Developed by HRI Program Coordinator, Camila Dos Santos, M.Ed.
Taking time to have intentional conversations at the dinner table can be an effective way to connect with one another in a natural way. It is human nature to open up more when we are focusing on another task, such as eating, so the dinner table can be a great place to effectively talk about both strengths and issues in relationships or families!
Some questions to help you get the conversation going at dinner can include:
- Is there anything you need to talk about today?
- What was the best part of your day? The worst?
- If you could re-do anything from today, what would it be?
- What was something funny that you saw or heard today?
- What did you learn today?
Add a little fun to your dinner table discussions by placing a jar at the table and asking each family member to submit 2-3 questions. Then, allow each person to randomly pick a question to answer or ask.
If your family does not typically eat together at the dinner table, you can start by setting a goal to eat together once a week. Once you start to feel the benefits of intentional conversation in a comfortable setting like the dinner table, you may find that you’ll want to do it more often!