Conversation Starters

Wondering what to talk about? Spark meal time conversation with interesting questions and make family dinners fun for everyone. A little prompting and patience help get a great conversation going.

Choose topics that interest your family. Try to make sure everyone has a chance to speak and keep conversation pleasant.

Try some of these starters to get the family talking:

1. Talk about the “highlight of the day”.
2. Plan activities for the weekend.
3. Talk about your favorite team.
4. Plan an imagined vacation.
5. Discuss a good deed you or someone else did.
6. Talk about a recent book you have read.
7. Tell jokes!

Ask children:

1. “If you lived on a tropical island, what would you eat . . . “
2. “Name three things that you have never done and would like to do.”
3. “What was one thing you learned today . . . “
4. “If you had three wishes, what would they be . . . “
5. “If you could live today all over again, what would you do differently . . . “
6. “What is your favorite winter/spring/summer/or fall memory?”
7. “What is the best trip you have been on? Why?”
8. “What do children know more about than adults?”
9. “What would you like to be doing in 10 years?”
10. “Who is your best friend, and why?”
11. “Would you rather be a great athlete, scientist, artist, musician, or teacher?”
12. “What was your most memorable meal ever? Where did you eat it and who with?”

Talk to your children about your childhood. You can initiate the conversation, or children choose from the following questions ask adults:

1. What school did you go to as a child? What was it like?
2. What did you like to play as a child?
3. What was dinnertime like when you were a child?
4. Where were you born? Where were your parents born?
5. What was your first job? Did you like it?
6. Where did your family go on vacations?
7. Did you have any pets growing up?
8. What sports did you play as a child?