TV and breakfast
A cartoon already rolling pulls the eyes away from the cereal, and the spoon hangs in the air. The visual support below sets a clear order in the morning so the food gets eaten before the screen takes over.
TV and breakfast
A television stands beside a table with a bowl of cereal, toast and a glass of juice.
About this visual support
The spoon is on its way up but the eyes have snagged on the screen, and the cereal slowly goes soggy in the bowl. When the TV runs at the same time as breakfast, attention lands in two places, and the food usually draws the short straw.
A clear order untangles the knot without nagging: eat first, then watch. When the pictures show that the screen comes after the food, the child is spared the feeling of missing out and can finish eating at a calm pace. Turning it off gets easier too, because the agreement is already there in black and white rather than invented on the spot. When the eyes only need to be in one place at a time, the body also has room to notice when the stomach is actually full.
One concrete tip is to let the child press a picture once breakfast is finished, as a little signal that now it is time for TV. With Routined you can line up the morning order so breakfast and TV follow each other, and add a timer for how long the screen time lasts.
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