Family dinners can be a great time to talk. What do you do to encourage conversation at the dinner table?

Do you make time to sit down to have dinner with your family on a regular basis? It's becoming more and more difficult in our busy lives but the benefits are numerous: Family conversations around the table build vocabulary skills, teach children the art of give and take in conversation, and let you know what's going on in your kids' lives. How do you carve out time for family dinners? What are good conversation starters that you have tried? An old favorite of mine is "What was the best thing that happened at school today? What was the worst?"

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When I was little, my family played what we called "The Table Game." Someone would start by giving the first and last letter of something visible from the dinner table - for instance, "S, N" (spoon). The other members of the family would take turns asking for clues, like, "On or above the table?" or "Edible or inedible?" Whoever guessed correctly got to start the next round. One memorable night, Dad stumped us for the entire dinner with, "C, G," (above the table, inedible). Tricky guy: it was "ceiling."

Yes, I once heard a twist on this idea. Some stationery stores sell red plates that say "You are special." You could buy one of those plates and rotate "the red plate" around the table. It has the added benefit of making each person in the family feel special and getting an ego boost from time to time.

Try this one for fun. Have a special plate, that is rotated around the table. Each night a different person gets the plate and then determines the course of the conversation. In the meantime, everyone at the table has to say something nice about the person who has the designated plate. We find this activity to be fun, entertaining, and an open door to conversation.

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Family dinners can be a great time to talk. What do you do to encourage conversation at the dinner table?

Parent Answers to "Family dinners can be a great time to talk. What do you do to encourage conversation at the dinner table?"

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