The food has been cooked; the table is set, your family is at the table – now what? Well, of course, it is time to eat, but what is spoken during meal time is more important than you realize. Meal times may be one of the few times during the week your family is able to come together and spend time together. The conversations that occur during meal time can contribute to the overall relationships and interactions within the family. And positive conversations during meal time will lead to the desire for future family meals. Family meals are not only impactful to relationships, but research has also shown they can offer other benefits such as contribute to a healthier weight status, lead to more nutritionally balanced meal and snack intake, and create a healthier relationship with food.
Let’s explore some guidelines for your family to explore during meal conversations.
1. Create the perfect environment. You want to make sure that distractions are not a barrier to communication during a family meal. Typically you will need to turn the television off, keep the laptops away, and put the smart phones aside. Having background music such as classical or jazz can help create a calm and relaxed atmosphere.
2. Keep it positive. Family meals are an excellent time to share funny stories, accomplishments, or other recent positive happenings. Family meals are not the appropriate time to discuss unpleasant or stressful situations. Remember you want to create a tradition that is enjoyed by all.
3. Allow everyone to speak. Some families may be composed of varied types of talkers – some members may be more talkative than others. From toddlers to older adults every person present at the meal should be encouraged to speak. Keep in mind that some members may take longer to articulate their thoughts and what they want to share. You may consider going around the table and rotating who is speaking.
4. Acknowledge different opinions. Everyone present at the meal does not have to form or express the same opinion. The meal should not be a time to display criticism or mockery among family members. Although everyone may not agree – it is important that everyone’s opinions are respected.
5. Discuss future family plans. Family meals are possibly the only time that a majority of the family is together. Future family trips or upcoming events can be discussed.
6. Too much silence? To alleviate dull moments or awkward silences consider creating conversation cards. A member of the family can draw the topic card to determine the conversation discussed. Topics on the cards should be relatively light-hearted. Possible topics could include: “Something good that happened today”, “If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be?”, or “If you were an ice cream flavor which one would you be?”.
Happy meal conversations!
-360FN