Having dinner as a family is one way of spending time together that helps build healthy families and healthy kids. Dining together is a way to connect, work on table manners, share joys and concerns and just enjoy being together. I knew someone who insisted that her family eat together every night no matter what time it was when the last member came home. Sometimes they were eating dinner at 10 p.m.! That may be a little drastic, but finding as many days during the week when you can all gather at the table can be very important to your family’s well-being.
Whether it’s a home-cooked meal or take-out doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you are together. The only rule is NO ELECTRONICS at the table. I found a fabulous article on WebMD called Good Life Activities for Your Family by Gina Shaw. One section is about family fun with food. She suggests having a “conversation jar” near the table. Whenever someone thinks of a cool question, they write it down on a slip of paper and put it in the jar. The questions could be like, “What’s something you do better than your parents?” or “If there were a holiday named after you, how would people celebrate it?” Once a week, use some of the questions in the jar to spark conversations at dinner.
Another idea is called, “Shake it Up”. This is about having a wacky family dinner where you might eat with the big serving utensils and platters. Or maybe you put food coloring in everything and make goofy food. Sometimes you could serve dinner as a picnic on a blanket in the living room. You could have a “reading dinner” where you read aloud while you eat. If the kids are old enough, they can take turns reading too. There are more ideas to try during family dinner time. Click here to read the entire article.
Do you have any fun family games to share with our readers? Please comment below.
