Dinner Ice Breakers

One of the obstacles to a great family dinner these days, is breaking the ice.  We all have such independent lives, it seems that when we sit down together, there is precious  little to say to each other and it can be awkward.  This goes away eventually, but can be a stumbling block to future dinners together.  We made the decision to sit down together for the family time and because I had seen a study showing how much more is ingested when eating and watching TV.  At first it was a lot of small talk about the day and questions  with our much enthusiasm predominated the conversation.  I decided to find ways to break the ice and get us talking.  One of our favorites was to read an Encyclopedia Brown mystery.  My husband or I will read a case (they are short and quick) while my son is setting the table or just after we sit down to eat.  After the case is read, we ask questions of each other and discuss the possible solutions.  When the meal is almost over we read the solution and see who was right. We like puzzles and mysteries, so this was a great fit.  You can tailor this to your family's interests easily. Anything short that can be read and provoke a discussion will work great.  My personal favorite is the ingredient guessing game.  As I am the one who has made the food, and if it is a new recipe, I ask my son and husband to guess what is in the dish.  We always start with the boy, and they take turns guessing what is in the dish.  Every right answer is a point and the one with the most points wins.  (it is almost always the boy:)  It is fun and helps develop the sense of taste and trains us to think about what is going in to our mouths instead of shoveling it in.  Anyone can play.  Soon conversation became easier.  We have also added an occasional after dinner board game.  Discussion of what to play also helps get the talking started.  Now we don't need the gimmicks to get us talking.  We have things in common that we had lost through our busy schedules.  It had made our mealtimes great and helped us come together as a family.  I can't imagine not doing in now.