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Kitchen table conversations: This is how everyday life becomes an art experiment in Neunkirchen!
Neunkirchen promotes conversations at the kitchen table: art experiments connect families and strangers. Discover cultural exchange opportunities and new insights into family communication.
Kitchen table conversations: This is how everyday life becomes an art experiment in Neunkirchen!
In Neunkirchen, the traditional kitchen table is being re-staged as a central place for family conversations. The newest art and dialogue space on Stummplatz invites passers-by to talk to strangers at a kitchen table. At these meetings, the focus is on everyday problems, positive experiences and feelings, which make it possible to share occasions of joy. This concept aims to promote communication in society and break down barriers.
The importance of shared meals for interpersonal communication is also highlighted by an international study conducted in Germany, Japan, Argentina, Brazil and Ecuador. Around 100 parents with young children took part in the study, which recorded videos of shared meals. An important finding of the study is that conversations typically follow a “child-centered pattern”. This means that mothers often initiate the conversation and especially communicate with their children, while fathers are less likely to be involved in the conversations. The most common interactions take place between mother and child.
Different communication patterns
The study also showed that there are significant differences in conversation patterns between urban and rural families. While in Buenos Aires, for example, conversations are very lively and frequent, children in rural areas of Brazil and Ecuador tend to do little to entertain themselves. The social norms and values that shape these intercultural meals also play an important role. In Argentina and Germany, food is often used as an opportunity for exchange, while in Ecuador, indigenous families tend to eat in silence.
Another result of the study is that more questions from parents lead to greater participation by children in the conversation. The most common topics revolve around the food itself, with parents explaining culturally relevant information and conventions to children. Such everyday conversations are extremely important as they help children learn language through communication with caregivers. Predictable conversation patterns also make this learning process easier.
The Neunkirchen Dialogue Space not only offers a unique place for art and communication, but also reflects the deeper social function that community and communication play in families and beyond. It becomes clear that eating together and exchanging ideas at the kitchen table creates bonding experiences and strengthens the family.
For further information and insights into the importance of family issues at the kitchen table, those interested can read the reporting from Saarbrücken newspaper and the study results of spectrum to use.