"Dinner Around the World Experience": --Parenting Tip # 234

When we were growing up we had a class called Geography. Most kids don’t learn geography anymore. But one of the most fun memories I have about school was when we would talk about a country and then on the last day we would dress up, show off the posters we made of the country and then sample food from the country. 

 So as our kids got old enough we modified the geography class and centered it around the family meal. The family meal, is a powerful time that gets crowded out by the busyness of our schedules…but if you don’t have at least one night a week where everyone gathers at the table, the tv and cell phones are turned off, you are missing a special teaching and bonding moment with your family. 

 Here’s how to do it: Pick a meal from a country such as Chinese, Mexican, German, French, Indian…you get the idea. Pull out Pandora and select music from that country to play in the background during dinner. Dress up in clothes from the country (don’t go crazy here, just modify but have fun!) conversation around the table can be using words from that country, naming things to do there, name famous people that come from there. 

 Now here are the benefits of this little monthly or weekly event. You get to teach your kids manners. They learn about other cultures. You had a night where you actually looked at each other and communicated. You had a little help in getting them to try different foods. 

 So dust off the cookbooks, search the internet for info about countries, learn a few words to teach your kids and let the fun begin.