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Can't Wait for Dinner
Making Family Mealtime Fun for All
By Amy Dingmann
Even older babies and toddlers can join in the fun by banging around with pots and pans while their parents put a meal together. Give them utensils similar to what you're using to cook supper and let them "help" from their highchair.
Let your children use their artwork to create placemats for the family. Family photo collages also work well for this. You can have your homemade placemats laminated at any office supply store so they will last longer. Children can also create a tablecloth from a bed sheet or other piece of fabric and fabric paint or markers.
Let each person be in control of mealtime once a month, perhaps on the same date as their birthday. Let them choose the menu, how to set the table, what dishes to use, what music to play in the background or how to say grace.
Playing "Penny Under the Plate" can easily become a family favorite. Whoever is in charge of setting the table hides a penny under someone's plate – a different plate each night. The person who finds the penny under their plate before eating becomes the star, which can mean different things for each family. They can be the first to eat dessert, be excused from an after dinner chore, first to start the dinnertime conversation or whatever special honor you would like to bestow upon them.
A great way to get dinnertime conversations rolling is to play the high-low game. Each person at the table gets a chance to talk about the highpoint of their day as well as the low point. It's a great way to find out what's going on in your children's lives, as well as their perspective on how the day has gone.
Another suggestion is to use a bowl of "dinnerime questions" as your supper centerpiece. During the course of dinner, each family member can choose a question from the bowl to answer and discuss with the rest of the family. Questions such as "If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?" and "Name one thing you'd like to accomplish before the end of this month," are sure to get mouths moving!
