One of the easiest ways to spend quality time as a family is over a meal. Whether at home, in a restaurant, or outside for a picnic or bbq. PBSparents has some great tips for getting the most out of mealtime, no matter how old your kids are. From the article:

Pay attention to table conversation.

Talk at the table is one of the richest language experiences of your child’s life, and it’s just the kind I try to foster in therapy–everyone taking turns, telling stories, offering explanations, listening to each other. When else besides around the table (or in therapy) do we sit and talk for several minutes, with family members offering lots of different comments on one topic? Make sure that the quieter members can speak without interruptions, and that you add variety to table talk – not only what you did at school today, but also talk about what ingredients are in the food, and about funny, poignant, and courageous stories about other family members. This is a great time to remember how your family emigrated or a difficult life choice that Uncle Albert made, or how your grandparents met and decided to elope. Dinner is also a time to talk about plans for the future, politics, the neighborhood, and music.

Change the routine as your children grow.

Your child’s appetite, ability to cook, and readiness to participate in dinner conversation all change dramatically from infancy through young adulthood.

When you have toddlers, that is a critical time to start regular family dinners, despite the challenge of sitting still for long. Serve food family-style in bowls that youngsters can reach out and try, and allow your kids to see you eating food with gusto. Don’t use reward or punishment to encourage eating, and know that toddlers may need up to 15 presentations of the same food before they try it. Any child who “helps” to make dinner is more likely to want to try it. The whole process of mixing, stirring, and making a mess fascinates young children, so let them stir the soup and crumble the cheese.

As your children become school-aged, they are learning to share and compromise. At dinner, they will want to make meal choice fair and will want equitable airtime to speak. As they become more aware of the world around them through watching TV and visiting other children’s houses, they may want to experiment with new foods. It can be fun to recreate foods they’ve eaten elsewhere, like making pizza or tacos. And they can start to be critical consumers, engaging in questions like why do TV ads advertise fast food? Or, why do schools offer unhealthy foods?

Have fun with your family around mealtime — it also provides a great opportunity to celebrate your great feats on the fantasy football field. Check out our free family fantasy football leagues.

Reaping the Many Benefits of Family Dinners . Expert Q&A . PBS Parents | PBS.