Family Breakfast Fantasy
I think I must have been three and my brother about 18 months. I’m not sure why I remember this image so clearly, because I don’t remember too much about that house (we moved when I was four), but this scene has been my definition of a “family breakfast” ever since. My father started work very early every morning and we didn’t usually see him until the evening when he came home, so I think this day must have been a weekend. It’s an image I’ve always hoped to repeat with my own children. Fast forward 30-odd years to my own family of four – husband Harvey, three-year-old Noah, seven-month-old Ethan and me. I’m not sure that we have ever eaten breakfast together at our dining table. Certainly not recently. Ethan usually wakes up to be breastfed between 5am and 6am and sometimes goes back to sleep before he has Weetbix at 7am. Noah surfaces about 6am and demands a bottle, followed by a sandwich or bowl of cereal (usually dry). Harvey and I usually get ourselves psyched up for food with a cup of tea first and then cereal at some point between organising the two boys. I’m the only one who eats breakfast at the table! I wonder if I’m being unrealistic hoping for this idyllic family breakfast scene. Our table doesn’t fit well in the space we have and so we can only use two of the six places. We’ve considered buying a round table to free up a bit of room, but have nowhere to store the existing table, so have put off thinking abut a solution. Ethan is just starting to sit in a high chair so he isn’t going to be an issue, but the fact we have let Noah eat his breakfast on the lounge for so long is going to create problems if we change his routine, I’m sure. We might need to make those changes incrementally. What I’d love to see happen in our household is all four of us sitting together, eating our breakfast and chatting about our days. Noah will tell us which friend he’ll play trucks with in the sand pit at day care or what he will do at his swimming class, Ethan will entertain us as he tastes new foods and experiences new textures and Harvey and I will make plans for what will happen in the hours ahead. I hope this fantasy may soon become a reality, and soon we’ll be connecting even more as a family around the breakfast table. How does breakfast unfold in your household? ___________________________________ Johanna Baker-Dowdell is mum to two boys – Noah and Ethan – and combines looking after them with her work as a blogger, journalist, writer and public relations consultant. She owns and manages Strawberry Communications which started small in the third bedroom, but has grown into its own office space (in the converted garage). 3 CommentsFeedAdd Comment |
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Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
But we usually manage it on the weekend. Admittedly we're usually eating out rather than at the breakfast table, but it's still nice to be together for it.
Maybe when the little guy's a bit older we'll be able to manage breakfast together on a weekday. But at the moment it's not an option.
Monday, 21 September 2009
Bill your reasons are just the same as ours, but I'm hoping now we're all at home in the mornings we'll be able to do it more often. It's well worth the effort I think.