Dinner table conversations with kids can be enjoyable and relaxing! No really, they can be!
Weeknight meals don’t have to feel like an exhausting event – they can be used to reconnect and refuel after a long day. Read on for simple ways to connect with your kids in effortless ways!
I think we can all agree that the concept of family dinner is beautiful. But in reality, weeknight meals tend to feel less like a Hallmark Christmas movie, and more like an exhausting event to be survived.
Between after school activities, sports, play-time and homework for the kids, and attempting to navigate work-home balance, there is a lot going on!
It can be hard to make the mental switch from “managing all the things” to “let’s connect and enjoy our time with each other”.
Other Resources to Make Your Family Dinners Even Better:
Why Dinner Table Conversation is Important:
Dinner time is about more than just refueling our bodies. It’s also about taking the time reconnect with our family after (or in the middle of) a crazy and busy day.
When you take the time to fuel your souls and relationships with good, nourishing conversations, it helps to relax your body. This is an awesome way to improve communication skills of your kids, too! Having great dinner time conversation also helps take the focus off of each and every bite of food, which means everyone around the table will be more relaxed, and eat more!
Three Expectations Before You Eat:
- TV off and phones away. This is a family dinner time, after all, and unless there is an emergency, emails, Facebook, and whatever is on TV can wait.
- Clear expectations of time. Do you have 5 minutes to eat or 45 minutes? Knowing how quickly you need to move along helps keep everyone focused.
- You set the tone. Your kids are learning from you, so teach them through your actions (and words) how to be a good dinner guest.
Dinner Table Conversation Starters for Kids
50 Conversation Starters for Family Dinner Time
Having a list of ready made conversation starters aimed at kids is a great way to take the attention away from the food and focus on connecting. Also, you don’t have to use any brain power to think of the questions! Let your kids choose 1-2 conversation starter cards per meal. We like these cards from Finding Time to Fly because you can print them off and store them in a jar close at hand.
Storyteller's Word a Day: 180 Words to Take Your Storytelling to the Next Level
This flippable “word of the day” book is an awesome way to improve vocabulary and connect at the same time. Our girls love learning these words everyday. The book has great illustrations and explanations, and then we all take turns telling a story that uses that word.
How to Explore the Sense of Taste with Kids
Learning to talk about food in an analytical and descriptive way is both fun and easy because it takes the pressure off of trying new things. Not only does this easy 5-day challenge work great for kids of all ages (and husbands, too!), but it’s an easy and fun family activity! Take what you learn in this challenge and then easily apply it to basically every meal.
Three Seas Conversation Cards
These beautiful cards are easy to keep on hand in your dinning room (or thrown in your purse when you go to a restaurant), and are perfect
There’s nothing I love more than seeing you make my recipes! If you use these dinner table conversation starts for kids, don’t forget to leave a comment below!
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