Table Time Talk: IT doesn't have to be about the food!

Words are powerful, especially when you share your table with a picky or selective eater. Although it may seem logical to discuss the food on the table, mealtimes are not the place to make food the topic of conversation.



Some ground rules:

 Avoid sentences that start with “Have some...” “Just try...” “Why aren’t you...”. Instead, keep these two phrases handy. “You can choose from anything that’s on the table,” and “You don’t have to eat.” And then move on to ...

What CAN we talk about?

Fortunately, this is a much longer list.

1. Catch Up and Share: “How was your day?” “What wonderful things happened today at school?” “Who did you play with at recess?” “What was your favourite part of the day?” Open ended questions may not give you many more words than ‘yes’ or ‘no’, but it will get a conversation started and give your child a chance to share something about their day.
   
   
2. Laughter Goes With Everything: “Knock knock.. Who’s there?” “A funny thing happened at work today” “When you were little, you had this funny word for ‘elephant’” “I heard a funny story on the way home...” You can also find the humour in the moment. Having a good sense of humour keeps us from taking life too seriously, and is an admirable social skill.
   
   
3. Learn Something: “How many countries celebrate Christmas in the summer?” “How many national capitals can you name?” “How do you say thank you in Spanish? German? French? Japanese?” Turn learning into a game show with laughter as you help your child with homework, prepare for a future family vacation, or just general knowledge.
   
   
4. Now Playing: “Remember that scene when...,” “I saw a preview for...,” “My favourite part was...” Movies are great for conversation – they often lead to topics to learn about, they are usually humorous, and have fantastic discussion potential. “Why do you think he said that?” “What would you have done instead?” “Do you think that could really happen?”  Answers to these questions give parents unique insight into how their young table companion sees their world.
   
   

Meals are more about who is seated at the table and less about what’s on it. What do you talk about?


Learn more about how to NOT talk about food at the table...

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Skye Van Zetten is the founder and author of the award winning blog, Mealtime Hostage. She writes about her son's journey toward competent eating and information about Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. She also supports parents of feeding challenged children around the world through her parent to parent group, Mealtime Hostage,  on Facebook. 

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