Let’s face it, many of us love going out to dinner to enjoy good food, a glass of wine and chilled out family time. I have noticed as a mom of an almost 2 year old that I have been leaning on my iPhone or iPad to provide entertainment for my daughter. Noticing this trend in myself and others I began to wonder what my options were and have decided to make some adjustments when we go out to dine. I am finding a few well chosen items to engage my daughter can provide balance to the exposure to screen technology. The bigger challenge may be for my husband and I to leave the electronics behind or mute them over the dinner hour.
After a quick trip to Scholar’s Choice, I found a number of fabulous options. Consider creating a bag of engaging activities that you can grab on the way out the door. Below are a few ideas for you to consider. Once you have tried it out, you will be able to make adjustments as you learn what is popular with your young ones. Limit what is in the bag so your child is not overwhelmed, yet there is enough variety to switch things up over dinner. Keep in mind the items in the bag are only for going out so they are exciting every time. Depending on their age, you may want to involve your kids in selecting items. Cheers to engaging with our families over a meal.
By:
Tracy McMaster
2 to 4 years
- Who Knows Whose Nose Game
- Books
- Colouring pages & large crayons
5 + years
- Spot it
- Hangman
- Boggle
- Crossword puzzles
- Cards (Go Fish)
- Things that create conversation – Trivia, a grab bag of topics to pull out and talk about
10+ years
- Create conversation games (if you could go anywhere in the would on vacation, where would you go, who would you go with, would you bring a celebrity?).
- Scattergories
