Verbal game ideas for dinnertime?

[mm123]

DDs (just turned 3, and almost 5) have a really hard time staying at the table during dinnertime. They're not the greatest eaters, either, and are usually 'done' within 5 minutes. Lately, a strategy that seems to be working is playing a family game during dinner- they stay at the table longer, and end up eating more, since they're usually 'playing' and eating at the same time.

So far, we've played 'I spy', and 'I packed my bag'. Can anyone recommend other super easy, verbal games (no props or pieces, obviously) that could potentially keep the kids at the table longer? I'm sure there are lots of these type of games from my own childhood, but I just can't remember!

Thanks!

[brittone2]

Around that age, in the car or at restaurants we'd sometimes play the "opposite game." I'll say "if it isn't up, it is ____," and they fill in the answer. "If it isn't wet, it is ____."

[MamaMolly]

We play 'I'm an animal..'

The idea is to describe the animal that you are.
Type of skin (fur, feathers, scales)
Size
Habitat
Number of legs
type of tail
What it eats
etc.

Obviously the 6 yo goes into more detail than the 3 yo. In fact, most of the animals that Dolly describes live in trees..including fish. ;) but the idea is to have her play along so we get a kick out of it. It is really fun to tease them and guess the wrong animal.

Oh, and we had to institute a 'no imaginary animals' rule because of Unicorns and other fairy tale creatures.

[hillview]

taking turns telling a story (each person does a sentence)
tell a story (i have a mouse story line going, he has epic adventures)
do quizes (math or spelling)
we have 2 boxes of family questions (where would you like to live/visit/best vacation/favorite animal etc)

[o_mom]

We like these that are from the "Dinner Games" card set:

Alphabet zoo - go around and each person names an animal that starts with the next letter of the alphabet. Also works well with foods or geographic locations.

Mrs. Paghetti - each person says "Mrs. Paghetti, likes her spaghetti with _____ on top" the next person recites the first person's item and adds another, So if the first person says cheese, the second person says cheese and _____. You keep going until someone misses.

Guessing jar - involves props, but not too bad. Fill a small glass with uncooked macaroni. each person has to guess how many pieces are in it. You pass the glass around for them to look at. They can change their answer as many times as they want until the end. Then after dinner you count to find the winner.

Goober Goat - One person is 'Goober Goat' and starts by saying a word related to a farm, so something like egg, then the next person says a word related to that word and so on. It might go something like "Egg, chicken, wing, airplane, pilot....." After going around a few times, ask Goober Goat how far they traveled from the farm.

[WatchingThemGrow]

We do "Highs and Lows" where we each take turns sharing the highs and lows of the day. One person starts and calls on someone who is being an attentive listener. Not a game, but a very valuable and interesting conversation starter!

[jjordan]

We got a box of "Family Dinner Games" a few years ago for Christmas. Link (http://www.ftfgames.com/products/original-dinner-games.php) If you look around the site, there are a few versions.

[athompson]

Table Topics cards are great:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FFET52/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=1532201582&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00178YX20&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0X21WDK57E2TA60M819S

[maydaymommy]

My boys are 3 & 5 and we do a bunch of these!

Three Realsies and a Whopper

Would you rather....?

Rose, Thorn, Bud
(Highpoint, not so great, thing to look forward to)

[citymama]

We do dinner games that involve everyone sharing about their day. A favorite is "2 truths and a lie" - 2 things that really happened to you and one made up. Older kids try and find made up stories that sound realistic so you can't tell truth from made up. My DD1 otoh - all 3 of her stories sound made up most days! Our kids love it and it's the closest we get to "dinnertime conversation" at this age.

[hillview]

:popc1:OP thanks for posting. I am getting a lot of great ideas!

[happymom]

:yeahthat: This is a great thread!

We play "I spy" a lot. We also play "I'm thinking of..." which is essentially "I spy" without it actually having to be an object in the room. So I could say "I'm thinking of a season when its hot and we go to the beach"

DD loves this, and I think its great because it really works on receptive language skills.

[mm123]

Thanks for the great suggestions so far. We played the "Mrs. Paghetti" game tonight- it was fun!

[sf333]

This may be one of my favorite threads on this board so far. Thanks, OP! I have the same aged children and we struggle with getting our kids to eat at dinner as well. Great ideas here!! :)

[Gracemom]

A game we play is "Guess the character." You give 3 clues, one at a time, describing a character. The other people guess who it is. We do categories, such as children's book characters, or Disney movie characters. My older DD likes figuring out clues that are not so obvious so she can stump us.

I love all these ideas!

[lil_acorn]

Another spin on the alphabet game.. We go around the room and someone has to name an item using the next letter but we do it with themes. For example, "I'm going on a picnic and I'm going to bring...(apple, banana)". The next person needs to repeat all the previous letter words and then add their own.
Other versions are "I'm going to school" and then my son just thought of "I'm going on a safari..."

[123LuckyMom]

We love Fives (or Eights or whatever). Name 5 animals with horns. Name 5 teachers at your school. Name 5 colors (for a little one). One person answers and then gets to ask the next person, so I will ask DS to name 5 of his favorite things to do on the playground. He'll answer and then ask DH to name 5 of his favorite foods, and so on.