As parents, we take steps to improve our children's experience. We seek ways to improve their health, their academics, and their well-being. Research suggests that children who take part in family meals eat more healthy food, have greater academic achievement, less delinquency and improved psychological well-being. When it comes to drugs and alcohol, teens that have frequent family dinners are less likely to use tobacco, alcohol and marijuana. (CASA Columbia)

Family dinner is more than sitting at a table consuming food. It is a time for sharing - sharing a meal and sharing stories about one's day. Taking the time to interact with one another, without the distraction of cell phones, computers and other electronics is an important life skill. Engaging children in conversation and problem solving enhances developing social skills, and dinnertime provides the ideal opportunity for these skills to be utilized.

Conversation Starters

While many families ask children to tell key events from the day at school while seated at the dinner table, at times it can be a challenge to extract conversation. Here are a couple tried and true techniques to keep conversation flowing:

• Two Truths and a Tale: Each person tells three things about their day, one of which is untrue. The others guess which items are facts and which is the fiction. This is a great way to practice story- telling and listening to details.
• Highs and Lows: Share one, two or three of the best, and worst, things that happened that day. This is a nice option to use at meals when time is short.