2009 News

We all know that family dinner time is one of the most important times for a family - it's a chance to all eat together, talk about your day, and learn about each other. But, when you are busy parents, hurrying just to put food on the table, it can be tough to come up with good conversations. I know in my house, the temptation to put on TV and watch the news is huge!

FamilyTimeFun has come up with a solution with their dinner games - a set of games with conversation topics and ideas to discuss. They sent my family the Beginner Dinner Games for ages 3-6 - perfect for my 3 year old and 5 year old.

The box contains a bunch of cards with questions and activities. Now during dinner, we have fun answering questions like - what's mom's favorite animal? (a cat, of course) and name foods that are green.

For families with older children, FamilyTimeFun also has the original dinner games, for kids ages 6-12, as well as restaurant dinner games, to play while waiting for your dinner.

To learn more, visit FamilyTimeFun.

Have a hard time coming up with conversation at dinner time? Why not try the Family Time Fun Beginner Dinner Games. It's a set of 51 spill proof cards with fun and unique games to play at the dinner table. It teaches creative thinking, social skills, and more. For ages 3-6, it's the perfect addition to your young family's dinnertime routine. Who knows..it might even turn dinner into something enjoyable instead of a battle field!

For a happy mealtime, grab the Gather 'Round Dinner Game. Included are 132 quick and easy as-you-eat activities like "Make up a story about a fish named Joe" and "Eat some food and say Yum Yum." Push the wheel's button, play and munch.

Anyone who knows me well knows that my family is always at the top of my priority list. Our schedules are insane between me and all my ventures, my amazingly hard-working husband, and my 4 kiddos and their activities! But I have always made it a point to make dinners a family affair. We may eat at 10:00pm, but we ALWAYS eat together! :)

All too often however, while we are all gathered around the table the TV is on, or everyone is talking at the same time! So although we are physically "spending time together," it is not actually quality time!

Family Time Fun has created some incredible solutions to this problem!
They are the creators of The Restaurant Game...

I wish I could say I have a favorite, but I just love them both! We played The Dinner Game the moment it arrived (because my kids couldn't WAIT until dinner!), and we loved it. We played it again that night at dinner, and now it is a staple on my table- it has a home just beside the napkins!

And although we haven't been out to eat since The Restaurant Game arrived, you can rest assured it is already in my car awaiting a trip out with the family!

Both games have questions such as, "Everyone at the table should guess your favorite song" and "Hum the tune to a song while everyone else tries to guess it." The Restaurant Game also has cards that say, "Guess how many sugar packets are in the caddy at the table" and "Guess your server's favorite color." The Restaurant Game makes no noise, so it will not disrupt any surrounding tables.

These games are sure to bring new life to your family dinners, no matter what the ages of your kids are. My 2 year old got a kick out of hitting the "start" button on The Dinner Game.

When we are at the table, we love to talk about random things or play games that get our brains moving. Hubby thinks I am the most random person ever :lol: but hey - we have fun, and that's all that matters! I recently had a chance to check out Family Talk, in which we use all the time.

We have two new fixtures at our dinner table...do you want to know what they are?

First...I will tell you that I was introduced to a company that I feel every family should support by purchasing their product. It's called Family Time Fun.

Family Time Fun offers dinner games for families to play during "DINNER" time. LOL! I think that dinner time has been lost a lot in the hustle and bustle of our busy lives. Do you really understand how important having dinner as family is?

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University did reasearch on children and teens who have frequent family meals:

• Are at half the risk for substance abuse compared to teens who dine with their families infrequently
• Are less likely to have friends or classmates who use illicit drugs or abuse prescription drugs
• Have lower levels of tension and stress at home
• Are more likely to say that their parents are proud of them
• Are likelier to say they can confide in their parents
• Are likelier to get better grades in school
• Are more likely to be emotionally content and have positive peer relationships
• Have healthier eating habits
• Are at lower risk for thoughts of suicide
• Are less likely to try marijuana or have friends who use marijuana

So we got the pleasure of trying out two different Family Time Fun games. We got the Gather 'Round Dinner Game and the Beginner Dinner Games. Talk about some excited kids at the dinner table tonight. I even talked my husband into coming home from work early tonight (he's been working a lot lately) to have dinner with us as a family so we could try out these great communication tools.

The verdict? We loved them both. Family Time Fun even has a game you can take with you to restaurants, to play while you wait for your food. Isn't that a fantastic idea? Kids always get restless waiting for their meals (especially at restaurants where they have to behave & be quiet).

Now...I think you should definitely check out their website at: http://ftfgames.com/products/ and purchase a game or two for your family.

Bring back the importance of family meals to your home!! It will make a huge difference and bring you all closer together. If you don't take my word for it...check out the faces of my kids while they are enjoying playing the game at dinner tonight.

Let them know that you were sent by the One Bored Mommy blogspot.

Get your kids excited about family dinners with a fun game that will keep them sitting in their seats! Family Time Fun's Beginner Dinner Games ($15) is a little tin box filled with 51 games to play while seated at the dinner table. The games don't require a board or pieces, just a mouth that works and food on the plate.

While some games encourage tots from three to six to eat different colors, others require them to make up a song about an item on the table and have each family member hide something on their lap while the kids try to guess what is missing. Great for keeping wee ones in their seats, Beginning Dinner Games is a great way to keep the TV off and the conversation flowing.

The whole idea to making mealtime fun is getting the whole family together. If you can make it enjoyable, then it will be easier to make it a routine. Yes, this is a great way to have quality time with the family. Especially in the fast paced world we live in today with the Internet and ridiculous schedules, just one meal a night can make all the difference in the world.

Make a Menu Plan

This is definitely going back to the basics, but remember when you were younger and your parents would leave a calendar on the refrigerator? Throughout the week, there would be a plan for dinner each evening and you either looked forward to it, or cringed when you saw what was going to be made. There aren't too many people who do this anymore, but if you can incorporate it into your weekly schedule, it is highly recommended.

One day out of the week, let the kids decide what they want for dinner. Then, have them prepare the meal with you. There is nothing like the satisfaction of helping out your parents, when they are so used to being told what to do all the time. Accomplishment, gained self-esteem and overall happiness will come as result of them helping you. If they're up to it, then do it more than once a week or whatever your schedule promotes.

Make it a Party

Mixing things up will keep your get together exciting. Try making one night set up with just finger foods or even an indoor picnic. This not only gives you the opportunity to give everyone a variety, but it will make everyone want to try different things and make suggestions for upcoming nights. Keep in mind though this doesn't have to be just for dinner, you can try it for breakfast and lunch as well. Leaving your options open for all three meals will give you a better chance of making it happen.

Ask Questions

Have you ever eaten dinner with the family and everyone eats there food and barely talks at all? Wanna spice things up a little? Give everyone the opportunity to add their own questions. The best thing to do is have some sort of theme. You will not only enhance the surroundings at dinner, but you'll also learn more about your children you may not have realized before. One way to make this easy is with the Gather Round Dinner Game.

Your Own Discoveries

Remember this is just the beginning. You will come up with your own ways to make mealtime fun, and so will your children. It only takes one get together to bring on a slew of others down the road. Before you know it, the entire family will help prepare, eat, and clean up after each meal. We don't expect you to do it three times a day, but if you can spare one a day then you'll be happy with the results.

I received a sample of the Gather 'Round Restaurant Game recently to review. What you get is not a board game with pieces but cards with questions relating to mealtime. There are almost 100 games to play with while you wait for your meal at a restaurant or at home. There is a push-button light but it doesn't emit any sound. The light stops by itself at a question on each card.

Created by familyfuntime.com, this is recommended for ages 5 and up. I'm not sure how many people would want to bring a game to a restaurant but for home, it would probably be more fun for the older kids.

The price is $24.95 and sold at familyfuntime.com

Beginner Dinner Game

This stack of cards is full of fun-prompts that turn dinnertime into game time. Beginner Dinner Game has a few games you might recognize; in one, a family member names a color, and the next person must name a food of the same color. But there are others that make new use of kitchen staples, like What's in the Oven Mitt? where an object is placed inside an oven mitt and passed around the table so players can guess what it is.

Age: 3-6
Retail Price: $16
Available at: ftfgames.com

Having just written the column; Healthy Foods in Disguise- while of course getting your kids to eat healthy foods is one of those "glorious" parts of motherhood that we all savor--(yeah right!) another little trick you might want to have nestled up your sleeve- to actually KEEP your kids at the dinner table- so that you might just get them to eat this wholesome food you slaved over.. is to pick up the very nifty Gather 'Round Dinner Game.

Of course the logical question is why? And, isn't it enough that I'm already pureeing veggies to sneak into their Mac n' cheese and doing "cartwheels" to get the food in my kid's mouth?

Well this game might actually allow you to cut out those "proverbial" cartwheels and handstands (unless of course you're far more flexible than I and actually CAN do cartwheels and handstands!) from your dinnertime routine--and replace it with Gather 'Round's 132 dinnertime activities to play while you eat!

No game board or game pieces required - just sit down to dinner, push the button and your family can get together (while they're eating their Mac n' cheese with pureed veggies mixed in for good measure ) for a whole new kind of family meal.

The games run the gamut from...Name as many purple foods as possible, Make up a story about a fish named Joe, Eat your veggies and say yum-yum, Hum a song for everyone to guess...and many more.

Why do I think this is worth the investment? It definitely beats popping in a video- or fighting with your kids over getting them to finish their foods. The Gather Round Dinner Game is basically a great way to distract them from the act of eating- they'll be so engaged in playing the game- that the normal battle to get them to eat their veggies will simply evaporate ( I've tried this and it works- while you're playing just casually pop the food in their mouths- and they 'll likely just keeping chewing and eventually swallow--ahhh like a real kid!)

Some other perks and reasons to get this game... what kid doesn't want the chance to play with his/her food. And of course, kids love the extra attention that you'll pay to them when you're playing this game--in fact it could certainly be included in the daily "Quality time quota" that, as a parent, you do your best to fill!.

Another benefit...The Gather 'Round Dinner Game often extends dinner by 5 - 10 minutes and the game often continues long after the food is gone.

And thern there's a cold hard research which has proven that families who have frequent meals together generate lots of benefits: Improved family communication; Improved nutrition and eating habits; Plus, kids develop a protective factor against tobacco, alcohol, drugs and a low grade point average.

Overall: The Gather 'Round Dinner Game adds fun to family meals, breaks up dinnertime routine, and most importantly, brings families closer together.

Get it now... at www.FamilyDinnerGames.com