Activity 1: The “Think You Know Me?” Game

Time: 30-60 minutes

Overview

Sometimes family members know less about each other than they assume. This activity is designed to help family members learn more about each other's food preferences and practices. The activity is patterned after the Newlywed Game, a long-running TV game show which took to the airwaves in 1966. The format is simple: A question is posed to one person in each pair. That person writes down their answer. Their partner also writes down the answer that they think their partner wrote down. A pair wins 1 point for each correct match. The "pair" that wins the most points wins the game.

Objectives

General Objective

Participants will recall food preferences and food habits of other family members.

Specific objective

Participant will be able to list or match 2-4 food preferences and food habits of other family members.

Materials

• Two copies of the set of 12 questions, one question per card (or write the questions on a board or overhead)
• Paper
• Pens or pencils
• Felt tip markers
• Clipboards for writing on
  

Steps

1. Set room up as a studio for a game show, with 6-8 seats up front, and the remainder of seats in the audience.
2. Choose 3-4 families to play this game. Choose two members of each family to be a pair. Be sure that the pairs are all similar; for example, if pair one is a parent and child, then pairs 2, 3, and 4 should also consist of a parent and child. The other participants in the room can observe and laugh!
3. Locate the 12 pages in the back of this section listed as Handout 1-1 (1-12). These are the questions that will be used for this game. They are also listed below.
   
   

Handout 1-1 (Questions 1-12): The "Think You Know Me?" Game

4. How to Play the Game:
   
   • If all of the pairs are comprised of a parent and a child, ask the child first, "What is your mother/father's favorite food?" The child will write down his/her guess on the question page. Do the same thing for 4+ additional questions. Then reverse it and ask the parent of each pair to write out how they think their children will answer the following 4+ questions.
   • Check to see how well participants guessed each other's responses. Correct answers receive a point. [Optional: Create special tie-breaker questions, worth bonus points, if desired].
   • List the teams and points scored on a flip chart.
   • Throughout the game, invite family members to compare and discuss their answers. They are sure to have lots of laughs plus learn a lot about each others food preferences and habits.
     

Questions for one partner to ask the other

1. What is your family member's favorite food?
2. How does your family member communicate the need to eat? (How do you know when he or she is hungry?)
3. How does your family member express an interest in a particular food?
4. On average, how many times does your family member chew his/her food before swallowing each bite?
5. What is your family member's favorite place to eat out and why?
6. What is your family member's least liked food?
7. How often do you think your family member would want to have family meals together (number of times per week) and why?
8. What is your family member's favorite position to be in when eating?
9. What type of vegetables does your family member prefer? -- Canned, frozen, or fresh?
10. After a meal at your home, who does the most cleanup work?
11. What is your family member's favorite drink?
12. What is your family member's least favorite drink?
13. What is your family member's favorite snack food?

Additional Questions for youth

• When your adult relative goes food shopping, do they use a grocery list that they made beforehand?
• When your adult relative cooks, do they prefer to use the microwave or the regular oven?

• If your child was able to make the decisions for all family members about foods to eat, what are the three foods that he or she would choose the most?
• Which of the following cooking methods would your child say is the least healthy way to prepare foods -- baking, boiling, or frying?

To encourage further discussion:

• Ask families to share what they found most interesting, surprising or what they already knew but had forgotten.
• Ask the families to identify one food behavior that they can try to improve at home over the next week. Report back at the next week/session.
  

Considerations

This is a fun activity, but it can take a long time if all families choose to play. Try to find a balance between level of participation and the amount of time available.

For families with a child, parent and grandparent, this activity could be modified for 3-person teams.