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Trying to Start a Conversation? Try Talking About Food

It may be hard to believe when your children are young and chatty—but there just might come a day when you will be trying to find safe topics of conversation. You will be searching for ways to communicate and things you can talk about with your pre-teen or adolescent that does not end up in a power struggle or a fight. Even older elementary-age kids may get it into the routine of answering “fine” when you ask them how their day went. I have learned that one of the safest and easiest conversation starters is to start talking about food—who doesn’t like to talk about food?

I started using food conversations years ago as a way to engage my kids when they came back from spending time with their dad. Instead of asking them “how things went?” or some other more general question, I started asking, “What was the best meal you had at your dad’s house?” or “Did you go out to dinner while you were there?” Or “What did you have for breakfast?” These were safe topics and they generally got the conversation started right away.

My kids and I still have a tendency to use food as a way of talking about dates, vacations, spending time at someone else’s house, or even what we did over the weekend. Comparing notes on some great or horrible dishes we ate, what new food product we’ve discovered, or what favorite local fruit or vegetable is finally in season is a way of immediately connecting and having stress-free (and often very fun and affectionate) conversations with each other. I have found that bringing up food is a great way to distract a younger child too if you are trying to wait in line or keep someone from getting too crabby while in the car or at something less-than-fun.

See Also the FOOD Blog