COMMUNICATION AND THE FAMILY DINNER TABLE. IT'S A MICROCOSM OF THE REAL WORLD

This is where your children learn the most important life skills required to be successful in both their careers and relationships.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS ARE PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL SKILLS LEARNED AROUND THE DINNER TABLE AND WILL HAVE AN ENORMOUS IMPACT ON YOUR CHILD'S QUALITY OF LIFE ALL THE WAY THROUGH ADULTHOOD.

Your children are taught all the subjects at school.   But where do they learn and get to practice how to articulate their thoughts and ideas clearly and in a way that gets them heard?  This is a crucial skill in both relationships and the workplace.  They may have great skills and creative ideas but if not presented in a way that gets others excited, sadly those ideas will be kept hidden from the world.  Having great ideas isn’t enough to work with a team, much less lead one.

COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY TO HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS.

The family dinner table should be that safe place where stories are shared and your kids look forward to bringing their day’s experiences; good or bad.  This is when they get to hone their skills of sharing, listening and being engaged in the conversation.  When dealing with a bad situation at school, they’ll find comfort knowing they can share their situation and the dinner table is where they receive the support and comfort they need.  When something great happens they’ll also be excited knowing they have a time and place to share their experience with others who will share in their excitement.  Both experiences reinforce during the day that they are not alone and are connected to something – a group of people who care – a family.

THESE ARE THE CONVERSATIONS THAT FEED YOUR CHILD’S SOUL.

By regularly sharing and listening to others on a regular basis, children learn that talking about stuff in our lives is just “what we do”.  They learned the skills and have the confidence to do so.  So now as they get older and the situations get more serious they’ll know they can come to you - because “that’s what they do”. Again, knowing that they are not alone and have a family (which can be defined in a thousand different ways) to support and encourage them gives them the confidence to deal with life situations. So as you are creating your back-to-school routine, be sure to take the time to include meals on a regular basis where your family sits down together, where they share and support one another.  

ESPECIALLY SINCE THIS IS THE STUFF THAT CREATES THE QUALITY OF LIFE WE ALL WANT FOR OUR CHILDREN AS THEY GROW INTO ADULTS.

You've got this.  

- Michelle