Anyone who has asked a kid "How was school today?" knows just how hard it can be to get a conversation going around the dinner table. Don't worry if you're at a loss for words. We've got tons of great family dinner questions to up your conversation game and help you bond with the people who matter most.
Fun Questions to Ask at Dinner
After the work and school of the day are done, it's time to have a good time together as a family. All it takes is the right conversation starter to make your family dinner more fun. Spark their imaginations and keep it light with these questions:
- If you could travel forwards in time 100 years or backwards in time 100 years, which would you choose? How come?
- Which two animals would make the funniest looking hybrid?
- What's an imaginary place you'd like to visit and why?
- What is the weirdest thing someone could wear to your school or work?
- What book or video game character would you want to be for a day? What would you do?
- What super power would you choose?
- If you could be any mythical creature, which one would you be? How come?
- If our entire family were mouse-sized, how would life be different for us?
- Imagine if we could make a secret passage in our house. Where would it go?
- If grown-ups and kids switched places for a day, how would tomorrow be different?
Dinner Table Questions for Toddlers & Preschoolers
If your kids are like ours, it's not all that hard to start a conversation with the littles, but it can get off track pretty quickly. Keep it fun and focused at the same time with simple questions that are perfect for the youngest members of the family:
- What are Mom or Dad afraid of?
- What happened today that surprised you?
- What kind of animal would you be for a day? How come?
- What's something super weird that could happen tomorrow?
- What have you been wondering about?
- If you could go anyplace, where would you go? Why?
- What's something you're super proud of?
- How do people show they love you?
- What is something really fun you did today?
- What made you laugh lately?
Even though these dinner table questions are geared toward little kids, they work for older kids and adults too. Let everyone have a chance to answer and ask follow-up questions.
Great Questions to Ask Kids in Elementary School
Older kids can answer more complex questions, so it's fun to see what they think about the world around them. Plus, they can come up with some pretty hilarious and thought-provoking answers. We love these questions for our kids:
- What would you do if you were president or prime minister?
- Do you think there are aliens? Why or why not?
- What's the most hilarious thing your teacher could do tomorrow? (Grown-ups can answer this for a boss.)
- What's the most important thing someone can do in their life?
- What makes you feel like you're a good person?
- Rate your day from 1 (absolute worst) to 10 (best ever). What made it good or bad?
- What's the strangest thing that's happened to you in the past week?
- How was today different than yesterday?
- What do you wish adults understood?
- Do you think homework helps kids or not?
You can never go wrong with a great Would You Rather question for this age group. We like picking something super difficult and random (like going through the day with Michael Jackson's "Beat It" blaring in your head) with something really embarrassing (like opening your lunch box and having it make the whole lunch room smell terrible).
Thought-Provoking Dinner Table Questions for Teens & Tweens
We totally get it. Talking to our teens and tweens can feel like pulling teeth sometimes. The great thing about dinner, though, is that you're all doing something else. The conversation isn't the entire focus, so kids can feel a little more relaxed and may be a bit more forthcoming with their thoughts and feelings. Try some of these conversation starters:
- What was the hardest thing that happened today?
- What's going on with your friends right now?
- If you could choose a new name for yourself, what would you pick? Why?
- If you could redo part of your day (either because it was fun or because you want to change something), what part would you pick?
- What could happen right now that would make everyone at the table crack up?
- If you could control one extra thing in your life, what would it be?
- What do you like about the game you're playing or the book you're reading right now?
- If you could travel to any other country, where would you go? Why?
- How much do you think people change as they get older?
- What do you wish people would say to you more often? (This can be funny or serious.)
Dinner Table Topics to Build Your Bond
Some questions can start conversations that really bring you closer as a family. No matter how old your kids are, these are some good dinner questions to get closer:
- If you have kids someday, what do we do that you would want to do with them too?
- What do you want our family to do this year that would be fun and special?
- What do you love about the person to your left?
- How has someone at this table helped you lately?
- What makes our family different than other families?
- What is important to our family?
- Who do you admire in our family? (This can be someone at the table or another family member.)
- Why do you think people live in families?
- What is your first memory?
- How do you think our family can be stronger?
Keep Up the Family Dinner Conversations
You're already doing so much for your family by eating dinner together, and conversation is the icing on the cake. Don't worry if it doesn't flow perfectly every evening. Sometimes people are just tired. Keep up the family dinner questions anyway, and you're sure to have some amazing conversations.
