by Garden Gerty

Created on: August 28, 2008

Extending the family dinner with fun activities.

For the last few years I was at home, I do not remember being able to eat a family dinner. We could not even sit around the table, due to clutter. When a meal was ready, we loaded our plates and ate in front of the television.That was not what I wanted for my family, and that is not what we had as an experience.

I have two children, and their dad traveled.It was just the three of us most of the time. We made the meals together and enjoyed them together.Cooking together makes eating together more fun. I did accuse the kiddos of being vultures, when they were just the right size that their eyes and nose were almost in the food we made.Even today we use our made up word "vulturing" when we talk about watching closely when someone works. The word gave them a visual image and a laugh. It made the proprietors of the conversation as well.
One of the things I discovered, being on my own,eating with the kids, was the magic of reading at the table. I would often finish eating before my kids did, and that is when we learned the fascination of Tolkien, and other favorite fantasy fiction.It was my way of squelching sibling spats. I would read at first, then as they finished, the children would take a turn reading.That was my simplest solution to having us share time. Of course it was made easier because I did not allow a television on the same living level as the dining room and kitchen. Since these were the habits we started with when they were babies, these are the things they expected, and respected when they were older kids.
Just a word about babies: They want to be with you. You can name the colors of their food, talk about the textures.Play peek a boo. They are part of the family, just like the older kids. It is important that everyone be included, so that everyone has fun. My daughter has place mats for her toddler with colors and shapes on them. Having an attractive and engaging environment makes a meal fun. Your good dishes are not too good for your family. Using the good stuff lets them know they are special.
My children love to tell jokes, so that was a lot of our evening conversation. We talked about their school activities, and programs. Since we did not have television to distract, we talked to each other. They also came up with their own games.
One of my favorite, fun educational things that my kids began to do was what we would call the "Label game". If there was a product on the table, like barbecue sauce,

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