Family dinner time can be great – or it can be a bit chaotic. How to tame the family dinner...

If you’re family dinner table doesn’t exactly look like a scene from Leave it to Beaver...

...Parent Coach Meghan Leahy has some advice to help get everyone on board:

• Recognize that most kids don’t have as much of an appetite by the end of the day. This is a good thing. Keep the portions small.

• Have the children help you meal-plan. The more invested they are in the food; the more likely they are to eat it. Have them help you prepare or cook it too.

• Avoid talking about the food itself or school. Come up with a few fun questions to ask each other so everyone can join in. “What’s your favorite room in the house?” “What animal would you like to be?”

• Do not count bites. Three more bites of peas really won’t matter – and counting is no way to spend a meal. 

• Do not offer dessert as a reward. This just makes kids sweet-obsessed and makes your meal seem like a chore. Pick a few dessert nights. Take the power away from the dessert by simply giving it to them early and twice a week. Otherwise, no sweets during the week.