Sometimes it seems impossible to do dinner with your family! I don’t know about you, but sometimes it feels like we are “just surviving” dinner. The kids don’t like to sit down or sit still.
It’s a constant battle of getting them to eat and making them sit down for a few seconds. I know they are capable of this because I’ve seen them sit very still and slaughter a whole bowl of ice cream.
That’s exactly why I’m sharing these simple and fun family dinner table conversation games and activities. You can use these ideas and soon enough everyone will start enjoying dinner as a family again.
How To Get Your Kids To Stay Seated At The Dinner Table
I am always trying to get my kids to try different foods, and of course eat their vegetables. Some nights it is just not a fight I am willing to have. Those nights usually result in eating cereal. But that’s another subject for another time.
Most of the time I’m trying to get them to eat what I made. In my house growing up the rule was we ate whatever my dad ate, and let me tell ya he ate everything! Except liver. I have been trying to eat healthier lately, so as a result, my kids are too. I haven’t done the best job introducing them to all kinds of vegetables at a young age.
I mean they will eat carrots, celery, broccoli, etc. But lately we’ve been trying butternut squash, zucchini, and all kinds of peppers. Let me tell ya, it ain’t easy, but I’m hoping its worth it.
Trying to get them to eat healthy coupled with trying to get them to stay seated at the dinner table makes for hard work. I think one thing that can make dinner time easier is by making it fun or making it something kids can look forward to.
I believe that dinner time can be a guaranteed family time every day. It’s a great time to bond and spend time together. When you look at it like that, dinner time can be an amazing thing.
With that said, I have started doing and researching dinner table conversation games and activities to do with kids. I wanted to make dinner time easier on me and more meaningful as a family. Here is a great list of ideas to make dinner easier and more meaningful in your life.
Family Dinner Table Conversation Games & Questions
Let’s start by discussing all the activities that are focused on great conversation. Here’s my list of dinner table conversation games you can play with your kids.
Would You Rather
My daughter and I love doing and making up would you rather questions. This is a common activity whenever we are bored. This is a great activity for the dinner table as well. For some help to make this activity easier, you can grab these printable Would You Rather kid questions. Just download the sheet, put the questions in a jar, and pull out at dinner time.
Questions For Kids
Instead of doing specific would you rather questions, you could ask good questions to get your kids talking. Kids don’t usually like to be questioned. But, if you are asking the right questions, you will probably get a rise out of them. Here is a great list of questions for kids.
Word Games
Play a word game. This is especially helpful for young kids in grade school. You could go around the table saying words that rhyme, words that start with a certain letter, words that are compound words, or words that sound the same but are spelled differently.
Compliments Game
Everyone could compliment each other. You could either draw names from a jar to see who you should compliment or just go around the table with each persons name. This is a great bonding activity for families.
Talk About Past Experiences
Ask questions to the kids about things that have happened as a family. You could start with remember when we…
It usually reminds everyone of other memories too and then the whole family starts talking. This is a great way to bond.
Roses And Thorns
This is something that I do with my daughter before bed every night. You ask your kids what their favorite thing was about their day or their rose. Then ask what their least favorite thing was or their thorn.
Then you ask what they are looking forward to most tomorrow. Go around the table and have everyone give their answer.
Make Lists
Do lists. An example of this would be picking a category like cereal. Now go around the table and have everyone say a different cereal. Go around until no one can think of any more cereals, then start the next list.
Family Dinner Table Activities (Some Might Even Lead To Great Conversation Too)
Instead of activities that are focused on conversation, there are other things you can do at the dinner table for fun and to keep your kids entertained. Here are some ideas.
Let Them Help
Most of the time kids like to help. Usually if they are part of the preparation for things, they get more excited about it and more involved.
Let them help make the dinner or even decide the dinner. You could also let them set the table. Make it a game for them.
Remove An Item
Play a game where you have everyone close their eyes, then one person opens their eyes and chooses an item to remove from the table and hides it. Everyone opens their eyes and tries to figure out what item is missing. You could also make your kids eat their dinner by having them take a bite in between turns or before their turn.
Coloring
Coloring is a hard one because it can become too distracting, but you could have a paper tablecloth one night and let them color on the table. You would definitely be considered the “fun mom”.
You could also get a coloring place mat. It could be different every night, or you could have a selected coloring day. You can check out the Thanksgiving color mats and the Valentine’s color mats in my shop. I also have an inspirational coloring book for kids.
You can get it FREE here:
Freeze Dinner
While you are eating dinner, silently select someone to freeze randomly. See how long it takes for the others to notice that they aren’t moving.
Dice Game
Play a dice game by having the first person roll the dice. Whatever number it lands on they have to eat that many bites of veggies, or whatever else they are eating. You could also do this with how many times they take a drink or compliment their neighbor. The possibilities are endless.
Dinner Bingo
Create a bingo card that is best suited for your family, or download this Kid’s dinner bingo card in my shop. You could write down things you always say or talk about, the dishes you use, or the things you usually have sitting around the table or kitchen.
If someone says or sees one of those things, they cross it off. Once someone has bingo, they win!
Odd Utensils
Use odd utensils to eat dinner instead of just the regular fork and spoon. Put some of your kitchen tools in a bowl and have each family member “draw” one out. They have to use the one to eat their dinner.
I Spy
There is the classic I spy game!
Telephone
There is also the classic game of telephone. But be careful, you don’t want food in your ear, haha 😉
It’s your turn! Try out the family dinner table conversation games and activities above and let me know how it goes.
Dinner time really can be a good bonding and fun time together. If your kids struggle to eat their food, you could always make a game of it by asking them to take bites in between turns or rounds of a game. Hopefully their mind is so focused on the game that they don’t care what they’re eating.
Good luck, and I hope you enjoy some dinner table activities with your family!
Other family activity articles you might interested in:
- 10 Minute Family Activities That Require No Prep Work
- 9 Simple Activities For Getting The Wiggles Out Of Kids
- 32 Best Road Trip Car Activities For Toddlers
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