DINNERTIME CONVERSATIONS

5 Types of Questions to Get the Discussion Started

Family:Story:Legacy

Take it from a dad who has seen the number of family dinner conversations diminish significantly over the last couple of years, you’ll want to make the most of them while you still can.

Family Dinner Conversations: 5 Types of Questions-- The full post at www.familystorylegacy.com

* What’s for supper? * How long until dinner’s ready?* May I chicken nuggets instead? * Can we watch TV during dinner?

Typical Dinnertime Questions

5 Types of Questions to Get the Conversation

Flowing

Ask Better Questions

1. The Daily Grind QuestionsTip:

Don’t get so caught up in one person’s day that you neglect to include everyone in this daily wrap-up.

These are the “How was your day?” type questions.  Sure, many of you will ask how your children’s days went, and all you will get in response is “Fine.”  Press a little but not too much.

2. The Near Future QuestionsTip: Pay attention to mentions of upcoming projects, papers, and changes to the regular schedules. Near Future Questions can help you avert disaster later in the week.

What does the rest of the week hold for each member of your family? 

3. Current Events Questions

Tip: Ask your children their perceptions about news events at an age-appropriate level. 

Talk about what’s going on in the world — in your home, at school, locally and globally. These questions will help you see the world from your children’s perspectives and help them to develop a healthy worldview as you guide them through how you view current events.

4. Thought-Provoking QuestionsTip: Be careful to keep your questions age-appropriate.  What is normal conversation for your teenagers may not be for your seven-year old.  The purpose of family dinner conversations is to involve every member of the family.

These can be some of the most fun questions your family can discuss together.  Ask a creative hypothetical question and see where they go with it.  If you pay attention to their answers, you will learn about your children’s attitudes and unique views of life. 

Example: If you had a million dollars and only a year to spend it, how would you spend it?

5. Family Legacy QuestionsTip: Make sure these conversations don’t turn into opportunities for older children to tease their younger siblings.  Affirm your kids by telling them why some of your memories of them are so precious to you.  Affirm the values that you hold high by the stories that you tell…and re-tell.

Tell the family stories…and re-tell them.  Ask your children questions about their perceptions of these stories when they were happening.  Ask them what they learned from different experiences.  Ask what I call “remember the time” questions so that you don’t lose those funny moments, those moments of discovery, those coming of age moments, and so forth.  Help your kids make sense of their childhood in the context of your family life.

DON’T GET DISCOURAGED BY

MUMBLED ANSWERS AND

GENERAL DISENGAGEMENT

AROUND THE TABLE. GET

STARTED AND STICK WITH FAMILY

DINNER CONVERSATIONS. THEY

ARE WORTH IT.

Why not tonight?

Building family legacies through the stories we tell…and re-tell.

Family:Story:Legacy