Table Talk – Making the most of dinner time!

Use the longer summer evenings with no homework and other activities to enjoy a family meal. Eating together helps build a close relationship with your children. It gives everyone in the family a chance to learn more about each other. Eating together also helps children build social skills. It is never too late to start this new trend.  If you haven’t been eating together as a family, start with just one meal a week and then try to add more as you can.

Begin by setting a few ground rules for the meal: 

• Turn off the TV, cell phones and other devices. 
• Sit around the table instead of at a counter or on a couch.  Seeing people at the table helps to promote conversation.
• Use this time to talk about what is happening in your lives.  Be sure to discuss positive, happy things. This is not the time to talk about stressful subjects.

If you ask “How was your day” and you get the standard “good” answer.  Perhaps you need some ideas to help spark the conversation.  Try asking:

• What was the best thing that happened to you today?   
• What is one way you helped another person today?
• If you could only do one thing for a whole day, what would you pick?
• If you could produce a movie, what would it be about?
• If you could time travel, where and when would you go first? Why?
• If you could invent any holiday, what would you call it and how would it be celebrated?
• If you could have any superpower, what would you choose?
• If you could pick your own name, what would it be and why?
• What is your favorite way to relax?

Consider taking this one step further and ask your family to write questions they would like to ask. Or if you need more ideas check out The Family Dinner Project.

Use family mealtime to talk, connect, and make memories together. It is a lesson your children will use for life.