Story Games for Your Table

May 16, 2012  |
• by The Family Dinner


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As we say, dinner is as much about the conversation as it is about healthy, delicious food. But it’s not always easy for families to open up and talk to each other. That’s where table games come in.

Remember, it’s not always necessary to have deep, revealing conversations with each other. Just talk, about anything, and have fun! Here are a couple of story game suggestions to get your table talking:

HuffPost Table Talk: How One Teenager Took A Stand For Change

May 11, 2012  |
• by The Family Dinner


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On Fridays, The Huffington Post presents a compelling topic to spark discussion at your dinner table.

Open a copy of almost any fashion magazine, and you’ll come face-to-face with beautiful men and women (or girls and boys) in trendy clothes. Chances are they don’t look a lot like you and your friends. Many people see these photos and feel bad about themselves, wondering: How can anybody look this perfect?

Maine teenager Julia Bluhm felt bad when she saw these pictures, too -– so she decided to fight back. She took a stand by writing a petition addressed to the editor of “Seventeen.”

Visit The Huffington Post for more on Julia Bluhm’s efforts to get magazines to publish realistic photos of young people, because as she comments, “Nobody’s Photoshopped in real life.” And be sure to share the Questions for Discussion with your kids at the dinner table.

Table Talk: The Importance of Reading

May 04, 2012  |
• by The Family Dinner


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On Fridays, The Huffington Post presents a compelling topic to spark discussion at your dinner table.

A 2010 study conducted by Scholastic and Harrison Group found that “nine out of ten children say they are more likely to finish books they choose themselves” — and one of the goals of Denver-based Burning Through Pages (a non-profit that helps kids join book clubs in their communities, and buys the books for them) is to get kids to read books they might not normally read in school. As BTP says: “It’s not what you read that’s important to us, it’s that you enjoy whatever it is that keeps you burning through the pages.”

Many parents today think their children are spending too much time texting or surfing the Internet, and not enough time reading. The same 2010 Scholastic/Harrison Group study confirmed some parents’ fears by reporting that “the time kids spend reading declines while the time kids spend going online … and using [cell phones] increases.” (It also reported that three-quarters of kids aged 9-17 agreed with the statement, “I know I should read more books for fun.”)

Visit The Huffington Post for more on the importance of reading and for discussion questions you can share with your kids at the dinner table.

Click here to subscribe to receive HuffPost Family Dinner Table Talks by email every Friday afternoon.

Table Talk: Eating Together Makes Us Happier And Healthier

April 27, 2012  |
• by The Family Dinner


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On Fridays, The Huffington Post presents a compelling topic to spark discussion at your dinner table.

We don’t need scientists to tell us that family dinners are good for the soul. But researchers can show us how eating family meals helps us to stay healthy. This week, scientists said that children whose families eat together often are more likely to eat healthier foods like fruits, veggies and vitamins. They’re also less likely to eat unhealthy foods. On top of this, eating at home usually costs less than getting takeout or eating at a restaurant. Triple win!

When parents and kids have busy schedules, it’s not always easy to meet for dinner as a family. But it’s important to do it as much as possible. Science is beginning to show what we knew all along: that the more we eat together, the happier –- and healthier -– we’ll be.

Visit The Huffington Post for more on the benefits of family dinner and for discussion questions you can share with your kids at the dinner table.

Click here to subscribe to receive HuffPost Family Dinner Table Talks by email every Friday afternoon.

Table Talk: Would You Ever Give Up Your Favorite Food?

April 13, 2012  |
• by The Family Dinner


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On Fridays, The Huffington Post presents a compelling topic to spark discussion at your dinner table.

What came first, big factory farms or the big debate about whether they should exist?

This week, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote about an undercover investigation of one of these farms. It’s a chicken factory, the type of place that produces 4.5 million eggs per day. They do this cheaply because they treat the chickens a little bit like machinery. Many writers and people who are passionate about animal rights have taken issue with these sorts of places. Often, for activists, it comes down to the cages. As Kristof learns, this farm keeps 11 chickens in a crate the size of an oven.

Where does the food you eat come from? Think about whether an investigation like this would ever make you change the way you pick your favorite meals.

Visit The Huffington Post for more on the issue of animal rights, and whether you would be willing to give up your favorite food.

Click here to subscribe to receive HuffPost Family Dinner Table Talks by email every Friday afternoon.