“Mom, what’s for dinner?”
I’ve heard it a number of times from my own children. As a parent, I’m sure you have too.
With our busy lives and busy schedules, fighting rush hour traffic to get home only to rush little Billy off to soccer practice or little Suzie off to ballet … When was the last time you actually took time to sit down for dinner?
You don’t have to do it all alone. Empowered your children to lend a helping hand and become involved in planning, preparing, participating and cleaning up at dinner time. You can participate as well with some of the following ideas to get you started:
- Plan Ahead – Ask your kids what they like, what they don’t like, and what they want more of. Try to add new things every week. Encourage your young readers to look at cook books or safe internet sites. Make a list of what you will need to buy when you go to the store.
- Assign Tasks – Get them involved in the preparation with age appropriate jobs with which each member can help. Include setting and clearing the table.
- Create a Theme – Come up with fun ideas to make the table fun such as wild animals, superheroes, or bible stories. Have different napkins or plates to set out. Add plastic animals or Superheroes at the table. Be creative!
- No Distractions (that means Mom and Dad too) – Get a basket or decorative container that fits the phones and electronics to put them in the “silent zone” during dinner. Turn off the TV, and play some music instead. Let the kids know that this time is as important to you as it is to them.
- Create Conversation – Talk to your kids find out what is going on in their lives. What are they interested in? What exciting things are they doing in class? Stumped with what questions to ask? Click here to download some table conversation starter cards. Find some great conversation starter ideas on Pinterest and other kid safe sites on the internet. Creating a conversation ritual is very important to establishing a foundation of trust and open dialogue with your family. The dinner table is a great place to create this bond.
Grow great kids by promoting the family dinner, and to strengthen families by bringing the homemade meal back to the dinner table. Need ideas? Dream Dinners helps by providing a solution to shopping, chopping, and prepping meals so that dinnertime can be stress free at home.
Bring the kids together at the dinner table, and make it an event they look forward to in the evenings. #MakeMealtimeMatter
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Marsi Haney is the co-owner and General Manager of the La Mesa Dream Dinners Store. She lives in San Diego with her husband of 18 years, John, and their two children. Join me and my family, Marsi, and Dream Dinners for their San Diego Fight Against Hunger meal packing event on Sunday, November 27, 2016. It’s a great event for families to have fun together and give back to our community, locally and globally. Read more about it.
