We used to eat dinner with the TV on. After I spent so much time traveling, however, I realized I wanted to connect with my family over dinner. The 20th rerun of my favorite episode of NCIS wasn’t as important as hearing my Son or Daughter telling me about their day, or watching Christi’s eyes sparkle as she outlined some new plan for motivating her students to learn.
So I made the decision that we needed to eat dinner at the table with the TV off. I didn’t really ask anyone’s permission, I just started setting the table and turning off the TV before I called anyone in for dinner.
It took the kids about a week and a half to get used to the format. Once they did, they talked the whole time! I enjoy looking into their eyes and trying to figure out who they are becoming!
What barriers do you need to remove and what opportunities do you need to create to allow natural conversation to happen in your family?
