The Family Dinner: Table Talk

Last night we had a really nice Family Dinner Moment. It actually started before dinner hit the table, while I was slicing some zucchini for grilling (one of my all time favourite things....). My little gal climbed up on the counter and started to chat. That's right, she chatted. I heard all about her day and gymnastics and a few things she remembered about our old house. It was nice.

When did this happen? When did we start having conversations? Thinking about it, I realized that there had been months and months of lead up to this talk....

Months where I made "angry", "happy", "sad" and "surprised" faces, giving names to my (and her) emotions.

Months where I asked the question "what made you happy today?"...and then answered the question myself.

And, of course, there were the months where I listened as carefully as I could, just trying to make sense of her new words.

For us, family dinners have long been about finding time to connect with each other and, slowly, these dinners are becoming a space where we learn to communicate with each other as well.

We often play games that encourage conversation. Games like: "Best/Worst" where everyone has to say the best and worst parts of their day, or we pick an emotion like "surprise" and everyone has to think of something that surprised them that day.

These simple games are fun and funny and an amazing way to gain insight into those quickly-growing-working-overtime kid brains. Plus, I just love hearing Winnie yell out "Da TRAMPOLINE was da best!"

On the flip side, we also hear about who pulled whose hair at the babysitters and we're able to talk about conflict and resolution....as best we know how?!

For the most part, Jamie and I are still doing all of the talking......but the little chit chat I had with Winnie last night leads me to believe that, from our efforts, our little one is mastering the art of conversation. Hopefully, if we persevere, the lines of communication will remain open as our children grow and the topics of discussion become more complex.

{Our games are simple because our babes are so young. For those with older children, The Huffington Post via The Family Dinner website, posts a topic based on one of the most interesting stories in the media that week to spark discussions at your table. Recent topics? The Royal Wedding, What if you were the boss?, Food Dye Safety...and more! Click HERE for more info!}

How do you open the lines of communication in your house?