Table Talk :: Bringing Back Family Dinner
I have a confession to make.
We have been known to eat dinner while watching TV.
Even worse, some days we eat dinner while Jon and I watch our favorite TV show, and Emily watches her favorite show on the iPad.
Oh, the shame!!
But seriously, it’s not my favorite thing. Growing up, my family always talked around the dinner table. I’m convinced that it was a large contributing factor to our closeness as a family. I remember laughing around the table, talking about life, and growing as a family. I loved that.
I want that for my own family.
So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and outlaw TV during dinner. Even so, we needed a little help in the conversation department.
Enter my table talk jar:
It’s a plain old Ball jar, fancied up with a little bit of tulle. And filled with popsicle sticks that I wrote questions on. Questions like “What would you do if you found $100?” and “What’s your earliest childhood memory?”
You guys. It’s so much fun.
We are talking and laughing and loving it. And Emily joins right on in, even when she has no clue what’s going on.
She knows we’re happy, and that’s all that matters.
How about you? Do you need some help getting conversations started around the table? Here’s how you can make your own Table Talk Jar:
1. Get a jar.
2. Get some popsicle sticks. Or paper (but sticks are way more fun).
3. Go to one of these awesome websites to find questions. (You didn’t think I came up with the questions myself, did you? I am not that cool. These blogs are though.)
Beauty and Bedlam
Skip To My Lou
How Does She?
The Family Dinner Project
4. Write questions on sticks.
5. Put sticks in jar.
6. Put jar on table.
7. Choose stick from jar when eating.
8. Ask family question from stick.
9. Enjoy rowdy conversation and laughter!
It’s not hard, and it’s super worth it.
Is this something you might use in your own house? How do you cultivate family conversation?
Kayse Pratt serves Christian women as a writer + designer, creating home + life management resources that help those women plan their days around what matters most. She’s created the most unique planner on the market, helped over 400 women create custom home management plans, and works with hundreds of women each month inside her membership, teaching them how to plan their days around what matters most. When she’s not designing printables or writing essays, you’ll find Kayse homeschooling her kids, reading a cheesy novel with a giant cup of tea in hand, or watching an old show from the 90’s with her husband, who is her very best friend.
My family of 4 have always sat at the table together. I grew up eating dinner in front of the TV and I never liked it, even as a kid. Now that my in-laws are staying with us, they too sit at the table (which at their home, was rarely the case).
I love the idea of the jar full of conversation starters. I have tried to come up with random, on-the-spot things, but most of the time I am too tired or flustered to remember to think of something!
Thank you, Kayse!
We sit around the table for dinner most nights, as my children get older it is easier to do and even more fun for our family. We try to go around to each person at the table and ask the worst and best part of your day. It is sometimes a quick comment and sometimes it draws my children out and they tell me a little more about what is going on in their life. As they get older it seems that we have to be more direct in asking about what happens in their day, when they were younger the questions were more general and vague.
Also once a week we have dinner and a movie or s TV show we have recorded to watch together. These are always my “best part of the day”.
This is such a great idea! My family always had dinner together as a family… Every night. It’s definitely something I want to instill in my child. Sometimes I do have a hard time coming up with stuff to talk about. I will have to do this and maybe make a travel size edition to keep in my purse for dinner out 🙂
I should send you a copy of our book that just came out. It’s called…..Table Talk. 🙂
I love it!! And I’d love a copy! 🙂
I’ll message you!
I am probably neurotic about family dinner time. It was even one of my 2013 goals to ensure we were eating dinner together 5 nights per week.
This was my house growing up, and same for my husband. No phones, no TV, just the 4 of us. It is our time to connect as a family.
Ooh I love this idea! We eat dinner together as a family (NO TV!) pretty much every night, but sometimes I feel like we have a hard time involving the kids in discussion without it devolving into talk about video games or me nitpicking their manners. I am definitely going to try this!
I’ll be featuring this on Friday!
Thanks for sharing at Family Fun Friday!
Monica
http://happyandblessedhome.com
We always have family dinner, but I’m excited about the idea of a conversation starter jar. Yay! Thanks!
We don’t have TV, so that’s not a problem, but we do tend to stick our noses in books rather than talking. I like the jar idea.
Stopping by from The Better Mom link-up
I am sold. This is what I want for my birthday this year. You provide the sticks and questions and I will provide the jar.
Love Dad
This is a great idea! I have popsicle sticks in the craft bin. I will be pulling them out and making this up at nap time today!
Yay!! I’m so glad you found it useful!
I might have to steal that idea. We do the same thing with TV shows, and some nights, I just want to sit at the table and enjoy my family.
It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who falls back on the tv during dinner! I feel like we’re good friends now. 🙂
Wonderful post! I love this idea….. We most of the time sit at the table together….. But once a week we have order in movie night and that’s on Saturday’s:) Our family enjoy’s movie night…. They would like it more if we watched T.V…. But like you said it’s a nice time where everyone is in the same room and that don’t happen much lol so it’s nice to bond and grow with eachother!:)
I’m going to take your idea for tonight:)
I love that idea – movie night once a week. I’m gonna steal that!! 😉
we do this too, but I downloaded them from howdoesshe.com, and it has helped in our household, TV normally stays off. Then there are some weekdays and weekends we do it in front of the TV.
Yes, I used that website too! Love it!