Breakfast — the most important meal of the day.
It fuels you up for a busy day of work and fun.
A hearty breakfast offers the same benefit to our kids, setting them up for success during learning and play.
While eating breakfast nourishes our bodies, sitting around the table together nourishes our hearts and minds.
This gives families the opportunity to start the day off on a high note.
Everyone leaves the house with their bellies and love tanks full, ready for whatever the day brings.
If mornings aren’t your thing, we’ve got you covered.
Take a few minutes while the coffee kicks in and listen to a podcast episode from Pinna’s Daily Starter playlist with the kids.
There, you’ll find conversation starters to liven up the breakfast table and get the kids talking.
It’s a win all around!
Interested in learning more about how Pinna can help make mealtimes a family affair? Here’s a preview of what you’ll find below.
- the importance of shared family meals around the table
- how Pinna podcasts and audiobooks can make mealtimes more fun
- a few of our favorite breakfast recipes to simplify your morning routine
The Importance of Shared Family Meals Around the Table
It’s not news to any of us that families can benefit from sharing a meal together...one that isn’t consumed in front of the TV or on the go.
Knowing its importance doesn’t make it any easier.
Families today are busy with work, school, sports, and extracurricular activities. In addition, many parents take night or online classes, work multiple jobs, travel on business, are self-employed, or care for an elderly relative — and a large percentage are shouldering these responsibilities alone.
Finding time to eat together doesn’t always make it to the top of the priority list.
When possible, here’s why it should.
According to The Family Dinner Project, time spent eating together is about more than caloric intake. Shared meals are a time for families to come together and connect at the end (or start!) of a long day.
Here are a few of the many benefits The Family Dinner Project mentions on their site: better academic performance, healthier eating habits, a bigger vocabulary in preschoolers, higher self-esteem, reduced risk of depression, and improved cardiovascular health in teens.
The physical, mental, and relational benefits that come from families eating around the table — sans screens — can’t be overlooked.
This one simple habit has the potential to positively impact kids for the rest of their lives.
How Pinna Podcasts and Audiobooks Can Make Mealtimes More Fun
Now that we’ve covered why shared meals are so important, let’s talk about how Pinna can help families have more fun while spending time around the table.
We’ve established that screens are a no-go while eating together, but what about audio entertainment?
In our humble opinion, audio entertainment — podcasts, audiobooks, and music — doesn’t take away from time spent as a family; it adds to it.
Audio offers a shared listening experience, especially when you choose a high-quality production the whole family can enjoy together.
That’s where Pinna comes in.
An example mentioned above, the Daily Starter playlist, is a fun choice for family listening at the breakfast table.
The Daily Starter playlist is a compilation of podcast episodes ranging from HiLL-LaRRy-uS: Word of the Day to Smash Boom Best to Dirt Girl’s Nature Academy to Forever Ago (and so many more!).
You never know what you’re gonna get, but you can be sure you’re going to learn something new and laugh along the way.
Here are 6 more ideas for making mealtimes fun with Pinna.
- Enjoy an episode of Dream Breachers each night at dinner. This all-age production will keep everyone on the edge of their seats wondering what will happen next!
- Replace screen-time during lunch with new episodes of Grimm, Grimmer, and Grimmest. Narrated by incredible storyteller, Adam Gidwitz, these reimagined fairy tales will leave the kids looking forward to more.
- Take snack time up a notch with legendary actress, Julie Andrews. Kids will experience the magic of Mary Poppins when Julie reads them a story on the podcast, Julie’s Library.
- Start your day off right with 5 for 5 Trivia. These short episodes — less than 5 minutes each — will give your brain a boost and keep you entertained every day at breakfast.
- If you’ve got a young entrepreneur, spend a few weeks listening to Emma-Made Lemonade at lunch. Her story of success will inspire your kids to seek out their own, teaching them valuable lessons about life and money along the way.
- Listen to a new chapter of Upside Down Magic at dinner each night. Kids will come running to the table to hear what happens next. There are enough books in the series to keep the whole family entertained for many meals to come!
Favorite Breakfast Recipes to Simplify Your Morning Routine
Mornings are hard. That’s a fact.
Winging it each day will leave you stressed out and taking more time than necessary to make sure the family is fed.
Keep reading for a few breakfast recipes you can prep ahead of time to simplify your routine and make mornings a little bit easier.
- Crockpot Breakfast Casserole by Family Fresh Meals
- Egg Muffins by Well Plated
- Homemade Waffles by Hip2Save
- Baked Oatmeal by The Kitchn
- Breakfast Burritos by Budget Bytes
- Muffins by Money Saving Mom
- Overnight Oats by Cookie and Kate
- Breakfast Sandwiches by Betty Crocker
- Fruit Smoothies by Taste of Home
Each one of these recipes can be made ahead and quickly prepared in the morning for a nutritious meal in minutes!
The Takeaway
Shared family meals are integral to raising happy, healthy kids. Make your mealtime routine easier and more fun by checking out what’s available on the Pinna app.
We’re all ears!
How will you make the most of mealtime with Pinna? We’d love to hear from you! Find us on all our social platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest – or email us at contact@pinna.fm.
