Family Dinners: It's About So Much More Than Just Food
Backed By Research
Not just a conversation starter!
Engaging in sit-down family meals has been linked to a range of positive outcomes for children, such as increased self-esteem, decreased depression rates, better communication skills, and higher academic performance*.
Based on this research and with the decline in traditional family mealtimes, child experts developed Around The Table products to help parents bring their families together through fun at mealtimes.
The unique blend of engaging, thought-provoking and fun questions and games make Around The Table a valuable mealtime resource for all families.
Read the full list of benefits HERE.
*thefamilydinnerproject
Versatile products for different life stages
Bringing Fun To The Table
Teen & Tweens (8-17 years)
Teens & tweens love these expert-designed cards for sharing thoughts, feelings, and laughs. They boost mental health and communication skills during family meals.
Never Too Early To Start
Tiny tots (3-7 years)
Create a healthy and fun family mealtime routine now! This pack is designed by child experts to include engaging questions that will entertain everyone around the table. It covers safety, expressing feelings, sharing stories, and more!
Bring Everyone Together Through Fun
All Household (Ages 6+)
This versatile pack contains general questions and games suitable for all households, making it an ideal gift for teachers, friends, neighbors, and grandparents. It can also be used as an ice-breaker at functions and dinner parties. Give a gift that keeps on giving long after it is opened.
Family Mealtimes Are About So Much More Than Just Food
Let customers speak for us
Our teenagers are asking to get out the cards. Now instead of arguing over dinner there is fun interaction and conversation.
The original order went missing in the post and The team had no hesitation in resending the package. Thanks!
Weāve had the Name Game for a couple of weeks and our 5 and 2.5 year old are loving it. The game has put an exciting spin on family dinner time which had become dreary with the same conversations about our days and complaints about the food on offer. The kids are happy to sit at the table for much longer and end up eating more of the food in front of them whilst playing!
The kids absolutely love these! Really makes dinner time fun and we learn so much about each other. Teaches kids to listen to each other and added bonus is getting the kids to do some extra reading.
This is so much fun, brings the family closer, and is interactive! I love it!
We love these cards! I gave my 3 and 5 year olds an early Xmas present so we could take them away on a family holiday. A great way to involve the kids in dinner conversations and have fun learning lots of things about each other. Highly recommend these cards!
Purchased as a future gift - unable to review as yet.
We trialled this game and absolutely loved it. Great for all ages, fun and engaging with relevant and thought provoking topics and scope for healthy competition amongst players. Highly recommended!
We trialled The Name Game with our kids aged 5, 9 and 11 and it was perfect for all of us. The instructions were super clear (with no loopholes for the older kids to exploit the little one!!) It was easy to play over dinner, and actually started off some other interesting conversations and learning opportunities. It will be added to our other conversation cards that we keep near the table ready for some connection over dinner. And because they're so easily portable and don't have little pieces that can get lost, they'll be perfect for us to take on car trips and holidays too.
My family has already been using the Around the Table cards and admittedly were already fans.
I get anxious about embarking on a new āgameā sometimes as there can be arguments about interpreting rules. Well there was no such problems this time.
Instructions were crystal clear. The game is straight forward and dare I say āwholesomeā.
Itās the kind of game where it just feels organic, like a natural game that you fall in to playing.
This is going to make great memories for my family to look back on.
A perfect way of getting some engagement around the table. Easy to follow, accessible, portable and a great way to get us all thinking, not just the kids. I think it will also be easy to translate to a larger group, beyond a normal family or "friendship group" - not crass or offensive and incredibly inclusive because it's not hard! Well done Around The Table
This game is so clever!
I was lucky enough to be selected to trial The Name Game and have to say, it has added wonderful fun to our meal times. The whole family are engaged and enjoying the healthy competition. Iām also enjoying seeing a new side to my pre-teenās sense of humour with his creative answers. This is a big win when normally all I get are a few grunts at the dinner table. This game is perfect for all ages which is a win in itself- itās a relief to have something that we can all participate in and enjoy. Nice one Around The Table!
We are absolutely loving our card pack.
Lots of fun and laughs around our dinner table.
The cards have really give us something to talk about at dinner, further than the regular "How was your day?" The kids love choosing an orange dinner card. It has not only made dinner time enjoyable it is expanding the kids conversation and vocabulary skills. Thank you "Around the table!"
Energize Your Dinner With The Ultimate Family Games Night!
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A Fresh Approach To Family Dinner Night
See ExamplesTry The Name Game, a simple game specifically designed to be played over a meal Around The Table. It's a fast-paced card game that challenges players to think quickly and respond correctly to 100 familiar family topics. Fun for kids and grown-ups alike!
Suitable from 3-103 years.
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Perfect Gift Suggestion
See DetailsA gift that keeps giving long after opening. Make a difference around the table. Perfect for families, friends, teachers, and colleagues. Save 10% on our dinner table game with our refresh pack.
Suitable from 3-103 years.
Need Mealtime Ideas?
Read Our Blog For Helpful Tips And Tricks!
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Click to discover how Danielle, Aussie mum of 3, positively changed her families mealtimes.
I knew that eating dinner together was important, but our busy lifestyle made it nearly impossible to get dinner on the table and my family seated around it.
Not to forget the end of day exhaustion that made conversation stifled and more functional than fun.
I started to wonder, how important is it really?
With research I discovered that it was even more important than I thought, in fact I now believe it is one of the most important meetings you will have all day!
Why? Eating together provides proven benefits for children socially, emotionally and academically, which meant I needed to find a way to make it work.
So with my teaching background, and help from child experts, I launched Around The Table, providing practical strategies and resources for not only my family but for your family too.
Making connecting through food easier and more fun for everyone!
Founder, Danielle Barrett, Australian mum of 3 currently living in New Jersey USA.
Read the full list of benefits associated to family mealtimes.
I think we all know intrinsically that eating together is important, when a family dinner all goes to plan, it feels good, and you leave the table thinking we should do that more often. However, few people know that it is actually a lot more important for your child than you may think.
In fact, I believeĀ itĀ isĀ the most important meeting you will have all day.
ByĀ connecting over a mealĀ as a family, as little as 3 nights a week, evidence suggests you can positively impact your child's mental health, their social skills and even their academic results!
But the list doesn't stop there,Ā studies have provenĀ the following benefits for children*:
- Higher self-esteem
- Higher gradesĀ
- Higher vocabulary levels (above just reading)
- Higher levels of resilience
- Lower rates of substance abuse
- Lower rates of teen pregnancy
- Lower rates of depression
- Lower rates of obesity and eating disorders.Ā
It's worth reading that list again, all this from engaging in sit down family dinners!
Research also shows that the key that opens this list of benefits isn't the food itself, so you don't need to be a "Masterchef" or have "Insta-worthy" food, the secret is in the connection that happens while conversing over aĀ meal.
Unfortunately many of us (myself included) combine eating meals while watching television, or bring technology to the table, both of which do not support engaging conversation, in fact, they halt conversation and de-prioritise family mealtimes.
After recognising I wasn't enjoying my own family mealtimes and had created many habits that didn't support connecting over dinner, I decided I needed to make a change. With the help of child experts, I developed dinner conversation cards and games to help my family (and now yours) to haveĀ fun and engaging conversationsĀ over meals, so that my children could reap the rewards of doing so.
PURCHASE FAMILY DINNER GAMES & CONVERSATIONAL CARDS HEREĀ
Danielle Barrett from Around The TableĀ provides practical strategies and helpful resources for families to make the most of this precious and highly beneficialĀ nightly routine.
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