8 Ways to have a device-free dinner with your family

Family Bonding: 8 Ways to have a device-free dinner with your family

Winnie Tan

21 Feb 2017

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Set aside all electronic devices
Leave them aside to charge, place them in a pile in another room, or simply just switch them off - here's the most important step towards having a tech-free dinner with your family. By minimising distractions that could come from your phones or other electronic devices, you'll have to focus on each other and converse!
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Share about your day
Here's a quick tip: share about a high and a low of your day, and then take turns sharing. You'll never know what kind of funny anecdotes your children will amuse you with, or what kind of life lessons they'll inspire you with. Your words can also be super encouraging and might give them a boost when they need it the most. The journey of life is tough, and it's important to establish that you're all in this together.
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Colour together
Children at younger ages absolutely adore colouring, and with the rise in popularity of gorgeous adult colouring books, you can also join your kids in colouring over dinner. This shows that you're taking an interest in their early artistic and cognitive development and will foster strong bonds within the family.
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Recount past memories
Have your parents or parents-in-law over for dinner too? Here's the perfect opportunity for everyone to take a trip down memory lane. Uncover hilarious anecdotes, stories and jokes from the past, but also share in the pain and struggles of life to gain a deeper understanding of each other. This will definitely allow all three generations to form a firm bond and erase any awkwardness or tension during future meals.
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Plan a trip together
Get out your dusty maps and travel books - wanderlust no more as you plan your next family trip together with your kin over dinner! Use this time to to ask your children about their preferences, and learn about their various opinions, likes and dislikes. Flick through books and make a wishlist; we guarantee that this will be fun.
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Talk about a favourite TV show
Find a TV show that the whole family loves, and you'll have a discussion topic on the dining table that will definitely last throughout the night. Is Stranger Things actually that scary, and Spongebob did what?! Engage in lively, animated conversation over pop culture and you'll soon forget that you even put your phones aside.
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Share an interesting article
No, not on Facebook! Foster the habit of reading from a young age by encouraging your children to read the newspaper or a magazine, then get them to share their favourite article over the dinner table. This can open doors of discussion over a wide variety of topics and develop deeper analytical thought from young.
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Try a new dish
If you're terrible at cooking new cuisines, don't fret. You can always buy something from the supermarket that your family has never tried before, such as blue cheese, or some kimchi, or hummus. Prepare yourselves with tissues, maybe a puke basket, and lots of laughs - trying new things can actually be fun.

Time to disconnect from your electronic devices and start connecting with your actual family.

We belong to the digital age, where tables are cluttered with laptops, iPads, phones and other electronic devices. If you’ve ever sat your child down in front of an iPad with concurrent episodes of Peppa Pig playing just so you can eat your dinner in peace too, don’t feel guilty. If you’ve caught yourself scrolling through some emails while your teenage children scroll through Instagram during dinner, spooning rice into your mouths wordlessly, we’ve all been there. When electronic devices make everything so accessible, self-entertainment so unbelievably easy, you can subconsciously lose track of how conversation has gradually dwindled out on the dining table, replaced by a world of YouTube videos, texts, emails, selfies and whatnot.

It can be difficult to limit digital consumption, but it’s more difficult to replace a familial bond that has become nearly non-existent. When everyone in the family can be so caught up with their own lives, it’s also hard to stay intertwined and connected with everybody’s hectic schedules. So when every member of the family is gathered at the dining table at the end of a long day, it’s the perfect opportunity to share about your day and establish a greater sense of family bonding. Before you freak out at the idea of having a phone-free dinner, we’ve rounded up 8 ways to have a fun-filled and totally engaging meal with your family, without any electronic devices in sight.

Winnie Tan

Photos: Getty Images

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