I'm curious (RE:Dinner time)

Well, our kids are long gone from home, so Dave & I frequently eat on trays in front of the t.v. - much to my kids' astonishment (and disapproval - lol!). When they were growing up, we ALWAYS sat at the table, no special meals, and no t.v. or phone calls. (I still rarely answer the phone if we're eating.) Since Dave was career Army, he was frequently gone - but the rest of us all sat down together. (Oh yeah, we prayed over every meal also!)

Scheduling IS much more difficult as the kids start getting involved in other activities - and that starts so much sooner these days - I don't envy that part of raising a family nowadays.

But I still maintain that having as much structure to mealtime as possible is very good for the family . . . there's really no substitute for the group interaction it provides.
 
Y'all make me feel like a slacker. :p

Jeff has a night job, and I don't get home until 6-6:30. On Mondays Abby has dance, so they eat dinner at my mom's.. I either don't eat or fix something simple when I get home. Sometimes during the week if Jeff is working mom will feed them. If Mom hasn't... they get something easy when we get home.. chicken nuggets, etc... I usually don't eat dinner those nights.

If Jeff is home, or on weekends, I fix something and we all eat together. We don't have a kitchen table right now but we will once we finally move and then we'll eat at the table, for now we eat downstairs but we all eat together. I don't make 2 meals unless I know it's something JJ or Abby hate and then they get a sandwich or soup or mac & cheese.
 
We have supper as a family every night. Now that my husband got a new job and is actually around for it we take full advantage. This is when we find out about school and get more our visiting done. Also, we all stay seated at the table until everyone is done eating. It's never even questioned by the kids.
 
It's pretty much how your mom did it here.

We eat together as a family at the table. No electronics, no TV, no phones, etc. They have to try one bite of everything I served, and then they can have more of just the potatoes or whatever if they choose. I don't really tell them what to drink, but I don't buy soda, so there aren't that many options. It's milk, hot tea or juice.

I don't make multiple meals unless I'm making something especially horrifying for me and dh. :D
 
We grew up eating dinner together every night, too, Col. It's why I find it so strange that SS (8) still struggles with table manners because his mom lets him eat in front of the TV every night at their house. :p

We don't eat dinner together during the week since J. works except on Wed nights when we have SS. Breakfast is out, too, since J. is sleeping then. I try to get the three of us to eat lunch together, but between J.'s sleep schedule and Monkey's nap schedule, it doesn't always work out that way.

Monkey is not allowed to eat anywhere but the table, and I do my best to enforce this rule with SS, too, but sometimes J. will let a snack slide during a weekend we have him.

Once J. gets back on a first shift schedule, we will eat dinner together again.
 
Angie4b1g said:
They have to try one bite of everything I served, and then they can have more of just the potatoes or whatever if they choose.
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LOL! That was one of our rules also . . . but I actually had plenty of practice before we had kids. Dave grew up with June Cleaver (for whoever's old enough to know who that is), and she catered to everybody's whims just to keep things cheerful all the time. When we were first married, salad to him was a bowl of lettuce & the only veggies he'd eat were potatoes, green beans, and corn. I, on the other hand, had come from a very poor family who was thrilled just to be eating, and I liked ALL food (except liver!). All I did was make him TRY things, and he soon learned to like everything . . . except green peas, which he still hates.
 
We always eat dinner together as a family, but not necessarily at our table. But, whether we eat at the dining room table or in the living room, I have a no electronics rule. The tv is off, cell phones are not allowed (not even by me), no laptops or DSi, or iPod, etc. During Christmas I did allow for some quiet Christmas carols playing from the desktop computer though, just not loud enough to interfere with conversation. During the week dinner is the only meal we have together, so I think it's super important. My DD used to be SUPER picky about what she ate, so I did keep small frozen meals or individual servings of Chef Boyardee pasta meals on hand if I was cooking something I know she doesn't like. She's getting a lot better about being picky, so I find I need those things less and less now. She's allowed to choose between milk, iced tea, or water to drink. My tea is sweet, but has no sugar, so either way she chooses what she's drinking isn't bad for her.
 
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I grew up always eating together with my family. We had to clean our plates, and we could never fix ourselves something different. (until I was in high school...I think I wore my mom down after years of refusing to eat.) We always had juice or soda to drink.

We do eat together as a family now. It wasn't always this way, though. When my oldest was small, DH and I worked opposite shifts. We never saw each other, and just ate when we were hungry. That was a hard time....

But now I stay at home with the kids and we homeschool. So, the kids and I are here all day together. I usually fix and eat a hot breakfast together with them. The kids eat lunch together, and I usually eat at the computer or my desk. (I need a break by lunch time...lol)

We eat dinner together when DH comes home. He works until he is done....so he may be home anywhere from 6pm to 9pm. We always wait for him, though. (we have snacks together for the late nights) We all stay up late, and sleep in...so this schedule works well for us. Everyone we know thinks that we are crazy, but we have a routine...it is just usually a few hours behind everyone else here.

The kids have to try everything. But, no one has to clean their plates ever. (I really, really hated that as a kid) If they don't have enough healthy food, they don't get dessert. (the kids can only have sweets at dinner) They have water every meal. We don't drink milk ever, but one has a milk protein allergy, and one is lactose intolerant...so we don't have much dairy anyway. If they hate dinner, they can make a sandwich, have salad or fruit. No other options, and I am definitely not making anything extra.
 
We always eat together at the table. One, my DH is a neat freak and eating anywhere else would send him to the moon, and I always grew up at the table and I think it's important. My kids are still younger though (7, 8, and 9), so their schedules aren't crazy in the eve's yet...

I will try to protect our dinners though.
 
We eat dinner together at the table at about 6:30 nearly every night. There is no room for a tv in the kitchen so that's out. No phones, no mp3 players & generally no books. You eat what I cook, the end. Though when I meal plan I let everyone have some say in what get served. If it is something new or something you outright hate while everyone else likes it you have to have a couple bites then can have a piece of fruit or some veggies. Dessert is only 2 nights a week. Beverage choice ranges from juice to water to tea to milk, with soda being an option if we are having a cookout with friends.

Exceptions are when DH isn't going to be home for dinner & I am not feeling the love as it were. Then depending what is for dinner you can eat in the living room in front of the tv if it isn't messy or you can bring a book to the table if it is.

Pretty much the same rules as applied in my parents' house
 
Friday, Saturday and Sunday night are guaranteed family meal times at the kitchen table. The rest of the week it is usually just the two boys. My DH doesn't get home until after 6:30 (gotta love Houston traffic!) and that is too late for my boys to wait. So DH and I will eat a salad after they go to bed.

I will either sit at the table with them and have some tea, go over homework or I am in the kitchen cleaning up. I am always with them in the kitchen when they are eating.

There is no tv during meals at the table. Sometimes we might have pizza on the living room floor when we are watching a movie together.

I cook for the boys since I eat a salad every night. On the weekends my DH cooks.
 
Another family that eats supper as a family... my hubby "demands" it. :) I did grow up that my Mom and I ate dinner together and since my dad got home late, he ate in front of the tv in the living room.

My hubby makes sure he is home by 5:00 and we have supper between 5:30 and 6:00... no tv, no radio, no toys at the table. Now that kiddo is 3, he eats what we eat... if he doesn't like it, he isn't that hungry, we don't eat anything "weird". For drinks... it is Vibe... the liquid multi-vitamin that is added to water. I'm a HUGE milk drinker... when your daddy is a milk hauler, you support the Wisconsin farmer. :D Hubby will drink water if he already had his Vibe for the day. If hubby isn't home... kiddo eats at the table and I usually eat in the living room while watching tv.. shhh, don't tell my hubby... ;)
 
i was a die hard eat at the table person until 3 years ago when we had the house fire. since then we eat in the living room a lot more. dh grew up eating wherever and since the house fire he has been home a lot more (due to a job change) and so he has kinda taken over. at first i let it go because we didn't have a table. we have had a table for about 2.5 years and we go in spurts, but i am cracking down. i really REALLY miss our family time together and he agrees and can see the benefits of it. we are working very hard on being a family again.
 
We used to eat dinner together every night. But then DH started traveling for his job. The kids and I would eat together but sometimes I would let them eat in front of the tv because I was so tired.

But now that he isn't traveling, we are back together at the table! I LOVE it! and won't give it up for anything. Monday night is the only night we can't get it to work out. But we also have breakfast together.
 
DH works too late, but the kids and I sit down together with no electronics every night. Well, they sit and eat. I'm with them and talking/interacting, but I find that all the cutting food, getting seconds, etc. keeps me too busy to actually eat with them. That will change when they get a little older. We'll also start waiting for DH when they get older. (But he's going to hate that, LOL. He's a die hard eat-in-front-of-the-tv guy.) When they finish they can leave the table.

I make 1 main meal, but it's tough for me to insist everyone eat the same thing. I'm a vegetarian and rarely eat what the kids do, so I feel like a hypocrite refusing to acknowledge the kids' strong preferences. (And they ALL have strong preferences, as does DH.) That said, I'm not cooking 4 meals. When I'm making something that I know someone doesn't like, I make sure to pair it with filling sides that they can eat as a meal. If that isn't practical one night, I allow peanut butter sandwiches. Everyone is served everything and must try 1 bite, but after that it's their choice.

Milk is the most common drink at dinner, but what I offer varies depending on what they've already had during the day.
 
we eat together at the table as a family - unless the kids are starving and i'll let them start before dh gets home. once a week i run out and walk as soon as dh gets home so sometimes i miss the beginning. they eat what we are eating unless it is something you wouldn't expect a kid to eat (i.e. spicy) - they must try it and if they don't like it they can make pb&j or a bowl of cereal. as for milk the little one drinks it - the big one has water. they have to make a good effort on their dinner or they get nothing else for the night. i save the plate in the fridge and reheat it later.
 
We eat dinner as a family (me and the boys) at the table every night, except for Friday nights which has turned into Pizza/family movie nights so we eat on TV trays and watch a movie. DH works wonky hours so if he's home he eats with us, otherwise he eats at the base or when he gets home. It does get crazy sometimes when we have sporting events, but I still work around it and we eat together at the table (be it REALLY early like 4:00 or later in the evening). It just seems like the only time we all can slow down and be together for a half an hour or so!

Boys drink milk, I drink milk or water and DH is a die hard Dr Pepper addict. Course I'm a coffee addict so I can't complain too loudly.

I usually only make one thing for the family, but sometimes I have to make something different for Kyle since he has food allergies (peanut, soy, egg). The peanut is completely out, but sometimes I fix chinese for the rest of us and a corn dog for him, or a bean burrito or something. DH is lactose intolerant as well so that limits what I can fix too. But what I fix is what I fix, and if you are hungry later, the food will be cold but still there! No cleaning the plates required, just a good attempt at trying stuff.
 
when i'm at home (i go to school 8+ hours from home, but i come home on breaks), we eat at the table. we didn't used to, cause my mother always worked nights. but like, three years ago, she was determined that we eat at the table together every night. she makes one thing, and we have to at least try it. if we don't like it, we have to wait until after everyone's done eating before we can make something else. yes, we. she makes one thing. we're on our own if we didn't like what was for dinner. we're allowed to drink whatever (i'm lactose intolerant, my brother doesn't drink milk either). and we have to clear our place once we're all done eating. the tv sometime stays on in the living room (mostly cause it's noise), and sometimes mom turns the radio in the kitchen on (again, for background noise). as for times, we generally eat between 5 and 6. sometimes later, but normally between 5 and 6pm.

when i'm at school? i eat whenever i am hungry. sometimes it's 5:30, sometimes it's 10. sometimes i sit in the living room, cause we don't have a kitchen table or anything like that. sometimes i eat in my room. it depends on my mood.

however, when i do have a family, i'll do what my mother does. one meal, you have to at least try it, and you can't get up from the table until everyone's done. mostly cause it's what i'm used to. and what i like.
 
Another "at the table" die hard. We don't have regular eating times because we wait till everyone can be there. Sometimes this means that the kids have fruit or carrots as a snack till everyone is home. With three kids and each child having at least one weekly activity, we would never eat together unless we waited for everyone to be home. No TV or other distractions.

My kids are great eaters so it is rare that they don't eat what I make. Sometimes I will do a variation of what DH and I are having for them if I know they don't like it.

Sometimes the three of them get very goofy at the table and that drives me nuts so we go around the table answsering a "question of the day" and we have a "special spoon" that gets passed around to let everyone know whose turn it is.

Water is served with dinner. As long as you eat a good dinner and behave at the table, a small "treat" is permitted.
 
We all eat dinner together as a family, usually between 5-5:30 every night. We don't have a TV upstairs so that isn't an issue for us. When we did, it wasn't on. I make one meal and that's it, if you don't like it to bad. Like others have said if DS tries it and really hates it, I will let him eat a sandwich or something like that. Lunch if we are all home, we sit down and eat together as well, otherwise it's me and the kids if DH is at work.

Breakfast is probably the only meal that we don't eat together. DS eats while I shower, I usually eat a bowl of cereal quick while checking e-mail and DD wakes up just in time to take DS to school, so she eats after we get home from dropping him off.
 
We usually eat breakfast and dinner all together at the table. At dinner, the kids take turns being "emcee" and asking everyone how their day went. It is a great time to catch up with everyone.

We do eat in front of the TV once a week on "pizza night" when we have pizza, obviously, and watch a family movie or TV show together.
 
We, too, eat at the table. We're huge milk drinkers at our house; the 3 of us can usually polish off close to 3 gallons a week. (DS2 is still nursing.) I cook every night and we usually eat around 7ish depending on how lazy I feel. No electronics. Prayers are required and DS1 is being trained to clear his own plate. (He's 3.)
 
It's just DH and I here but we always eat together unless he is working really late or has a work related dinner meeting. Right now we are eating in the living room since we currently do not have a dining room table since I stole it for my craft room. (DH refuses to eat in the kitchen) When we get the remodeling finished then we will have a new dining room table and we will eat there again with no TV, laptops, phones of anykind, or books allowed unless it's a book we are discussing together, but no personal reading.

We have milk with dinner during the week, on weekends we'll crack open a bottle of wine.
 
If we're home and it's meal time, we're all at the table together - breakfast, lunch and dinner. The only time we don't eat at the table is when it's a special occasion, like a winter picnic in the living room or the Super Bowl. We make one meal and everyone has to try it. There are no toys or technology at the table either. This goes for Mommy too; it's only fair. The kids have to wait to be excused as well; there's no getting up and running around. The tv is always off. Sometimes, there is music playing though. We like to make family time fun.
 
Growing up, my parents had a rule that we all eat at the dinner table - I don't EVER remember eating supper somewhere else. Mom made one single meal, and we were expected to eat what she made. We didn't always like it, but we ate it or we went hungry (and got no dessert or snacks before bed). Also, there was a rule about no answering the phone. It was family time - the only "entertainment" we had was visiting each other and talking about our day.

My DH grew up much the same way, which made the decision about our family easier. When it was just the 2 of us, we would usually eat at the table for supper, but I didn't mind if we ate while watching a movie or whatever. But when I got pregnant with DD, we decided to start the habit of always eating at the table. We included DD from the time she was a newborn. We have a high chair that reclines, so I would strap her in (if she was awake), and she would sit with us at the supper table while DH and I ate our meals. Our TV can be seen from our kitchen table, but we always turn it off at supper. We don't answer our phone, and we don't allow toys at the table (as the kids get older, this will include any cell phones, ipods, etc).
 
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