Fun Family Conversation

Have you ever had a less than enjoyable dinnertime experience? If you have young children, chances are that you have. It seems that dinnertime, instead of being a fun, enjoyable time when you talk about your day, can often turn into a stress filled, can't wait to push away from the table, time!

With sibling rivalry, broccoli, and gagging on rice, our dinnertime experience had been less than peaceful lately. In frustration and desperation, I called my Pastor and asked for some advice. He explained to me that I ought to target the dinner conversation on a specific topic and keep it going throughout the meal time. This topic can be anything, so long as it is education, motivational, or constructive. Sound easy?

Well I jumped right in and we had a blast. I decided the first night to challenge my children to give Bible character's name for every letter of the alphabet. Now some of those are easier than others! I have an eight year old, a four year old, and a two year old. We were having so much fun that my wife and I started taking turns as well! We did alright for a while. I was actually pleased and surprised at how many Bible names my children knew!

The trouble came when we arrived at the letter "y". We were all stumped. I could not think of one Bible character whose name started with "y". If you know of one please comment and let me know!

Well, we were just about to give up when my four year old son, who is in kindergarten and just learning his letters, piped up. "I know a name Dad! The Wise Men!" (Pronounced phonetically "Y'z men"! Pretty good for a kid huh! He searched his little brain for Bible names that started with Y and came up with Y'z men.

In the process of this game, my children had eaten their meal, and we had not had one argument or disagreement. Additionally we had expanded our Bible knowledge. It beat fighting!

I share this story because perhaps you are frustrated with your dinner time activity. Why not try giving the conversation a targeted subject and see where it goes? You could make it anything! The point is, it is purposeful conversation. We have enjoyed it. I would love to hear about your experiences as well!