You see, the boy and I have to get up in the morning whether we are going to work and daycare or not, and take Hubby to work. Sometimes during the week, Hubby works at 6am and we can’t go to daycare until 7am and I don’t really have to be at work until 8am. Instead of driving back and forth home, I started taking the boy to go eat breakfast. It became a tradition of sorts and he loves it.

5 Lessons I Learned from Sharing Breakfast with my boy

The boy and I change up our breakfast routine from time to time depending on what we are hungry for or if we are eating healthy or not. Sometimes, Hubby is off work and will join us. Through these breakfast dates with my boy, I have learned a few things that I wanted to share with you for National Breakfast Week.

1. A big breakfast with hot cakes can feed Mommy, a 5 year old, and two dogs.

Most recently, the boy and I like to go to McDonald’s after dropping off Hubby for work on the weekends. We grab a big breakfast with hotcakes, a Diet Coke, and a chocolate milk (sometimes apple juice) and take it home. I eat the eggs and sausage, he eats the pancakes and hashbrowns, and the dogs share the biscuit – all while giggling at each other and watching cartoons. It’s a routine and he likes it. The bonus is that this breakfast costs $7.77 and 7 is our lucky number. The downside is that is a lot for breakfast when we could just go home and eat what we have there.

2. A smile can break down all language barriers.

When the boy and I started this breakfast tradition, we weren’t always eating healthy. He and I would go to a donut shop before daycare and eat there. This particular donut shop had a large hispanic clientele and most of the “old men” who came in for coffee didn’t speak English. My boy catches attention everywhere we go so when the men would try to talk to him or shake his hand, he would just smile, and all was good.

3. Eating breakfast together is the best way to cheer up your child.

My boy is like me in that we are not morning people. Neither of us likes to wake up, but he tends to cheer up a little faster than me. Don’t get me wrong, he wakes up smiling, but he doesn’t say a word until he is ready. On days when he is feeling tired or wants to stay home and cuddle with Mommy, nothing cheers him up faster than telling him that we can grab breakfast and eat at the tables in the lobby at the YMCA before daycare.

4. Hot dogs can be a good breakfast.

Don’t judge here, but my boy likes to eat hot dogs for breakfast. I don’t know how this started, but we just make sure that we have turkey dogs in the house for the days when this is his craving. I figure that a turkey dog has to be better than a sugary treat like a donut or toaster tart, right?

5. Sharing Breakfast with your friends is fun.

My boy is a little charmer and he likes girls. He started this on his own and he has girl preferences. If you wear a bow (the bigger, the better) you will likely win my boy’s heart. For the past couple of years, my boy has asked to bring breakfast off and on for his “girlfriend”, Annee. If we brought a donut or a biscut, we had to bring two. A while back he came home and said that Annee hit him and for a few months he would not bring her breakfast. I snuck in a breakfast for her one day and he even threw it away! However, for the most part, he is always up for sharing and giving his breakfast to others.

National Breakfast Week is March 4-8 and we are helping to spread the word about how you can help others in your community by sharing breakfast through Kellogg’s. On the days when my little man and I don’t eat breakfast together, he is given a healthy breakfast at the YMCA as part of his daycare. Unfortunately, not all children are given a healthy breakfast everyday. My boy and I have given healthy breakfasts to kids in the past and we are happy to join in this movement as well!

Kellogg’s® and Action for Healthy Kids®

Share One Million Breakfasts to Help Bring Out

Kids’ Full Potential

Kellogg’s® and celebrity dad and actor Taye Diggs have partnered to share breakfast with children in need as part of the third consecutive Share Breakfast initiative. Families across the country can share a breakfast with a child in need by simply sharing a public service announcement featuring Diggs on ShareBreakfast.com. For each view, share and comment, Kellogg’s will share breakfast.

Along with in-school breakfast partner Action For Healthy Kids®, Kellogg’s and Diggs are making it their mission to show families how a wholesome breakfast can help kids reach their full potential every day. Kids who eat breakfast have more energy and focus for learning1, yet nearly one in five children across our communities go without breakfast.2 That’s why Kellogg’s and Diggs are leading the charge to help end childhood hunger and are rallying families across the U.S. to help provide breakfast for kids in need.

How to Join the Share Breakfast Movement

Families across the U.S. can join Diggs in the Share Breakfast movement and give the power of breakfast to kids in need. Every time you do one of the following, Kellogg’s will share breakfast to a kid who might otherwise go without:

1. Share the public service announcement with friends.

2. Like or comment on the Share Breakfast Facebook page.

3. Pin the .

Visit ShareBreakfast.com to watch the public service announcement with Diggs and learn about all the ways families can get involved for Share Breakfast 2013.

Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Kellogg’s. I received a product sample as well as a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

How do you Share Breakfast with others?