 Fink
Cards
Mum creates clever way to get families talking Fink™ Cards
nurture kids’ communication skills and strengthen family bonds
A mother on a mission to get families communicating, has
created a simple yet highly effective tool that encourages families to
get talking around the dinner table. Fink™ Cards (Family Interaction Nurtures
Kids) are a pack of 54 thought-provoking conversation cards that transform
mealtimes by providing a series of questions the whole family can answer.
The cards ask questions like ‘Who inspires you?’, ‘What
is your favourite day of the week?’ and ‘If you could choose a superpower,
what would it be?’ The purpose is to get the whole family to share views
and ideas, develop listening and communication skills, and gain mutual
understanding and respect for each other.
Today’s busy lifestyle means children are getting more screen
time and less personal interaction with parents. This lack of quality
family time has been cited as a key reason for many of today’s social
issues from crime to eroding moral values, poor eating habits and anti-social
behaviour.
Yet, when Lisa Warner, a mum of four, came up with the idea
of question cards ten years ago, it was simply to help her family mealtimes
become less chaotic.
“The older kids didn’t want to leave the TV for five minutes,
the younger ones didn’t want to stop playing with their toys and were
fussy about food. Every mealtime was stressful with my husband and I yelling
at the kids. I wondered why I bothered to even set the table,” Lisa explains.
“Then I had the idea to create question cards that were fun so that the
kids would look forward to sitting around the table giving their answers.
They loved it – particularly hearing mum’s and dad’s answers – and our
mealtimes were transformed.”
Having seen the long term positive affect regular family
discussions have had on the development of her children, all of whom are
now confident communicators with a very strong family bond, Lisa wanted
to help get other families talking. She believes this will have an impact
on some of the problems facing children today. Using the principles of
her homemade cards from years before, she created Fink™ Cards. The cards
serve as a conversation starter and can easily be modified for children
as young as two.
The key is to let everyone have a chance to speak and be
listened to. As interesting discussions take place, there is an opportunity
for the family to really get to know each other. This shared time brings
a family closer and offers children a deep sense of security and stability.
Yvonne Wake (BSc. MSc), a Public Health Nutritionist at
Roehampton University, London and who has recently written a paper on
nutrition and the role a family plays, agrees that it’s important to eat
meals together as a family. “Talking to children over dinner is a great
way of gaining trust and they are more likely to talk about things that
could sometimes feel uncomfortable. Regular meal times altogether give
children the opportunity to discuss problems with family members; it relaxes
and encourages them to wind down. From an emotional standpoint, research
shows that children who frequently eat with their families have better
results at school, are less depressed, less likely to drink alcohol, smoke,
or use marijuana than children who eat with their families less than twice
a week,” says Wake.
Fink™ Cards cost £4.99 and are available from www.finkcards.com.
They also make ideal stocking fillers or table presents
for Christmas and help get over any awkward silences at the Christmas
dinner table with less well known family members.
The prize
TEN Members will get a chance to win a set of Fink™ Cards.
How to enter
Simply fill in your details on the following page and prize winners will
be the first names to be drawn at random after the closing date of 31st
December 2008.
Click
here to enter
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