Dinner Table Conversation Starters for Kids
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! Sometimes just making a meal plan can feel exhausting, much less the process of cooking and eating it.
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”.
Why dinner conversations are 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.
My favorite two ways of having dinner conversations that help you connect with your meal and your kids are with my dinner conversation cards and with my tasting trek exploration kit.
- The dinner conversation cards are fun print at home cards you can use to direct the flow of conversation when you need a little extra help. Over 30 questions designed to get your whole family thinking about meals (and food in general) in a whole new way! Great to use at mealtimes, but also great for road trips, snack time, while waiting at restaurants, or any other time!
2. The Tasting Trek is a really great 5 day activity you can easily do at home. These are a fun and easy activities for your family to explore the sense of taste and where it comes from. It can be done in less than 30 minutes per day and can lead you to a lifetime of enjoyable family dinners. Reconnect with your kids, awaken their taste buds, and relax while you eat after taking this journey together.
