In this episode, Annie and Bri are joined by Drs. Melinda Macht-Greenberg and Paula Rauch. They are longtime clinicians and educators, as well as mothers of adult children and grandmothers. Dr. Macht-Greenberg is a psychologist on the faculty at Tufts University and Tufts University School of Medicine and maintains a private practice. Dr. Rauch is a child psychiatrist on the faculty at Harvard Medical School and at Massachusetts General Hospital. Together, they bring more than 70 years of clinical experience working with children, adults, and families across the lifespan. You can read more about them on their Substack Evolving Together: Parent and Adult Child Connection.

The conversation revolves around how to handle tricky family dynamics between adult children and their parents, especially when the pressure of family holiday celebrations adds stress or anxiety.

Episode Highlights:

• Go to 5:42 for a discussion about estrangement vs. engagement
• Go to 13:15 for strategies Paula and Melinda recommend to navigate difficult moments in an adult parent-child relationship
• Go to 18:53 for the doctors' thoughts on a Thanksgiving scenario with adult sibling conflict
• Go to 26:55 for their take on a scenario where an aging parent worries about talking with their children about handing over holiday responsibilities
• Go to 31:54 for practical tips on food, fun, and conversation to strengthen adult family communication at the holidays

Related Links:

• The Family Dinner Project Thanksgiving Page
• The Family Dinner Project Holidays Hub
• Episode 1: Home for the Holidays?
• Episode 7: Holiday Politics
• Episode 18: Dinner with Older Adults
• The Politics of Thanksgiving

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode — the second of a two-part series — we return to our conversation with Diana Rice, registered dietitian, certified intuitive eating counselor, and certified parent educator on a mission to help families ditch diet culture and enjoy healthy relationships with food.

She’s the voice behind the online platform Anti Diet Kids, and owns Tiny Seed Family Nutrition, a weight-inclusive nutrition counseling practice. Her first book, Food Positivity: How to Ditch Diet Culture and Talk to Kids About Food, was published by Wiley earlier this year.

Episode Highlights:

• Go to 3:05 for Diana’s thoughts on self-regulation, felt safety, attunement, and body trust
• Go to 9:30 for a conversation about the importance of attunement and connection at family dinner, and how food positivity arises from that
• Go to 13:57 for Diana’s food suggestions for busy families
• Go to 19:09 for Bri’s fun suggestion for families who want to raise food-positive kids
• Go to 22:44 for Annie’s ideas for conversation starters that will help with a food-positive mindset

Related Links:

• Episode 20: Food Positivity with Diana Rice (Part I)
• Printable Food Critic Cards
• Four Weeks to Better Family Dinners
• Staying Food Positive in a Body Negative World
• How to Raise Kids with Positive Body Image
• Eating Disorders and Family Meals
• Episode 4: Picky or Problematic?
• Episode 6: Table Trauma
• The Welcoming Table

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode -- the first of a two-part series -- Bri and Annie are joined by Diana Rice, registered dietitian, certified intuitive eating counselor, and certified parent educator on a mission to help families ditch diet culture and enjoy healthy relationships with food.

She's the voice behind the online platform Anti Diet Kids, and owns Tiny Seed Family Nutrition, a weight-inclusive nutrition counseling practice. Her first book, Food Positivity: How to Ditch Diet Culture and Talk to Kids About Food, was published by Wiley earlier this year.

Episode Highlights:

• Go to 2:17 for Diana's thoughts on what "healthy eating" really means
• Go to 12:54 for a discussion of some jarring statistics on disordered eating from Diana's book
• Go to 17:00 for Diana's advice to parents on changing their own relationships with food in order to help their kids
• Go 22:03 to for a conversation about the role of weight and body size in health
• Go 29:37 to for our discussion about the impact of ACEs, trauma, neurodivergence, and social determinants of health on kids' relationship with food and eating

Related Links:

• Staying Food Positive in a Body Negative World
• How to Raise Kids with Positive Body Image
• Eating Disorders and Family Meals
• Episode 4: Picky or Problematic?
• Episode 6: Table Trauma
• The Welcoming Table

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Bri and Annie take some time to talk about the new and improved version of our 4 Week Program: What it is, why we changed it, and what families can expect from the latest version, just in time for back-to-school season.

Episode Highlights:

• Go to 2:47 for some background on our original 4-week program and why we developed it to help families
• Go to 6:16 for a discussion of the reasons why we felt families needed and deserved an updated version of the program
• Go to 11:24 to hear why "Make it Simple" became "Make it Work"
• Go to 18:15 for an in-depth rundown of our favorite food, fun, and conversation highlights from the new program

Related Links:

• 4 Weeks to Better Family Dinners
• The Benefits of Family Dinner
• The Welcoming Table (resources for families with special needs)
• Back t0 School Hub

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Bri and Annie sit down with Dr. Steve Wengel, Geriatric Psychiatry Division Director at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. We’re exploring the importance of shared eating experiences in older adulthood, as well as what families need to know about supporting their loved ones through age-related physical and cognitive changes that may impact family meals.

Episode Highlights:

• Go to 3:36 for a discussion of the impact of loneliness on older adults, and different ways to help
• Go to 10:29 to hear about new dinnertime resources for families, caregivers, and memory care facilities
• Go to 13:15 to learn about age-related physical and cognitive changes that may impact shared meals
• Go to 19:42 for ideas to help manage age-related symptoms and make mealtimes more comfortable
• Go to 24:55 for a discussion of the importance of active grandparents and multi-generational family meals
• Go to 30:40 for tips on smoothing out family meals during life transitions for older adults
• Go to 32:49 for food, fun, and conversation ideas you can use at your table

Related Links:

• Benefits of Family Dinner for Adults
• Dinner with Dementia: A Caregiver's Guide
• Shared Meals in Memory Care (8-week program)
• Grandparents at the Table: The Importance of Talking About Family History
• How Grandparents Can Help with Family Dinner
• When Different Generations Come to the Table
• Upside Down and Backwards
• Food Collage
• Podcast Episode 10: Does Dinner Make Us Happier?

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The NY Times reports dinner delivery is on the rise. On this episode, we're unpacking what's gained and what's lost with family dinner by DoorDash.

Bri and Annie dive into a recent article, "Freedom with a Side of Guilt: How food delivery is reshaping mealtime," to examine how the opportunity to have dinner dropped at your door is changing the face of family meals. They talk about the economic, social, and scheduling effects -- both positive and negative -- of outsourcing meal preparation, what's behind this trend, and how to balance much-needed convenience with other values. The episode ends with ideas for striking a healthy balance that works for your family, plus easy meal ideas, fun, and conversation starters you can use at your dinner table tonight.

Episode highlights:

• Discussion of the cost for family meal delivery (4:45)
• Analysis of life skills vs. dinner delivery (11:10)
• Ideas for striking a balance (25:15)
• Food, fun, and conversation suggestions for easy family meals (31:00)

Related Links:

• 20 No-Fail Dinner Ideas
• Freedom with a Side of Guilt (NY Times Article)
• The Price Is...? Grocery Budget Game
• Podcast: Labor of Love?
• Podcast: Is it the Family, or the Dinner?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first weeks of the New Year, how can you leverage family time to help you beat the post-holiday blues and stay connected to each other, without retreating to individual screens? We're talking with special guest Betsy Bozdech, Editorial Director of Common Sense Media, about celebrating a tech-smart New Year with family film recommendations, cautions about AI, and guidelines parents need to know. Make sure to listen for our 2026 Dinner and a Movie ideas, age-by-age breakdowns, and the latest research to help you stay one step ahead of the algorithms this year.

Key Takeaways:

• Go to 2:58 for Dr. Anne Fishel's guidance for families on setting strong tech boundaries
• Go to 10:40 for Betsy's favorite family film recommendations
• Go to 13:29 for a conversation about choosing the first media experience for young children
• Go to 16:48 for ideas on making your family viewing experience more interactive
• Go to 24:45 for a discussion about the rise of AI and what parents need to know
• Go to 32:00 for food, fun, and conversation inspiration you can use at your table tonight

Related Links:

• Common Sense Media's Best Movies of 2025
• Common Sense Selection Titles
• First Movies for Kids: Common Sense Recommendations
• Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun
• Common Sense's Guide to Teaching Kids Good Screen Time Habits
• The Family Dinner Project's Technology at the Table Guide
• The Family Dinner Project + Common Sense Media Dinner and a Movie Experiences

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the holiday season ramps up, there’s more and more online chatter about switching up celebrations this year. Many families are turning to the idea of a simpler, less commercial celebration. In this final episode of Season 2, Bri and Annie talk about why a more handmade holiday may appeal to different families, and share lots of ideas for ways to lean into a low-shop season. They also discuss how to get family members on board, and suggest new traditions families can try to keep a festive spirit without consumer clutter.

Key Takeaways:

• Go to 2:35 for Annie’s thoughts on why this shift may feel particularly appealing this year
• Go to 7:18 for some of the most popular homemade gift ideas Bri and Annie have turned to over the years
• Go to 11:14 for a discussion about how to get reluctant family members on board
• Go to 16:45 for some “gifts of experiences” ideas
• Go to 21:03 for new traditions and activities that can help take the focus off fewer gifts
• Go to 27:04 for food, fun, and conversation ideas to make the holiday season extra special

Related Links:

• Podcast Episode 1: Home for the Holidays?
• Podcast Episode 7: Holiday Politics
• Homemade Gifts
• The Family Dinner Project’s Holidays Hub
• Annie’s husband’s Latke recipe
• Dinner and a Movie: Family Holiday Movies
• 31 Days of Family Fun Calendar
• Family Memory Bingo

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.