This week's Family Dinner Table Talk, from HuffPost and The Family Dinner book:
Next week, it will be 2013. And while it may seem like the world around us stays exactly the same when the clock tells us it’s January 1, the calendar change is an opportunity to make promises -- resolutions! -- about what we’ll do differently in the new year.
Sometimes, we choose personal improvement projects -- for example, promising to eat healthier foods or be more organized. Sometimes we simply decide to try new things -- a French class, guitar lessons, or cooking. A resolution doesn’t even need to be about change -- maybe you’re proud of something you started doing this year (going to bed early, eating breakfast every morning) and want to promise yourself you’ll keep doing it.
It often helps to make resolutions public -- so others can encourage you to meet your goals. But the truth is people don’t always succeed at keeping their resolutions (OK, lots and lots of people fail), so don’t be too hard on yourself if it turns out you can’t stick to your plan.
Tonight, let’s discuss our New Year’s Resolutions for 2013 -- as individuals and as a family -- and how we can help each other try to keep them.
Questions for discussion:
- Did you make New Year’s resolutions last year? Did you keep them?
- What’s one thing you think you can do better in 2013?
- What’s one thing you did this year that you’re proud of?
- What resolutions can we make together as a family?
In her cookbook, The Family Dinner, Laurie David talks about the importance of families making a ritual of sitting down to dinner together, and how family dinners offer a great opportunity for meaningful discussions about the day's news. "Dinner," she says, "is as much about digestible conversation as it is about delicious food."
We couldn't agree more. So HuffPost has joined with Laurie and every Friday afternoon, just in time for dinner, our editors highlight one of the most compelling news stories of the week -- stories that will spark a lively discussion among the whole family.