Sprinkles in Her Cereal

As mothers, we try very hard to help our children learn to eat healthy and make good food choices. It's important to me that my kids have a balanced diet everyday. But, I have to say there are days when a little deviance is necessary! You know those days. It's rainy. They've had a bad day at school. They've woken up with a sore throat. The days when they need a little something extra just to let them know you love them. Little ways to break up the mundane.

The other day, my daughter was coming off of being very ill. She had the stomach flu. On the morning she woke up and actually felt like eating, I was excited! It had been four days since her last legitimate meal. So, I decided we needed to celebrate and make a big deal out of it. I bake quite a bit, so I have a WIDE variety of decorative sprinkles on hand for any cupcake occasion. When my daughter told me what she wanted to eat, I asked her if she would like sprinkles on her Cheerios. The answer was an immediate YES and she picked out green and blue dots. Green and blue dotted Honey Nut Cheerios in hand, she trekked her way to the table and commenced eating.

Isn’t it our duty as mothers to sometimes break “tradition” and celebrate the little things with nonsense? Sometimes a well balanced breakfast might need a special surprise. Why not put sprinkles on cereal? Why not put an extra HUGE blob of whipped cream in their hot chocolate? Why not make cucumber slices shaped like Mickey Mouse? Why not make that chocolate milk EXTRA chocolatey? Life should be fun, silly and full of joy for our little ones for as long as possible. Making a small moment special is what makes life tolerable. If we don’t celebrate the little things, I don’t think we appreciate the big things.

So sit down, put dots on your cereal and enjoy your babies and your life!