10 dinner table conversations for your family

It can be hard to tear kids away from their video games, cell phones, and computers and get them to just engage in conversation, especially if it’s with their parents! The older they get, the easier it is for them to immerse themselves in texting and social media conversations rather than sharing feelings and stories with their parents at home.

Here are ten dinner table conversations or topics to share with your family instead of staring at phones!

1. If you were going to create one invention, what would it be? Do you want to create a jet pack that will fly you to school every day? A teleporter that can transport you to anywhere in the world in seconds? An app that does your homework? What invention would you like to create?
2. Who is the smartest person you know and why? Are they book smart? Do they just know a lot about people? Are they willing to always help and learn, even if they might not always know the answer? This could also lead to a conversation about what it means to be smart. Does being smart always have to performing well at school, or could it be something else entirely?
3. Ask your kids to imagine that they are now 35 years old. What does their life look like? What do they do for a living? Are they married? Where do they live? What kinds of things have they accomplished?
4. Talk about whether the people around you, be it co-workers, friends, or teachers, know that you’re a Christian. When kids come to camp or go to church, they are surrounded by people who share their beliefs and values. However, when they are at school or at work, are they as open about what they believe? What are ways they could share or demonstrate their faith at school?
5. Set a goal for the next day. What do you want to accomplish or do? Maybe it’s only hitting the snooze button one time in the morning. Maybe it’s actually using study hall to study. Maybe it’s cleaning your room or making a happy birthday card for a friend or being more assertive at soccer practice. Have everyone set a goal, and then talk about whether or not you reached them at your next meal together.
6. Create a new pizza topping or ice cream flavor. What sounds good? What about pork and beans pizza or barbeque ice cream? What would you create?
7. Share a favorite memory from a trip or family vacation or event. What happened and what made it memorable?
8. Pretend that your family has decided to be one of the first to go to set up a colony on the moon. What kinds of things will you bring with you and why? What will be the best part of living on the moon? What will you miss from earth?
9. Share prayer requests with each other. What would you like your family to pray for you about? If you have time, take a moment after the meal to pray with and for each other.
10. If you could “go pro” at any one thing, what would it be? Maybe you want to be a professional football or baseball player, or maybe you want to be an American Ninja Warrior, a world class chess player, a famous cellist, or an award-winning jump roper.