Need an idea to spark conversation at your family dinner table?  Read my story about my favorite family dinner time ritual and hopefully you will be inspired to add this to your family traditions.

Every evening when we sat down to supper, we had a daily ritual we called Highs & Lows.  During dinner we would take turns telling each other what our “high” of the day was and what our “low” of the day was.

This was a great way to have everyone open up about their day.  We would learn about everyone’s difficulties that day and also made each of us stop and think about what we had to be grateful for.  The kids would learn more about our day at the office and we would get a better insight as to what happened at school that day, which may not have otherwise been shared.

We often had the kids friends over for dinner and they would also participate which was a great way to get to know their friends better too.

My fondest memory from this ritual was when my step-daughter’s friend, Elecia, joined us for dinner one evening.  They were in high school at the time.  Before Elecia came over my step-daughter announced to her dad and me that she did NOT want us to do our Highs & Lows and embarrass her in front of her friend because she thought it was too childish.

As we gathered around the dinner table that evening for supper, Elecia, who had dined with us many times before, excitedly asked if she could go first with the Highs & Lows because she had something she wanted to share with us.  My husband and I almost burst out laughing.  Every parent’s pleasure . . . when their kids’ friends think that your family rituals are cool!

What rituals do you have in your family to promote family conversation?