When some are yawning, some are looking sleepy, or someone just had a bad day at school, bring out smiles instead by having games during family dinner!

What you need:

• The whole brood, preferably with kids age 4 – 12, but tweeners are welcome too! 
• Simple game suggestions that’s discussed below,
• A minimum of extra 60 minutes during meal time,
• And of course, lots of laugh and that handy camera.

Having fun during meal times has lots of advantages not just for the grown-ups, but for everyone:

• Simple – No special set-up or tedious advance planning. While at the dinner table, you can have the games. And grab a few munches every so often too.
• A lot to learn – There are games that would need thinking, strategy, and other mind skills to be able to play. Learning while having fun is always a knockout!
• It can loosen up some tension-filled moments at the dinner table. From playing games, you can jump off from here to a more open and candid discussion if there is anything you want to talk about.
• Better eating habits – Because with some games, the kids may be ‘tricked’ or rather, ‘asked’ to eat their vegetables or finish the meal – a sure way to make everyone happy.
• Great memories – Family memories should be filled up with moments like these – laughter, meals and togetherness.

Game on!

Putting a twist to Odd One Out

• Assign a lead to count to three
• At the count of 3, have everyone put their fist up to the center of the table.
• Their thumb should be either up or down.
• The odd one (the one with thumbs down when everyone else is thumbs up, and vice versa), as a consequence, must finish his glass of milk or water, or finish his vegetables.
• If everyone has the same thumb position, make the lead count to three again and then start over.
• It’s a creative way to make your child eat and actually finish his meal or drink.
• Or for more bonding moments, ask the odd one out to kiss the person to his right. Instant kisses right on the dinner table.

The Color Game

• On round robin, have the first family member mention a color.
• For example, if the person says green, everyone must think of a food that’s color green (there’s lettuce, apple, pesto, and on and on…)
• After a time limit of around 20 - 30 seconds (or it depends whatever time limit you want), have another family member mention a color.
• The sillier the color is, the more fun it’ll be. Try color pink - maybe bubble gum would be the first one to be mentioned. 

 Dinners can be made more fun. If you’ve always had the TV or radio around while having dinner, it is a lot better to have these games to promote family togetherness, support, and light, happy moments around the dinner table.