Great Conversation Starters / Topics at the Dinner Table with Our Children and Loved Ones

It has been my privilege for the past three decades serving and working with children, young people and their parents.  Very often parents would complain to me about their lack of conversations at the dinner table despite their efforts.  Parents seem to ask their children the same questions each day and the conversations do not go anywhere.

A typical dinner table conversation:

Parent " How was your day?"
Child   " OK."

Parent " What did you learn in school today?"
Child, shrugging his/her shoulder replies" Nothing."

Then the family eats in silence.

Many parents have told me that they desire to communicate more with their children. However, they seem to run out of topics talking with them.

I have learned something recently and would like to share with parents and give them a couple of ideas for their dinner conversations at home.

I listened to a CBC radio news story sometime ago about an American company called Life is Good. The founders of the Life is Good company started its business selling t-shirts printed with optimistic messages. The company later grew and expanded to selling other apparel accessory items and reached its 100 million dollar sales in 2007.

Though life was not easy for the founders of the Life is Good company, Bert Jacobs and his brother when they were young, their mother always asked them to talk about one topic at the dinner table - one good thing of the day. From these discussions, they shared some good ideas and laughter.

The host of the radio show encouraged listeners to call in and share their conversation topics with the audiences.

One caller shared her conversation topic with her children. She called it the ROSE TALK.
Using the ROSE as the subject matter, she would start her family dinner conversations by asking her children to talk about the following:

1. The Flower - share 1 thing that went well that day

2. The thorn - share the challenge of the day or 1 thing that she/ he wished has gone better that day

3. The Bud - share 1 things he/ she is looking forward to the next day or in the near future


She said that her family always talks around these topics and have had many great sharing.


Yes, I agree, the above are great conversation starters at the dinner table. I hope that parents would try them with their children and loved ones!

R.T.
Toronto
Photo credit - Google Search