Media resident Kat Rowan, a mother and former educator, has launched TiffinTalk, an innovative product to help parents and children strengthen their relationships through one-on-one, face-to-face interactions.

Available for children in preschool through high school, TiffinTalk Parent – Child & Teen conversation cards come in seasonal boxed sets filled with 65 daily cards arranged in 13 themed weeks.

Each card front features puzzle pieces revealing a completed image over the course of the week to engage the child’s curiosity, while the card back offers a fun fact (“tiffin tidbit”) for older children or an activity (“tiffin treat”) for younger kids.

The card’s inside is the focus, presenting a key question on topics ranging from silly or serious to thoughtful or imaginative, with space for a parent to include a personal note or reminder before the card is slipped into a child’s lunchbox to help spark thinking for a discussion later.

Rowan – TiffinTalk’s founder, CEO, and creative director – created her own system of conversation cards when her children were young, and believed the cards could be a useful tool for other parents looking to drive meaningful interactions with their children, beyond the typical one-word answers to everyday questions.

Her cards found their way into classrooms as her children shared them across lunch tables, and teachers and parents began to ask for them.

“As a mom of two daughters, I know how hectic daily life can get and how much technology has started to distract us from the limited time we have with our children,” said Rowan.

“These cards were a way for me to create an opportunity to sit down and spend time talking with each of my children about a topic that interested us both and kept us both engaged.

“Through these conversations, we became closer, and I learned a lot more about their thoughts, dreams, and concerns than I would have through ordinary parent/child conversations: ‘How was your day?’ ‘Fine’ ‘What happened today?’ ‘Nothing.’

“With TiffinTalk, I watched my girls develop creative and critical thinking skills simply because there was no judgment, no right or wrong answers. It was all about our time together and not about an assignment to be graded.”

Rowan graduated from Wellesley College in Massachusetts, and has taught math at the high school level.

In addition to cards for parents and their children, TiffinTalk is also available for:

• Senior parents and adult children (Talking Across Generations)
• Counselors and their clients (FindingYourVoice)

Click here for more information on TiffinTalk or to purchase the cards.