Gary Chapman - 101 Conversation Starters for Families

101 conversation starters for families

GARY CHAPMAN
& RAMON PRESSON

Northfield Publishing
CHICAGO

2002, 2012 BY G ARY C HAPMAN AND R AMON P RESSON

Formerly titled Love Talks for Families
All rights reserved. No part of this product may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Entry #43 first appeared in Ramon Presson, Stress Busters (Littleton: Colo.: Serendipity House, 2001). Used by permission.
Cover design: Smartt Guys design
Cover Photo: Steve Cole/iStock
Interior design: Julia Ryan / www.DesignByJulia.com
Gary Chapman photo: David Smith

ISBN: 978-0-8024-0839-6

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One of the signs of a healthy family is open and meaningful communication. Good questions are the beginning. Here are some ways to use the questions:

During dinner at home

During a quiet moment in the evening

Just before bedtime

While in the car during a long drive

On vacations

Parents, introduce the idea to your children and teens by describing this product as a game. Dont sell it as some serious communication project your family is going to work on. Note that the questions are designed to interest most school-age children and teenagers.

Therefore, every question encourages participation from every family member. Parents may want to secure agreement on a few ground rules:

If you dont want to answer a question, you dont have to.

If you cant think of an answer at the moment, your response will certainly be welcome at a later time.

When someone is sharing an answer, everyone else will listen attentively without interrupting.

All genuine responses will be respected and affirmed.

While the easiest way to proceed through the questions is to use them in the order they are presented, another possibility is to allow family members to take turns in selecting the questions. We recommend that you do only one or two questions at a time. And dont do them every day. Make your children ask for more, not less. These questions are like desserta small and satisfying portion creates the anticipation for more later. 101 Conversation Starters for Families is great for single-parent and blended families as well.

Have fun with these questions a few times a week and enjoy the improved family communication.

Give each member of the family an imaginary award for an achievement or something special they did recently.

Name one talent you wish you had.

If you had to give up sight, hearing, the ability to speak, or the ability to walk, which would you choose?

If you had a magic wand and could change anything in your life right now, what would it be?

If you could be on any magazine cover, which one would you select?

If you could go on a vacation to another country, which one would you select?

What is one of your favorite stories that your parent(s) tell about you?

If we had to move from our home to another city, what would you miss the most about our home?
Our neighborhood? Our city?
Who would you miss the most?

If you could have any kind of unconventional pet, what would you choose?

What is the best reason you can think of not to use alcohol or drugs?

Bestow a Fruit of the Spirit Award (Galatians 5:22-23) upon each family member. From the following, affirm the quality you observed recently.

love joy peace

patience goodness faithfulness

gentleness kindness self-control

What dessert do you think you could eat for a lifetime?

In Acts 12 young Rhoda told the people in the house that Peter was knocking on the door, but they didnt believe her. Can you recall a time that you were telling the truth but someone didnt believe you?

If you could ask God any question, what would you ask?

Talk about a time when it felt good to help someone.

If I could be any kind of animal for a day, Id like to be a

Which of the following would you like to have in your backyard?

go-cart track swimming pool

greenhouse miniature golf course

tennis court clubhouse treehouse

underground headquarters

20 pieces of playground equipment

other _________________

In the Chronicles of Narnia, four children walked through a wardrobe (clothes closet) and into the magical land of Narnia. If you had a magic door in the back of your closet that could take you to one special place anytime you want to go, where would it be?

What is something that would be hard for you to share?

As a surprise for your birthday party weve arranged for a famous person of your choice to attend. Who will you choose?

I wish I had a personal coach, tutor, or mentor for