Interactive dinner table game for a preschooler?

[Pica]

Hello everybody!

We're challenged by our 3.5 DD not participating in dinner (not eating, not staying at or coming to the table). :

I recognize now that it's too boring & not fun enough for her - just sitting & talking & eating. She gets bored easily with eating. We sometimes play Jeopardy trivia questions during dinner, but obviously that's more for the adults!

I'm looking for a way to have a quiet, dinner-time suitable game to keep DD feeling involved & have her enjoy sitting at the dinner table & eating with us.

Anyone have any good ideas for special 'dinner games' we can use to make the situation enjoyable for all three of us?

TIA!

[boatbaby]

I'll be listening for ideas...

But here's a tidbit to consider...

When DS was about 2.5 I called my oldest brother in frustration and asked him at what age his daughter Katie started sitting at the table and eating with the family. She is almost 8.

My brother's answer:
"Hang on -- Hey Katie, Aunt Cindy wants to know when you're going to start sitting at the table and eating with the family without fuss. Can we aim for age 10?"

[Kiki Runs]

I can remember (as an older child) playing the "alphabet game" where we'd go around the table and say an animal (or name, or place, etc) that began with whatever letter was chosen, until no new animals could be named. I don't know how well that would translate to pre-school, sometimes my DS is able to play it w/beginning sounds (so intead of looking for animals beginning with the letter "B", we look for animals beginning with the "buh" sound - typing that out, there doesn't seem to be much of a difference, but in his mind I guess there is, lol).


Or maybe you could do something with counting, like the first person would eat one pea, then the next person would eat two peas, then the next person three peas, etc.


I don't know what your preschooler is up for... DS can handle both these games, and we're starting to count backwards, so he'll eat six green beans, then five, then four, etc. DS is also very into dinosaurs, so if we pretend to be dinos, or involve dinos in the game somehow, he'll usually join in.


I'm not much help... DS is a piddler and a fiddler, lol, so usually he just goofs around during the meal (quietly, at least, he used to sing LOUDLY) then I set the over timer for ten-ish minutes after everyone else has finished and whatever he's not eaten by that time gets removed (luckily, he does eat, so I'm not too worried about doing this - if he were the type of kid who'd just sit there and not eat, I'd have to do something else). I don't know why he can't just eat when everyone else does, but for whatever reason he won't. Kids are weird, lol.

[Terrilein]

Hmm, toddlers at the dinner table? Fascinating concept! If you really want him to sit at the table with you, then I'd rather try enticing him with a great dessert that he'll only get if he eats with the family at the table. And then I'd not make it mandatory for him to sit too long at the table. The important thing is to eat together, get his dessert and be on his merry way again. Maybe even get him to help you prepare the meal/dessert so that he can present it proudly to the rest of the family at the table.
I'm not up for dinner-table games in our house because my dd eats so little. We try keeping table talk to a minimum because otherwise she would be babbling while her food gets cold. As it is, when we're done, we'll sit a few more minutes and then clear the table, leaving her to finish her meal (not forcing her to eat, she just needs more time!). If we were to play games, she'd never be done! So we try modeling behavior by eating (not scarfing), keeping talk to a minimum and then clearing the table. We take our time, but if she's not done, then she has to eat alone. We don't want to sit and watch her dawdle over every bite.

[alegna]

How long is "dinner time"? I think that's the key. 90% of the time dd is willing to "do dinner" with us. But it NEVER takes more than 15 minutes.

-Angela

[mammastar2]

Tell silly stories where each of you gets to add a sentence. E.g. you start with "One day, a big furry polka dot monster got up, looked out the window and thought..." Then you go round the table.

There's I Spy, but I personally consider it torture.

[Pica]

Thanks for the suggestions! I like the alphabet game & the story telling.

I might try some sort of picture bingo (if I can find a small version to fit at the table!) or something.

Conversation while eating is no problem for DD (if she eats , she does very well with the play, eat, play, eat routine. I'm just trying to make it easier for me so I don't have to keep dreaming stuff up! (I'm not very imaginative when hungry )

Originally Posted by alegna

How long is "dinner time"? I think that's the key. 90% of the time dd is willing to "do dinner" with us. But it NEVER takes more than 15 minutes.

Good point. Adult dinner time is about 1/2 hour in our house. I'd be happy if she willingly came to table, sampled the meal and left within 10 or 15 minutes. However, that rarely happens. That's why I'm trying to make it fun so she wants to come to the table!

[Adele_Mommy]

We got this little box of cards with ideas for dinner games: buy online here I think the games vary a lot from fun to really silly, but my daughter enjoys several of them very much. We don't use them every meal, but they are nice to take along to restaurants when my dd has to stay at the table for a longer period of time.

They say the games are for 5-12, but they also have Beginner Dinner Games (which I have not purchased myself) for 3+.

I would like to try to get my child to be able to participate in conversation during a meal eventually. With this in mind, we sometimes do activities such as everyone tells the best part of their day and the worst part of their day and we talk about it. On holidays we do things like everyone say what they are thankful for, or everyone tell a resolution, etc.

Of course, even with all that, there are many nights where we are just not up for a "family meal" and my dd watches a video or plays on the computer or reads or takes her plate up to her playroom while she eats. Some nights if she is taking a long time and dh or I finished first, we will read to her while she eats.

Thanks for the thread. Glad to see I'm not the only one who has this issue and thinks about what to do about it a lot!

[Pica]

Adele, thanks! That looks great!