So much of life’s magic happens around the dinner table. I’ve compiled 100 Family Conversation Starters to help bring laughter, reflection, and ignite lively conversations to your quality time together. Perfect for trips, dinner tables, car rides, and more!
As a dietitian and mom, I strongly believe in the power of family mealtimes. Eating home cooked food with others are two of the most important things we can do to nourish ourselves and teach our children about healthy eating. Even if you don’t have kids, enjoying your meals in the company of others can have a tremendous positive impact on your health and quality of life.
Here are some stats that may surprise you! Anne Fishel, executive director of the Family Dinner Project said it best in this edition of the Harvard Ed Cast:
“There have been more than 20 years of dozens of studies that document that family dinners are great for the body, the physical health, the brains and academic performance, and the spirit or the mental health, and in terms [of] nutrition, cardiovascular health is better in teens, there’s lower fat and sugar and salt in home-cooked meals even if you don’t try that hard, there’s more fruit, and fiber, and vegetables, and protein in home-cooked meals, and lower calories. Kids who grow up having family dinners, when they’re on their own, tend to eat more healthily and to have lower rates of obesity.
Then the mental health benefits are just incredible. Regular family dinners are associated with lower rates of depression, and anxiety, and substance abuse, and eating disorders, and tobacco use, and early teenage pregnancy, and higher rates of resilience and higher self-esteem.”
Make Family Meals More Engaging
You can head to this blog to learn more about my dietitian’s perspective on family mealtimes and some tips for success, but one of the best ways to keep dinner fun and engaging is through something like a conversation starter jar where you take turns pulling out and answering at the table. Giggles make dinners more fun – that’s a fact!
Free Family Conversation Starters
Download, print and cut out your free 100 Family Conversation Starters below to help bring some lively conversations to your next meal, trip, or car rides together!
